A highlight of this week was a Skype interview with real-world modern explorer, Sean Meagher, captain of the super yacht Latitude, which navigated the Northwest Passage in 2014 and 2015 -- only the 162nd vessel in history to do so! We met Captain Meager through our guest teacher, Seabury parent Jen Parker, who used to sail and work with him in Cape Cod. (Thanks Ms. Jen!)
Captain Meager described the difficulties of navigating the ice and the definite indications he saw of melting from one year to the next -- including the story of one iceberg that got too warm too fast and actually exploded underwater - thankfully not close enough to their boat to cause any damage. He talked about how exciting it was to see Polar Bears in real life -- though they look cuddly and huggable, he said, you would NOT want to get close to one. He and the people on board the Latitude noticed that the polar bears are learning to hunt on land, and they looked very healthy. He showed us a picture of himself swimming with a humpback whale, and described the special drysuits the crew and passengers wore to keep warm in/around the water. He also told us about the frustration of waiting for a week at a remote northern town to refuel, and the relief of getting out just a few days before the place was frozen-in and they would have had to stay for weeks longer.
The main reason for both voyages was to take photographs of the Arctic landscape, polar bears and walrus (the passengers included one National Geographic photographer - John Isaac -- more on him here: https://theliteratelens.com/2012/04/12/john-isaacs-untaken-photographs/ and some of his images here: john isaac photographer), but when asked why he would personally undertake a trip to such a cold, remote place, Captain Meagher's response was "because it is there." Spoken like a true explorer!
We watched part of this video beforehand about the expeditions, and it is worth taking a look at. The water, ice and landscape are lovely, and there are some beautiful pictures and footage of the animals they saw: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Qx8U6mu6A
This interview brought our study of exploration to life, and it really got students thinking about global warming and the demise of the arctic ice. Captan Meager urged the children to learn all they can about science and to research for themselves the reasons the ice may be disappearing. I think we might have inspired some future explorers and scientists here -- I hope so!
Captain Meagher's next expedition will be a visit to the Antarctic -- he said we could join him next time for penguin pictures - we can't wait!
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