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OCEAN WATCHAND THE EPIC JOURNEY AROUND THE AMERICASONE iAN, ONE OCEAN
Written by Herb McCormick
Photography by David Thoreson
Foreword by David Rockefeller Jr.
Introdction by Captain Mark Schrader
Preface by R. Bryce Seidl
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ONE iAN,
ONE OCEANOCEAN WATCHAND THE EPIC
JOURNEY AROUND THE AMERICAS
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TAE Of CONTENT
Foreword by David Rockefeller Jr. 6
Introduction by Captain Mark Schrader 8
Preface by R. Bryce Seidl 10
PRT 1 North to the iceSeattle to Newfoundland via the Arcti c Circle and the Northwest Passage
Chapter 1 From the Big House to the Ghosts of War 18
Chapter 2 Ice Capades 28
Chapter 3The Biologist, the Hunter, and the Birdman 38
Chapter 4A Northwest Passage 46
Chapter 5Into the Fray 60
Special SectionScience Aboard Ocean Watch 66
Picturing the JourneyA Vanishing Way of Life 70
PRT 2 The ong log outhAcross the equator from the Canadian Marit imes to the Falk land Is lands
Chapter 6Down the Eastern Seaboard 76
Chapter 7Crossing the Line 84
Chapter 8Brazils Bitter Bulge 92
Chapter 9The Roaring Forties 100
Chapter 10Falkland Islands Interlude 108
Special SectionLessons Learned along the Way 114
Picturing the JourneyChampagne Sailing 118
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PRT 3 Cape Horn to tarboardThe triumphant rounding of the Horn; a sobering passage through Patagonia
Chapter 11 Racing the Williwaws 124
Chapter 12 Isla Hornos 132
Chapter 13 In Patagonia 142
Chapter 14 A Prayer for Fragile Chile 152
Chapter 15 Valpo 160
Special SectionEducation on Board 166
Picturing the JourneySoaring with the Albatross 170
PRT 4 Closng the CrcleA Pacic passage: El Nio, the Baja Bash, the Golden Gate . . . and home
Chapter 16 Earthquake, El Nio, and the Missing Trade Winds 176
Chapter 17 In Darwins Wake 184
Chapter 18 Costa Rica and the Baja Bash 194
Chapter 19 Old Glory 204
Chapter 20Closing the Circle 214
Special SectionPlastic Pollution and the Pacic Garbage Patch 224
Picturing the JourneyParting Shots 228
Resources 232
Index 235
Acknowledgments 239
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fOEWO
Dvi Rokfr Jr.
in the realm o ocean exploration, there are not many frsts still
to be accomplished. But Mark Schrader has achieved one. He
skippered Ocean Watch as the frst-ever continuous, west-to-east
circumnavigation by sail o the American continents. On this epic
journey, he invited journalists, educators, and scientists to join him,and together they documented and reported on the condition o the
Western Hemispheres precious ocean systems and the coastal residents
who depend upon them.
Te mission oOcean Watch began in association with Sailors
or the Sea, an organization ounded by David readway and me in
response to the Pew Commissions 2003 report on the declining health
o our American waters. Our goal is to convert the recreational users o
a valuable resourcein this case, sailors and other boaters who enjoy
the ocean and coastal watersinto stewards o it.In 2006, we asked ourselves what Mark, a veteran solo ocean
circumnavigator, could do to help us awaken boaters to the dangerous
decline in global ocean health. Te answer became an expedition called
Around the Americas, accomplished on a 64-oot (20-m) steel cutter
named Ocean Watch. Trough the icy Northwest Passage, around the
stormy Cape Horn, and beyond, Ocean Watch and her crew o brave
reporters traveled 25,000 nautical miles in a little more than a year.One
Island, One Ocean is the remarkable report o that voyage.
One Island, One Ocean documents the importance o oceanconservationthe very heart o Sailors or the Seas mission. Fisheries
are being shameully depleted. Coral rees are being diminished. Plastic
and chemical pollutants are clogging and poisoning our lie-giving
oceans. Ocean acidifcation is jeopardizing all sea lie. We hope that our
eorts can, in some small way, help raise awareness o this issue.
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iNTOCTiON
Whether it was doodling on a pad while talking on the phone
or sitting in class and looking at a map, or as long ago as I
can remember, Ive always drawn circles around things that
interested me. A long time ago, when the Fourth o July corn was tallerthan me, I drew a circle on a county map around my parents Nebraska
arm, then packed a lunch, oiled the bike chain, and headed out or a
country-road circumnavigation o the amily arm. o this day, i Im
interested in learning about something, I draw a circle around it, trying to
corral my curiosity and imagination within that boundary. Sometimes the
circles are small, sometimes they are bigand sometimes I use them as a
path that will lead to an interesting journey.
Tis book is the story o one such journey. It is clear to anyone
paying attention that our climate is changing; our mighty oceans are inpoor health; and countless orms o marine and land species are headed
or unhappy times at bestand extinction at worst. And, I think its
air to say, were not paying enough attention to the causes o these
changes. It is clear to the scientists who study the eects we as humans
have on our environment that some o our behaviors need to change or
entire vital ocean ecosystems will be destroyed orever. Our schools need
to raise marine science and ocean-health education to the urgent and
important status our present predicament requires. Nothing less than
the survival o the oceansand ultimately the human raceis at stake.While in Italy on a small boat with riends David Rockeeller Jr.
and David readway, the conversation turned to ideas on how best to
motivate sailors and other direct users o our ocean resources to help
change destructive practices and take ownership o the complex issues
surrounding ocean health. I was suddenly paying close attention. Tis
was something that needed a circle drawn around ita big one.
Tat day in Italy, I heard mysel saying to my riends, Perhaps i
we drew a circle around the Americas to highlight the act that they are
an island, surrounded by one ocean, and then used that circle as a path
or an extended educational voyage, we could actually raise awareness
in meaningul ways and change behavior. Te circle suddenly became
much bigger, and the Around the Americas voyage was born.
Having the conversations, crating the idea, and drawing the circle
were the easy parts. Te doing o it was the challenge. And although anyday at sea will present unexpected challenges, thirteen months at sea on
a 25,000-nautical-mile course with more than fty port calls in thirteen
countries elevated those challenges to a new level or all o us. Along
this route, but at opposite ends o the Earth, were two extraordinarily
dicult passages: the Arctics abled Northwest Passage and South
Americas Cape Horn. Te boat, the crew, and the shore support or
the expedition needed to be as well prepared as possible in order to
successully meet not only those challenges but also other extraordinary
events along the way.Without our partners, contributors, supporters, educators,
scientists, and guest crew, our idea would still be just thatan idea.
Te circle would be just a drawing on a page. But with the support o
the core crew o Herb McCormick, David Toreson, and Dave Logan,
along with onboard educators Zeta Strickland and Roxanne Nanninga,
oceanographer Michael Reynolds, and more than two dozen other
visiting guest crew, we were able to accomplish our mission. Sailor,
writer, and riend Herb documented the entire voyage so that we could
share our story; photographer, sailor, riend, and ellow MidwesternerDavid captured extraordinary images o the good, the bad, and the truly
magnifcent things we saw along the way; and, o utmost importance to
all o us with lives at stake, the reft, preparation, and maintenance o our
mighty little ship, the S/V Ocean Watch, landed on the able shoulders o
riend and frst mate Dave.
For an expedition o this dimension, our onshore and onboard
teams were small, ecient, and absolutely dedicated to our mission. In
our view, the ocean deserves nothing less. On behal o this team, it is my
privilege to extend a hearty thank-you to our supporters or making it
possible or this voyage to be completed and this story to be told.
Mrk Srr
Cpi of Ocean Watch
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PEfACE
The story oOcean Watch and the Around the Americas voyage
is a global story, but it i s made up o countless small storieso
people, geography, culture, adventure, science, and more.
Visionaries David Rockeeller Jr., David readway, and Mark
Schrader understood that a prerequisite to changing the devastating
trends o ocean degradation was a much broader understanding o
human dependence on the oceans and our stake in protecting them.
With oceans so vast, we simply do not have enough ocean advocates
to drive political action or grassroots behavioral change. Tese men
understood that the world o science oers the tools to measure,
quantiy, and describe the orces degrading the oceans. Tey understood
that science, to be understood and appreciated by general audiences,
needed to be presented in ways relevant to local populations. Tey
also understood the power o adventure to capture the attention o
people in all cultures. From this was born the Around the Americasexpeditiona journey combining adventure, science, and storytelling
to awaken broader understandings o our oceans and our dependence
on them.
On the surace, this frst-ever circumnavigation o the American
continents is an adventure story starring a sturdy sailboat, a movie-
worthy crew, and a shore-based team o supporters, all ueled by
generous donors. From the stark Arctic oceans and their declining ice
covers through steaming tropical seas and the challenges o ferce storms
in the southern oceans, we ound adventure aplenty.But underlying this expedition is a story important to all
6.5 billion people living on this planetthe story o our dependence on
oceans once assumed to be so massive that they could absorb anything
we might do to them. Many, many people now know how wrong that
assumption was, but ew people yet understand what is happening and
what can be done about it.
Te data is unequivocal. Our oceans are changing, and the
changes are all bad rom the perspective o human lie on the planet.
Te euents o auence, both chemical and physical, are now visible
or measurable in virtually all o the waters o the globe. Growing
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving changes in global climate,
raising ocean levels as ice caps at our poles melt at accelerating rates and
threatening the capacity o habitats to support ood production or our
growing world population. Te carbon dioxide is being absorbed into
our seas, making the pH more acidic. Tis subtle change is degrading
the capacity o the oceans to support the biologic community that is the
base o the ood chain or virtually all marine animals.
A remarkable team was built with a commitment to do what we
could to move world attention toward addressing these issues. A crew
o our men with extensive marine sailing credentials and a 64-oot
(20-m) sailboat were the core. A captain, a frst mate, a photographer,
and a marine author executed this remarkable thirteen-month,
25,000-nautical-mile voyage. Pacifc Science Center in Seattle wasenlisted to bring science and education programs to the project. With
major help rom the University o Washington or analytical equipment,
visiting scientists measured ocean and atmospheric conditions and
perormed other science o convenience. Onboard educators organized
and presented ocean science in ports o call dockside, in schools and
communities, with the crew becoming environmental rock stars in port
ater port. With major press coverage and a Web presence, the voyage
touched the minds and hearts o thousands o people in countries
around the world.While the challenges are huge, so is my optimism. Te
degradation o the oceans is the result o billions o us doing small,
largely inadvertent things that in their totality are hugely damaging.
Te good news is that billions o us making small changes in our lives
can also have huge positive inuences on the oceans. I we have helped
create a growing chorus o voices raising these issues to a level o action
at the local, national, and international levels o politics and individual
actions, our adventure with a mission will have been well worth it.
R. Bry Si
Pri CEO, Pifi Si Cr
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iAAm Of
OCEAN WATCHTe accompanying diagrams depict the sail plan
and belowdecks layout or the steel cutter OceanWatch, which underwent a complete reft in Seattle
prior to the Around the Americas expedition. Te
versatile cutter rig employed several headsails (the
sails orward o the mast) that were set depending
on the wind strength and direction. Te mainsail
could also be reeed, or shortened to balance the
boat in heavy breeze. Down below, the crews sleeping
quarters were located in the orward and at sections
o the vessel; the central main cabin and workshop
served multiple roles, including navigating, cooking,
socializing, repairs, and research.
Working staysail
Genoa jib
Mainsail
Mainsail battens
Reef pointsWhen winds are high and less sailis advised, the sail is lowered tothese points.
Radar andcommunicationequipment
Dinghy andkayak storage
500-pound
(227-kg) capacityelectric crane
Winslow 10-person life raft
Storm staysail
Roller furlingheadrail
Masthead instruments for collectionof weather and atmospheric data
The boats specications:Ocean Watch: Bruce Rober ts 64-foot (20-m) Pilot House CutterDisplacement: 44 tons (39 t)Draft: 9 feet (2.7 m)Power: Lugger Mariene 135 HP DieselGenerator: Northern Lights 15 NWRange (Power): 1,400 nautical miles
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Crew berths (4)
Washer/dryer/head (bathroom)
Dining area
Galley (kitchen)
Skippers berth
First mates berthStorage
Second head (bathroom)
Workshop
Navigation station
Private side cabin (2 berths)
Storage locker
Workstation
Aft lazarette gear storage
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AlertBay,Canada
Jun
eau,U.S.
Cam
bridgeBay,
Canada
GjoaHaven,Canada
PondInlet,Canada
Herschel
Island,Canada
Tu
ktoyaktuk,Canada
Unalaska/
DutchHarbor,U.S.
Nome,U.S.
Barrow/
Cooper
Island,U.S.
Seattle,U.S.
Portland,U
.S.
SanFrancisco,U.S.
SanDiego,U.S.
SantaBarbara,U.S.
CaboSanLucas,Mexico
PuertoVallarta,
Mexico
Acapulco,
Mexico
SanJuan,Puer
toRico
Miami,U.S.
Charleston,U.S.
NewYork,U.S.
Boston,U
.S.
Halifax,CanadaS
t.Johns,Canada
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CocosIsland,CostaR
ica
0
1,000
miles
Puntarenas,CostaRica
GalpagosIslands,Ecuador
Lim
a/Callao,Peru
St.Lucia
Cayenne,
FrenchGuiana
SoLuis,Brazil
Natal,Brazil
Valparaso,C
hile
PuertoMontt,Chile
M
ardelPlata,Argentina
PuertoWilliams,Chile
PortStanley,FalklandIslands,U.K.
PuntadelEste,Uruguay
RiodeJaneiro,Brazil
mAPOf
ArOuNdT
HE
AmEriCA
s
ExPEdiTiO
N
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one island, one ocean88
It didnt take long before Skipper Schrader made an executive
decision regarding our route: rather than push on directly for Rio, we
would aim for Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian archipelago about
2,000 nautical miles away. But soon Ocean Watch was bucking into a
nasty, 2-to-3-knot opposing current, further impeding our progress. Attimes our speed was a mere 3 to 4 knots.
Furthermore, because we were using so much fuel to batter our way
upwind and up currentwith a range under a combination of engine
and sail of about 1,000 nautical milesit soon became apparent that if
we had any hope of rounding Cape Horn in January, we couldnt aord
the luxury of an extended, open-ended voyage to Fernando de Noronha.
In other words, given our schedule and circumstances, wed need to
make a second, more urgent unplanned stop to top o the diesel tanks.
Scanning the charts, there were few options. Te closest, most direct
alternative was the city of Cayenne, on the coast of French Guiana. In
fact, we were aiming directly for it.
As we approached Cayenne on the afternoon of November 19,
the color of the water changed from green, to greenish brown, to light
brown, to a color that could be called liquid Fudgsicle, a thick, murky,
almost chocolate-like substance made all the more bizarre by the
wind and current stirring its ow. Te coursing waterway leading intoCayenne bears a lyrical namethe Fleuve Mahurybut Dave Logan, at
the helm, had a dierent handle, one that quite accurately described the
scene we were witnessing.
It looks like the river where cappuccino comes from, he said.
What we were actually gazing at was the murky outow of the Amazon
River to the south.
Once the anchor was set in the ripping tidal ow at the head of the
Fleuve Mahury, we stopped for a moment to take in our surroundings. Gazing
at the jungle lining the canal, we had our rst hard look at South America.
Te only unsettling problem was, once we actually stepped ashore,
it appeared that wed landed in France.
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13 2 one island, one ocean
It is a place o maritime myth and lore, celebrated in tales, verse, and
song. As South Americas southernmost bit o land, the one and
only Cape Horn is a speck on the chart o the vast Southern Ocean
at 5558'47" S by 6716'18" W. Situated on a hardscrabble slab o rockcalled Isla Hornos, in the Hermite Islands group, Cape Horn orms the
tip o this isolated island at the southern terminus o the abled ierra
del Fuego archipelago.
Cape Horn has been called the Mount Everest o ofshore sailing,
and the list o voyagers whove sailed long and hard to gaze upon it is
storied and select: Sir Francis Drake, Vito Dumas, Bernard Moitessier,
Sir Francis Chichester, Robin Knox-Johnston, and, yes, Mark Schrader,
among others. On January 22, 2010, Ocean Watch set sail or it.
Just one day ater arriving in Puerto Williams, Chile, ollowinga robust passage rom the Falkland Islands, the 64-oot (20-m) cutter
set orth on the single-most signicant leg o the entire expedition
around the Americasnamely, the rounding o Cape Horn. Te crew
had arrived with plans to wait as long as necessary or an ideal weather
window, but as it turned out, it was a brie pause. David Toreson, who
was our onboard meteorologist in addition to photographer and watch
captain, had been tracking the weather or more than a week. He wrote
in the immediate hours ater clearing Chilean customs:
As Ocean Watch arrived in Puerto Williams, there appeared
to be two small weather windows existing to head south to Cape
Horn in northwesterly gales. is has been apparent now for the
last few days, but the problem then becomes, What next?
is question develops because of the tremendous west to east
directional airow, and this week is no exception with gales
forecasted for four of the next six days.
Using the gale from the west-northwest to leave Puerto Williams
and head south to an anchorage close to the Horn positions us
close enough to then take advantage of a directional change or
decrease in pressure.
Tomorrow afternoon ( January 23) brings a forecasted wind ofWNW 10 to 15 knots on both the east and west sides of the
Horn. is is the weather window to take our shot before the
south and westerly gales kick right back in overnight.
In other words, the window was open, and the long-term orecast
suggested that once it closedwhen the parade o westerly gales that
were also prominently eatured on the weather maps began marching
throughit might be weeks beore wed enjoy such a avorable
meteorological picture.
isla hornoscaper 12
Above: Buffeted by high winds on the way to Cape Horn, the crew wasrewarded by a rare eas terly breezeand set their spinnaker(oppositepage)while round ing the famous landmark , shrouded in mis t.
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13 4 one island, one ocean
O course, as we set sail rom Puerto Williams, we had no clue that
much o the short-term orecast was pure ction.
ChSIng hIStoy
Te rst European sailors to lay eyes on the Horn may well have been
Sir Francis Drake and his crew. In the all o 1578, Drake sailed through
the Strait o Magellan and into the Pacic Ocean. Beore he got very ar,a vicious northerly lled in, and Drake was blown southward, toward
Antarctica. South o ierra del Fuego, he realized that the archipelago
was not another continent, as believed at the time, but instead was a
group o islandsincluding Isla Hornosthat bordered an open sea .
Tat expanse o water between the Horn and Antarctica is today known
as Drake Passage, an enduring epitaph or his troubles.
It was almost orty years later, in January 1616, that the Dutch
merchant mariner Willem Schouten set out or the South Atlantic in
search o a new route to the Far East. Schouten commanded two ships,the Eendracht and the Hoorn, the latter o which was shipwrecked en
route. Eendracht carried orth by hersel, and in late January, almost 394
years to the day beore Ocean Watchs Horn attempt, Schouten ound
what hed been looking or. Tis excerpt rom the ships log tells the story:
In the evening 25 January 1616 the winde was South West,
and that night wee went South with great waves or billowes out
of the southwest, and very blew water, whereby wee judged, and
held for certaine that . . . it was the great South Sea, whereat we
were exceeding glad to thinke that wee had discovered a way,
which until that time, was unknowne to men, as afterward wee
found it to be true.
On 29 January 1616 we saw land againe lying northwest and
north northwest from us, which was the land that lay South
from the straights of Magellan which reacheth Southward, all
high hillie lande covered over with snow, ending with a sharpe
point which wee called Kaap Hoorn [Cape Horn] . . .
Especially through the Great Age o Sail rom the 1700s to the
early 1900s, Cape Horn was a signicant waypoint on the well-traveled
clipper routes or the grand square rigs that carried much o the worlds
trade. Te hard men who drove those ships were called Cape Horners,
and or them swimming was not considered a useul skill. Te idea was
that i they went overboard in those godorsaken seas, it was thought
better to get it over with quickly. Te frst yachtsman to sail these waters was the crusty American
solo sailor Joshua Slocum. Slocum was the frst man to sail around the
world alone, and he visited ierra del Fuegowhere he amously scattered
carpet tacks across his deck to dissuade the natives rom boardingin
1895. But its unclear whether he actually rounded Cape Horn.
Tere is no doubt, however, about Conor OBrien, who
successully negotiated Cape Horn aboard his 42-oot (13-m) Saoirse
in the early 1920s. Te great Argentine navigator Vito Dumas was the
rst man to sail around the world alone via the Horn, in 1942. Te
Above and above center : On the way south, a shipwreckreminded us of the need to be careful, while the sea life and
their endles s surpr ises reminded us of what an intrigu ingjourney we were on.
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13 5isla hornos
Top: (From left): David Rockefeller, Mark Schrader, David Treadway, andNed Cabot were key members of the Cape Horn team.Above: During abreak in the action, Cabot tended to a shore-side blaze. Following pages:As we closed in on the Horn, conditions deteriorated.
as we set sail from puerto
williams, we had no clue
that the short-term
forecast was pure fiction.
renowned English aviator and navigator Francis Chichester earned a
knighthood in 1966 or circling the globe solo, past Cape Horn, with
a single layover in Australia. And another British legend, Robin Knox-
Johnston, was the rst to accomplish the eat without stopping when
he won the Golden Globe Race in the late 1960s.
No one ever did a better job o romanticizing the place than
the Frenchman Bernard Moitessier, who rounded the cape twice andwrote a pair o books about the experience that inspired generations o
young French adventurers. Ever since, French sailors have dominated
marathon single-handed races and crewed round-the-world records
around Cape Horn. In act, our own Mark Schrader was the rst
American to circle the planet alone via the ve great southern capes
including the Hornin 1982.
Tis time, Schrader had plenty o company: a crew o eight,
our biggest since leaving Seattle. Along with the core crew o our,
the team included our translator, Horacio Rosell; Sailors or the Seaounder David Rockeeller Jr. and coounder and board member
David readway, both o whom came aboard in Puerto Williams; and
accomplished long-distance sailor and another Sailors or the Sea board
member, Ned Cabot, whod joined the boat in the Falkland Islands.
In the Chilean channels, the Chilean Armada, as the countrys
navy is called, closely monitors the movements o all vessels, insisting
upon regular position updates via VHF radio on a twice-daily basis.
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