At Sea in the South Atlantic
Today we are about halfway between Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena as we make our way north across the South Atlantic Sub-Tropical Gyre. We already have fresh winds from the east which may be the first sign of the Trade Winds, although this is very far south (~30ºS) even for this time of year. The seasons move the wind systems north and south on the globe and they follow, but lag the sun by a couple of months, so in late summer-early fall here we do expect the systems to be at about their farthest point south. Or it could just be local weather. We are also halfway between the solstices today, as we are at the equinox—the autumnal equinox here in the Southern Hemisphere, but the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a good lesson as we engage in our daily shipboard activities, which include scientific presentations, music concerts, writing and photography workshops, navigation lessons, and fitness sessions. Especially in navigation, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are in the Southern Hemisphere, when we measure distances on the charts and when we plot our positions. The Southern Hemisphere is very much an ocean one and those of us who are from the other half of the planet live in a hemisphere which contains a great deal more land, and an immensely greater number of people than this one. We need to be careful when we try to extrapolate our understanding of our own hemisphere to the rest of the world. This is the great lesson of travel. As St Augustine said, “"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page."
Today we are about halfway between Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena as we make our way north across the South Atlantic Sub-Tropical Gyre. We already have fresh winds from the east which may be the first sign of the Trade Winds, although this is very far south (~30ºS) even for this time of year. The seasons move the wind systems north and south on the globe and they follow, but lag the sun by a couple of months, so in late summer-early fall here we do expect the systems to be at about their farthest point south. Or it could just be local weather. We are also halfway between the solstices today, as we are at the equinox—the autumnal equinox here in the Southern Hemisphere, but the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a good lesson as we engage in our daily shipboard activities, which include scientific presentations, music concerts, writing and photography workshops, navigation lessons, and fitness sessions. Especially in navigation, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are in the Southern Hemisphere, when we measure distances on the charts and when we plot our positions. The Southern Hemisphere is very much an ocean one and those of us who are from the other half of the planet live in a hemisphere which contains a great deal more land, and an immensely greater number of people than this one. We need to be careful when we try to extrapolate our understanding of our own hemisphere to the rest of the world. This is the great lesson of travel. As St Augustine said, “"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page."
