Crossing the Equator
This morning at first light we sailed past SS. Peter and Paul Rocks. These rocks, which are 560 nautical miles off the nearest Brazilian soil are claimed by Brazil and are an important outpost of the country because they extend the Exclusive Economic Zone of Brazil far out into the central Atlantic. In order to enforce their claim, Brazil keeps a small group of rangers on the rocks year round. They are typically graduate students working on the boobies that nest on the rocks. The rocks are of considerable interest to geologists because they are composed largely of dunite, a rock that is pure olivine and which we think may represent the material of which the mantle of the earth is composed. Most of the sites where mantle material comes to the surface is in the form of volcanic lavas erupting on oceanic islands. By contrast, SS. Peter and Paul Rocks lie right on the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and seem to represent a site where the crystalline mantle material has come to the surface without melting.
While we were slowly cruising past the Rocks, a group of bottlenose dolphins swam around the ship with the light of the rising sun reflecting off their backs. We sailed on throughout the day, through the very fresh southeast trade winds blowing on our port bow, sighting the occasional seabird and flying fish.
In the afternoon, the peace and quiet of our passage was broken by an announcement from the bridge that King Neptune and his entourage had boarded the ship and required all hands to be gathered on the afterdeck for inspection and purification of those who had not previously “crossed the line” by ship. This is an ancient seafaring tradition to ensure that no diseases or other afflictions from the Northern Hemisphere are carried into the southern Hemisphere. King Neptune called each “pollywog” forward for their purification and when he was satisfied he allowed them to join the other”shellbacks” on board and for the ship to proceed south.
We were reminded of Charles Darwin’s account of his own ritual “crossing the line” on Beagle which must have occurred in exactly the same place as ours, because Beagle had stopped at SS. Peter and Paul Rocks and was sailing for Bahia. Darwin says that he “found this watery ordeal sufficiently disagreeable” and that “not one person, even the Captain, got clear of being wet through.” So the tradition continues and a fine time was had by all.
