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(Day 38 - March 9, 2010; 17:25 UTC) - With a little over 5,000 miles left before reaching Ushant, the virtual separation between Groupama 3 and Orange 2 has been yo-yoing for the past three days. The giant trimaran has picked up her average speed since escaping the zone of high pressure, whilst five years ago the maxi-catamaran was just beginning to make laboured headway close to the Brazilian coast.

The crew had a hundred mile lead on rounding Cape Horn, a 190 mile deficit off Uruguay as Franck Cammas and his men began their beat in the high pressure, and finally were 360 miles off the pace at 0700 UTC this Tuesday. Yet since Groupama 3 has made it back into some powerful E'ly winds, the deficit has been decreasing slowly but surely with 30 miles made up in the space of seven hours.

This week, Oceana's corporate partner Nautica invited us to Key West Race Week to spread the word and gather support for our opposition to Congressional efforts to open up Florida’s coasts to offshore drilling.

In the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, there’s a proposal that would open up currently protected areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

Climate change has a number of negative effects on the ocean including warmer waters, rising seal levels, and increased ocean acidification. Warming waters and rising sea levels disrupt the ocean ecosystem in a number of ways. For example, warm waters lead to coral bleaching and kill off which impacts the entire coral-dependent ecosystem. Melting sea caps disrupt both coastal and arctic habitats, harming populations of polar bears, mangroves, and coral reef, and seal turtles, and disrupting the migration patterns of ocean species

The impacts of ocean acidification are less obvious to the human eye, but no less harmful. The ocean has always been an important carbon sink though absorbing carbon dioxide at the surface and converting it into carbonic acid. However, as atmospheric carbon dioxide rises, rate of absorption, and therefore acidification by the ocean is also increasing. This increased acidification has a harmful affect on many kinds of ocean life from mollusks to mammals. This recent article in Scientific American highlights the harmful effects of acidification on dolphins.

Now the summer season is over and the numbers are out. A record number of vessels, mostly sailing boats, but everything from from rowboats to cargo ships, traveled through the Northwest Passage this year, according to the Canadian Coast Guard, to a total of 23, up from 17 last year. The trips in the Northwest Passage "included a rising number of adventurers from around the world keen to explore the fabled Arctic waterway," said Jean-Pierre Lehnert, the officer in charge of the Coast Guard's marine communication and traffic services center in Iqaluit.

"The increase is mostly due to the adventurers, that number increased a lot. And also, we had those two cargo vessels that made the Northwest Passage."

Research continues in hopes of lessening the degree of damage all this ship traffic will ultimately cause. The Open Passage Expedition successfully sailed through the Northwest Passage with the goals of telling the story of how climate change is affecting Arctic communities. The Arctic is garnering global attention today because climate change is causing its sea ice to melt at a rapid pace, affecting the region's communities and the wildlife they rely on for food and livelihood.

This week in Denmark, the Copenhagen Climate Treaty Summit gets underway. Officials from more than 190 countries have gathered in hopes of producing a new agreement to curb climate change.

US Sailing , the governing body of the sport here in the US, today announced that OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry is the US Sailing Sailor of the Wee k. 

"It is a great honor to be recognized, and I am happy to be in the company of so many great sailors who are doing so much for the sport."  said Berry.

THIS STORY WAS USED FROM NPR

December 8, 2009

Cuba has some the most extensive coral reefs in the hemisphere, but political strains between Washington and Havana largely have kept American scientists away.

A new partnership for marine research is trying to change that at one of Cuba's most remote places, far from people and pollution.

A commitment to promoting sustainability around the world in the first ever Eco 60 race

The VELUX 5 OCEANS today launched its sustainability agenda under the banner of ‘TAKING ON THE ELEMENTS’. The concept brings together all the key stakeholders in the race under the umbrella of the shared value of sustainability, providing a basis of understanding and a platform for activities and communications in 2010 and 2011.

TAKING ON THE ELEMENTS defines the vision, strategy and tactics under which Clipper Ventures as race organiser, VELUX as title sponsor, La Rochelle as start/finish port, the other host ports around the world and all future race partners and suppliers can embrace a message of sustainability through the platform of The Ultimate Solo Challenge.

A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass.

Scientists believe climate change—the warming of oceans—has allowed some of the almost 2,000 jellyfish species to expand their ranges, appear earlier in the year and increase overall numbers.

The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish—a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter—can ruin a whole day's catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan's Wakasa Bay.

Once considered a rarity every 40 years, they are now an almost annual occurrence along several thousand kilometers of Japanese coast, and far beyond. Increasingly polluted waters boost growth of the microscopic plankton that "jellies" feed upon, while overfishing has eliminated many of the jellyfish's predators and cut down on competitors for plankton feed.

"These increases in jellyfish should be a warning sign that our oceans are stressed and unhealthy," said Lucas Brotz, a University of British Columbia researcher.

On October 28, Oceana, Nautica, and actor Adrian Grenier joined GQ to honor OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry at the GQ Gentlemen's Ball. We were delighted for Kristen to receive recognition for his advocacy work and for being a true steward for the oceans.

Additionally, ticket sale proceeds for the ball generated thousands of dollars in donations for Oceana and three other worthwhile charities - UNICEF, The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and The Pat Tillman Foundation.

Check out the video below to hear in Kristen's words why we should care about the oceans >>

Science Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash By LINDSEY HOSHAW Published: November 10, 2009 A garbage patch in the Pacific is one of five that may be caught in giant gyres scattered in the world’s oceans.