Charles Darwin Foundation Youth Visit

We began with a tour of the decks. The ship was in the full flurry of handover – the three precious days in which there are no voyage crew onboard where we overhaul the ship, preparing for the next adventure. The youth group saw the tail ends of painting the scuppers, packing away the zodiacs and lowering the outboards from one deck to the other. There was more than one reference to the pirate-themed anime series, ‘One Piece’ as the group excitedly took in the surrounding hubbub. We showed them to the helm where they learnt how we steer the ship, each taking a turn to play captain at the wheel. Next, we went to the library where each of Europa’s voyages have been carefully charted on a framed map of the world, explaining how we follow traditional passages in accordance with the trade winds, taking the same route to Galapagos as Darwin did on the Beagle.

Over juice and cookies, we shared stories of our past voyages and spoke about the wildlife we see in Antarctica, comparing it to the creatures of Galapagos. We talked about the flightless Galapagos cormorant, how evolution took from them the ability to fly in favour of greater swimming capabilities. In comparison, the Antarctic cormorant has adapted a waterproofing oil in the feathers, sacrificing dive depth for warmth in frigid waters. Galapagos is blessed with waved albatrosses, unusually close to the equator for a family of birds who rely upon the high winds of the polar latitudes. One reason for their presence on the archipelago is the effect of the Humboldt Current, contributing not only cool, nutrient rich polar waters to the tropics, but also brining Southern Ocean species like penguins. We ended with a video from the voyage from Callao, showcasing our days at sea, run-ins with booby hitchhikers, and experience of the archipelago.

Before long, their water taxi had arrived and the group bundled back to shore, hopefully in some way inspired to continue exploring the oceans through science and sailing.