Darwin 200 Expedition

Auckland New Zealand to Sydney Australia Oct/Nov 2024

A last minute opportunity came up for me to join the Darwin 200 expedition, which is a 2 year voyage retracing the route that Charles Darwin famously took aboard The Beagle two hundred years ago. There are many legs to this epic voyage, and I was on board for the Auckland New Zealand to Sydney Australia leg.   I was on board representing The Explorers Club, as well as the educational non-profit Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants, which does live classroom broadcasts from the ship which is being called "The World's Most Exciting Classroom".   This voyage is aboard the Oosterschelde, a 3 masted top-sail schooner which was built in 1917 as a World War One cargo vessel. This tall ship has been completely restored and is the only one of 500 ships of this type that were built.   I'll also be doing some science, gathering water samples for eDNA analysis, which can tell us what species have been in the water recently.   The voyage will be about 2 weeks at sea without touching dry land until we reach Sydney

 

2024 10 30 - Auckland, New Zealand

A very long travel day today, which actually started on Oct 28th in Toronto. I flew from Toronto to Vancouver (about a 5 hour flight), then caught an overnight flight from Vancouver to Auckland (a 14 hour flight). I lost a day due to crossing the international date line. I landed in Auckland at about 5AM on the 30th. Tomorrow, I board the ship.

2024 10 31 - Auckland, New Zealand

Had some time to kill today, so I left my bags at the hotel and wandered around the city some more, and grabbed a bite to eat from a local grocery store. Eventually I picked up my bags and made the walk down to the ship where some of the other passengers were starting to gather.   There are 23 passengers and 7 crew on board. We had a bit of a briefing from the captain and then sat down to dinner. The ship is gorgeous. I wasn't sure when were going to leave, turns out tomorrow is the day, at 9:30 AM. I am sharing a cabin with Josh the videographer and Grant the ornithologist. It is a tiny cabin, but it'll do just fine. I found the case with the eDNA sampling equipment left by Eric Herrera. Part of my role on board is to gather water samples along our route for environmental DNA analysis.

2024 11 01 - Departing Auckland, New Zealand

Had a decent sleep last night, which was much needed. There have been some delays with New Zealand immigration, so we didn't shove off until about 1:30 or so.   After breakfast we did some safety drills, and discussed how the watch system works. I was scheduled for the very first watch, 4PM & then again at 4AM.   There was some time to kill this morning, so I went into downtown to pick up a few things, and on the way back, the fancy Mexican tall ship that was moored nearby was getting ready to depart. They did this in style! The crew were all dressed up. The officers in fancy uniforms, the crewmen in stereotypical sailor suits & hats, and they even had a man & woman dress in Mayan traditional outfits walk out to the very tip of the bow jib arm. As they left the dock, all the seamen climbed the rigging and stood up in the sails with their arms outstretched, then they began to sing as they pulled away. They kept this crazy pose until they were out of sight of us. It was really impressive to watch. VERY fancy, and quite a few of our group were there to witness this Mexican madness.   We went back to the ship, had lunch and the customs agents arrived and each of us had to briefly meet with them. Unfortunately, Grant, the ornithologist had a problem with his passport and couldn't get his Australian e-visa, so he wasn't allowed to continue on with us. He stayed behind in Auckland.   We shoved off in perfect weather and motored out into the harbour. Once a bit farther out, we started to put up some of the sails. There is a lot to learn about this process! It was very cool to be totally under wind power.   When 4:00 came around, my watch group were up. We adjusted more of the sails, and we each took turns at the helm for 30 minute stints.   The weather continued to be amazing, and at the end of dinner, the sun was getting low, so I dashed out to snap some sunset & Earth shadow pics. A really great first day with clear weather, calm seas, and overall perfect conditions to ease us into things. We're continuing up along the east side of the North Island tonight and tomorrow. I expect conditions to be more challenging once we turn the corner and head west.

2024 11 02 - East Coast of the North Island

Up at 3:45 AM for my first 4AM watch duty. There were clear skies and no moon which meant that the night sky was pretty amazing. The Milky Way, Orion, and the Southern Cross were all shining bright. We were even treated to a train of Starlink satellites, which was very cool to see in person.   The ship was running on engine power and the autohelm was on, so there wasn't much for us to do other than watch the stars. I tried shooting some long exposure photos, with little success. 90 second exposures look surreal with the stars turning into scribbles.   One of my roles on board is to gather water samples for an environmental DNA (eDNA) study project. I gather water samples, then process them for eventual analysis at a DNA lab. The DNA found in the water can tell us what species have been in the area.

2024 11 03 - Northern Tip Of New Zealand

Up early again for our watch shift. The ship was rolling and pitching heavily this morning as we navigated around the northern tip of New Zealand and into the Tasman Sea. I did my best to power through my nausea, but ultimately, the sea won, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging over the railing by the wheelhouse, vomiting up my dinner. It was awful, but one cool thing about it was that I could see the ship stirring up some bioluminescence. The wake of the boat caused the dinoflagellates to glow blue-green. We were leaving a trail of little glowing dots behind us. It almost made it worth barfing. I powered through a little more, but then had to vomit again. After that, I was done. I excused myself and went back to bed.   The ship continued to roll, and all I could do was curl up into a ball in my bunk. I asked a couple of the crew to kill me, but they refused. I skipped breakfast entirely, and had one little pizza slice for lunch. When dinner came round, I tried to eat some more, but as soon as I left the table to go back to my bunk, I had to dash back to the bathroom again. It was a long day, and I took zero photos and gathered zero eDNA samples. I also missed my afternoon AND overnight watch duties.

2024 11 04 - Tasman Sea

Feeling much better today. The worst of the ship rolling side to side had stopped, so I went out on deck to catch up with my fellow red team members as their overnight watch finished up. We were treated to a spectacular sunrise, with lots of golden crepuscular rays.   I even had a bit of breakfast And it stayed down. The worst seemed to be behind me now. The ship was still rolling like crazy, but I was starting to get my sea legs.   I spent most of the day out on deck. I took a water sample and got lots of flag photos. The sun was shining through some cirrus clouds which created a bright and persistent solar halo, which made for some nice photos with the ship’s sails in the foreground. A big group of us took down one of the sails because we were just barely crawling forward, about 2 knots. It was quite the effort for all of us to bring down the sail, the get it folded up on deck.   The sunset was also very nice, but the highlight of the day was spotting the green flash right at the moment of sunset.   The food on board has been consistently great. I don't know how it's even possible to cook for so many people in these rolling seas. I went to bed right after dinner, knowing that I had to be up the morning at 3:45 AM for watch duty.

2024 11 05 - Tasman Sea

My stomach was feeling even better today. When I got up for 4 AM watch duty it was mostly cloudy, and we were on engine power due to the lack of wind. There wasn't much for us to do, so I tried to photograph the bioluminescence, but it was not as bright today, but the sunrise was nice, with more crepuscular rays. Today we change the clocks back an hour and the shift rotation changes.   It turned into the warmest day we've had so far, mostly sunny, and there was even another solar halo just before lunch. Right after lunch there was also a brief circumhorizonal arc. The time zone switch happened with the ship time being turned back 1 hour, and my red group were on watch from 1:30 to 4:00. Later tonight our next watch is from midnight until 4 AM.   The afternoon watch was quiet, no sails needed to be adjusted, so I took the opportunity to get some photos of me at the helm of the ship, and some photos with The Explorers Club Flag # 101.   Conditions were really nice with almost no swell, but enough wind to get us moving at about 5 to 6 knots or so. Eventually, the sunshine gave way to clouds, and it got much cooler.

2024 11 06 - Tasman Sea

Up at midnight for watch. The engines were off and we were on 100% sail power. It had gotten cold and the swell had picked up a lot. Walking around the top deck with almost no light is always tricky, especially before your eyes have had the chance to adjust to the darkness. I had the first turn at the helm, which is good because I didn't last the whole shift. I tried to be helpful by running errands to the galley etc, but I was feeling queasy and had to bail about 30 minutes before the end of our shift. The swell continued to be pretty bad, and the weather had turned. It was very windy, and had started to rain lightly. I dashed to my bunk and went straight into bed.   I got up for breakfast at 7:30 while most of the team had decided to sleep through it. There was some lingering rain, so I had all my wet weather gear on for the start of our watch, but it cleared up very quickly and got really nice, with blue skies. The swell was still bothering me a bit, but I pushed through and I started to feel a bit better.   Towards the end of our shift, it was determined that we needed to untie the Schooner mast topsail. I was feeling better so I volunteered, along with Janna from Alberta It was a bit nerve wracking climbing up the rigging, especially untethered for the main climb. Once up at the top and with safety clip in place, I worked my way out onto the upper topsail yard. Up there, there's only a foot rope to stand on, so it is very unstable. We untied the sail and let it open up. What a view from up there! It's a good thing that I'm not afraid of heights.

2024 11 07 - Tasman Sea

The day started off pretty good. Had breakfast, took a water sample for the environmental DNA project. It involves taking water samples and recording the GPS location, water temperature, and pH of each, then filtering them to squeeze out the water. What's left behind contains cells from any organisms that have been in the area recently. These samples will be sent back to North America to be analyzed as part of a biodiversity survey. Part of my role on board the ship is to collect samples of seawater and prepare them for eventual eDNA analysis.   Later in the day, I participated in an educational classroom session via satellite. The Darwin 200 team call these the “World’s Most Exciting Classroom". videographer Josh Clarke and I hopped on the video call with host Joe Grabowski back in Canada. We talked to students about how things have been going on the expedition, how the eDNA sampling works, and I went into some detail about some of the weather and optical phenomena we've been experiencing out here.   After lunch I rejoined the team outside for regular watch duty, but I was already starting to feel seasick again, so I packed it in and returned to my bunk. I did manage to get up again for a nice sunset though.

2024 11 08 - Tasman Sea

Big swell continues this morning. I skipped midnight watch and stayed in my cabin. At breakfast I grabbed a bowl of fruit and ate it in my bunk. By about 1:00 PM I felt a bit better and joined the red team outside, but when we came in for lunch, I was not doing well. I managed a little bit of soup and then it was right back to bed. By 5:00 The sky was clear and the swell had lessened somewhat.   I stayed in bed until dinner time, had a quick bite, took some sunset photos, then back to bed. I did get up for the midnight shift. The half moon was shining bright, and there were distant thunderstorms flashing. I was looking for red sprites (exotic high altitude lightning), but didn't see any. One other team mate thinks she did see one. I only lasted about an hour or so on watch before I got too queasy and had to turn in.

2024 11 09 - Tasman Sea

Feeling better this morning. Got up and had a proper bacon & eggs breakfast. It looks like we might be getting in to Sydney a day early due to favourable winds. We'll see. The sky is blue and we seem to be going at a good speed. Today we change shifts to the 8:00 watch and we set our clocks to Sydney time.   By mid day, I was feeling ill again with the Oosterschelde rolling side to side quite a bit. Josh the videographer on board did manage to send the drone up a couple of times. Once in the afternoon, then again at sunset. Again I spent a lot of time in bed today. I didn't eat much at dinner, then red team had 8:00 watch. Mostly clear skies with a bright half moon. I tried my best, but the swell got the better of me, and despite trying to fight it, I had to vomit over the port side about an hour into watch. That was it for me… Back to my bunk.

2024 11 10 - Tasman Sea

I slept solidly through the night and the swell had reduced, so I felt invigorated. French toast breakfast, then back to 8 AM watch duty. Weather was good, a mix of sun and clouds. We were quite busy, putting up one of the jib sails, then hoisting the main mast topsail and a few other tasks. I managed to make it all the way through the shift, no problem.   It looks like a big low pressure system is going to come raging into the Tasman Sea from northern Australia. Luckily, it appears that we'll already be in Sydney harbour when it arrives. If we were held up by a couple of days, it would be nasty.   In the afternoon, there was a small pod of dolphins that swam past, but they didn't stick around long enough to get a photo. The weather started to deteriorate in the late afternoon, and it was becoming clear that we were in for a stormy evening (unrelated to the big weather system that was predicted). We were close enough to the Sydney radar site for me to use the Radarscope app on my phone to see the storm.   Right before dinner, it started to rain, so the hatches got battened down, and as we ate, it just picked up more and more. When our 8:00 shift started, it was torrential, so full rain gear was required. The wind was howling, and there was thunder & lightning on both sides of us. We (red team and all the crew) scrambled to take down the schooner mast main sail and stow it temporarily, leaving just one topsail in place. Even with just the one sail, we managed to break our speed record for this leg at 10.3 knots. The rain just kept on coming, but luckily the swell was not bad at all. We had following seas, so it was manageable. Eventually, the clouds thinned, the rain stopped, and the bright half-moon became visible. Soon, it was mostly clear with stars and now distant lightning.   It was my favourite shift of the whole trip. The sea really lets you know how small and insignificant we really are.   We handed the shift over to the white team at midnight, and I went to bed. The rest of the night however was filled with a lot of port-starboard rolling, which did not make for great sleep.

2024 11 11 - Western Tasman Sea

Mostly overcast this morning and cooler after the stormy night. Our morning watch spent a lot of time properly folding up the sail we took down during the storm. It's now pretty much certain that we are going to arrive in in Sydney a day early... Tomorrow instead of the 13th.   At first I was disappointed with the sunset, but a few minutes later the entire sky looked like it was on fire with pastel pinks and oranges. Amazing!   Our last night watch was tonight. What a difference a day makes. Winds were light, and we were basically adrift, with just a couple of knots of forward motion. We could finally see some other boats ahead of us. At least 2 fishing boats with very bright lights were also drifting around. We tried to radio them but got no response. It was overcast, and every now and then there was flash of in-cloud lightning.   We were all pretty exhausted, and the time crept past slowly. I was grateful when midnight came ‘round and I could get some sleep. Unfortunately at about 5 AM, the ship really started to take on a serious side to side roll.

2024 11 12 - Arrival In Sydney, Australia

Our last day. It's been an amazing 12 days at sea, and it all came to crescendo today. Red team had the first watch, but it was more or less all hands on deck in order to prepare for our arrival. We could now start to see land ahead, the skyscrapers of Sydney showing themselves through the haze. There were some rain showers in the area, but luckily, the weather stayed good for us.   What an epic arrival in Sydney! We arrived at Sydney Harbour to red carpet treatment after our 12 day crossing of the Tasman Sea from New Zealand. The port authority sent a fire fighting boat to greet us, and they had their water cannons shooting in the air. A news helicopter was circling overhead, and another tall ship from the Sydney Maritime Museum joined us for part of the arrival   It was amazing to sail past the Sydney Opera House and underneath the Harbour Bridge as we entered Sydney Harbour. The Australian wildlife even came to greet us. A kookaburra bird (rare in the city) landed on our mast and rode along with us as we slowly made it into the inner harbour, all under 100% wind power. We're now docked at the Maritime Museum. What a journey! It's been an honour to be aboard this amazing vessel, the Oosterschelde with her fantastic crew, and to be helping out with the Darwin 200 expedition.   The total distance travelled aboard the tall ship was 1417 nautical miles, (2624 km) (1630 miles)

2024 11 13-15 - Sydney, Australia

It's so great to be in the vibrant city of Sydney, but my body still thinks the boat is moving, especially when I look at my computer screen.   The Oosterscheld is docked right in Darling Harbour, beside the Sydney Maritime Museum. It's a fantastic spot with great views of the city.   While moored here, I took my last water sample for the eDNA project, right from the Sydney Harbour (I can only imagine what the results will look like). I also did a video call from the deck of the ship for The World's Most Exciting Classroom with Joe Grabowski as a bit of a wrap-up for leg 24 of the journey. I had the city skyline behind me, which was very cool.   After spending 2 nights docked here, I moved off the ship and into a local hotel. I spent the days walking around the city, exploring the different neighborhoods. I even met up with James Gorman, one of my storm chasing friends that travelled to the U.S. while I was guiding for Cloud 9 Tours, many years ago.

2024 11 16 - Blue Mountains National Park

What an amazing day.   Of course, the Darwin 200 expedition celebrates the 200th anniversary of the historic voyage that Charles Darwin took aboard The Beagle, so how fitting was it that I got to join a bunch of the project team and Darwin 200 leaders on a day hike along the Darwin Trail in the Blue Mountains National Park... But it gets better. We were joined by none other than Chris Darwin, the great great grandson of Charles Darwin. What a treat. But wait, there's more. We were also joined by Frank Nicholas, Australia's top historian regarding all things Charles Darwin.   We followed in the exact footsteps that Darwin took when he came here so many years ago. We saw the same landscapes and views that he wrote about in his journals. The forest was fantastic, teeming with life... Especially the cicadas! The noise was deafening at times, it would seem that our visit was perfectly timed with their emergence.

2024 11 17 - Bondi Beach, New South Wales

After getting back to Sydney from the Blue Mountains yesterday, I met up with good friend Daniel Shaw. He's an Australian storm chaser that I've known for many, many years. He's become a very prominent figure in the storm chasing community here in Australia, but also in North America. He picked me up at my hotel, and gave me a personalized tour of Sydney and down to, The Gap, and the Bondi Beach area where he lives. We went out for dinner (and some really great ice cream), and I stayed at his place for the night.

2024 11 18 - Sydney Opera House

Last night Joe Grabowski from Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants, and Darwin 200 Educational Director arrived in Sydney from Canada. He and I joined the team and bunch of local students aboard the Oosterschelde for a day cruise around Sydney Harbour. Joe brought a small portable ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) with him that we used to do some undersea filming at a couple of different spots in the harbour. The winds were quite strong, creating currents that kept blowing the tether cable along the surface. It was hard for me to tell if the tension on the cable was from the ROV or the current, so I kept letting out slack on the 200 meter spool we had. Well, it ended up a giant tangled mess that was difficult to collect back up (I'm so sorry).   After lunch, the ship laid a course for the iconic Sydney Opera House for a very special Darwin 200 event. An evening of conservation talks from Chris Darwin, the project leaders, several Darwin 200 Leaders talking about their research projects, and I even took the stage. I talked about my background, my involvement with the Darwin project, how the leg from New Zealand went, and a bit about my thoughts on the relationship between exploration and conservation. It was a wonderful evening, and a true honour to give a talk at the Sydney Opera House.

2024 11 19 - Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia

Early this morning, Joe and I took a rental car and drove north of Sydney to the Nelson Bay area for a couple of days. The plan was to meet up with and interview a few people from some of the conservation partners up there. Today we stopped in at Irukandji Shark And Ray Encounters, an interactive aquarium and marine-life conservation centre where they provide people the opportunity to get up close with quite a few local species of sharks & rays. They also have a non-profit organization called Sea Shelter that is dedicated to research, rescue, release, rehabilitation and regeneration of marine species. While visiting, I got to snorkel with their various sting rays. At one point, I was sitting in the shallows and had 3 sting rays swimming up into my lap as I was trying to feed them. Their skin was so much smoother and softer than I expected.

2024 11 20 - Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia

Today we visited the Port Stevens Koala Hospital. What an amazing place. We interviewed one of their education/outreach people and she gave us the grand tour of the facility. They take care of injured or sick koalas, and depending on their condition, some may get released back into the wild, but some will live out the rest of their lives here. One cute, but blind, koala was enjoying her breakfast when we arrived. She was adorable. There was also a mom with an injured leg who had her baby perched on her back. They are expected to be returned to the wild. The facility has some pretty impressive resources, including their own MRI machine. In addition to koalas, they also care for other wildlife that is in need of medical care.   In the afternoon, we met up with the folks from Sea Shelter again. This time at a local beach for a release of a green sea turtle back into the wild. The turtle had been recovering for the past 6 weeks at their facility after being found snarled up in some fishing line. When it was time to release the turtle, it wasted no time and quickly dashed into the water and swam away. It was really nice to see this kind of animal rescue in action.

2024 11 21 - Sydney to Toronto

My adventure has come to an end, and what an adventure it's been! What a privilege it's been to be aboard the Oosterschelde, participating in the Darwin 200 expedition. Huge thanks to all the organizers: Stewart, Joost, and especially Joe Grabowski. It's because of him that I was able to be a part of this epic journey.   The trip home was a long one: 4 airports 16 time zones 36 hours of travel 1 last minute airport change

 

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