Latitude: 22 03.3 South, Longitude:91 10.9 East

With a name as beautiful as IMANI, none of us quite believed we were really nearing a tropical cyclone. Nor were our weather reports conclusive - a weather fax from a Belgian crew stated "nothing to worry about". And a wildly different report from a French ship warned of an impending hurricane.

Better safe than sorry is always the rule of thumb, so we detoured North, making a wide arc around the possible weather. The crew sprung into batten down the hatches" mode, taking down sails, putting up the small storm sail, stowing away all loose gear, and stringing up a network of thick safety lines around the entire boat. The seas continue to build unmistakably.

"Lets go watch from the bow!" Marcus and I step outside. We're immediately enveloped in a thick sauna of warm, wet air. Thankful for the safety lines, we grab ahold, clip our harnesses on, and slip slide our way to the front rails. Mountains of water, deep valleys, and howling winds replace yesterdays gentle blue tapestry. The crew now wear their waterproof foul weather gear. Less prepared, we're soaked in a matter of minutes.

Just the other month, we found ourselves sailing through hurricane conditions in the North Atlantic. Our second hurricane, in another gyre! No one is concerned, least of all our Captain. Our detour will put us far from danger, but we will be in for a ride.

[Bron: 5Gyres-blog van Marcus & Anna]

Meer over de plastic soep:
> Meer blogs van Marcus Eriksen & Anna Cummins over de plastic soep
> Lees de blogs van Arend Bolt en Haico Wevers over de plastic soep
> Zie ook Dossier: De plastic soep