Great Barrier Reef explodes into life in 'magical' spawning event

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is spawning in an explosion of color as the World Heritage-listed natural wonder recovers from life-threatening coral bleaching episodes 

 

From CNN by Francesca Street

 

The Great Barrier Reef has "given birth" in its annual coral spawn, creating a cacophony of color on the Australian landmark.
Scientists working beneath the waves say they witnessed the event, in which coral simultaneously release sperm and eggs en masse, overnight Tuesday off the coast of Cairns, Queensland, hailing it as a positive sign the reef was able to regenerate despite ecological threats.
"Nothing makes people happier than new life -- and coral spawning is the world's biggest proof of that," Australian marine biologist Gareth Phillips, who had a front row seat to this year's coral spawn, said in statement via Queensland Tourism and Events.

Philips, from research center Reef Teach, and his team of marine biologists, divers, students and photographers dived to the bottom of the ocean to capture footage of coral off the coast of Cairns, Queensland. Over the next couple days, they'll be traveling to other reef sites to film and observe.
This footage will allow scientists to monitor this year's coral crop -- and keep tabs on the general health of the Great Barrier Reef, which is protected by UNESCO and this year avoided an "in danger" rating from the World Heritage Committee.

"Magical" conditions

Coral spawning is an annual event on the Great Barrier Reef.
Gabriel Guzman/Calypso Productions

Philips called monitoring this year's coral spawn off Cairns "the ultimate treasure hunt."
"I've seen the corals all go off at once, but this time there seemed to be different species spawning in waves, one after the other. The conditions were magical with the water like glass and beautiful light coming from the moon," he said.
Philips said his team swam around looking for coral on the verge of spawning.
"Once we found a ripe coral, we watched as it took about 30 seconds for each colony to complete its spawning. It was the ultimate treasure hunt ... it was so exciting that we even grabbed the skipper and got him in the water." 

These photos were taken during the 2021 coral spawning on Flynn Reef, off the coast of Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Gareth Phillips/Reef Teach

The Great Barrier Reef's coral spawn is a coordinated annual effort -- for much of the year, coral multiplies by splitting and dividing, but once a year the coral simultaneously releases bundles of sperm and egg into the ocean.
"Each coral larvae drifts until it lands and settles on the sea floor," said Philips. "Spawning takes place over several days with different species spawning on different nights."
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation explains that coral bundles need to find another bundle from the same coral species in order to reproduce, so by releasing bundles at the same time, coral increase that likelihood.
The annual coral spawn usually takes place from October to November, but timings can vary due to factors like water temperature and currents. The date of the spawn can also fluctuate across the length and breadth of the 2,300 kilometer (1,429 mile)-long Great Barrier Reef.

Marine biologist Gareth Philips said this year's conditions were "magical."
Gareth Phillips/Reef Teach

Sign of hope

For Philips, the coral spawning is a sign of hope in the face of ecological troubles that recently prompted UNESCO to ask Australia for a report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef's conservation by February 2022.
Earlier this month, a study from James Cook University in Australia found that only 2% of the reef has escaped bleaching -- a consequence of heat waves -- since 1998.
Philips said it was "gratifying" to see the reef give birth, an event loosely coinciding with Australia's decision to start relaxing some of the world's toughest Covid travel restrictions.
"It's a strong demonstration that its ecological functions are intact and working after being in a recovery phase for more than 18 months," he said.
"The reef has gone through its own troubles like we all have, but it can still respond -- and that gives us hope. I think we must all focus on the victories as we emerge from the pandemic."

The Bermuda triangle: what science can tell us about the mysterious ocean region

@NOAA's National Ocean Service, flickr licence creative commons

From DiscoverMag by Nathaniel Scharping

A region of the ocean purported to swallow ships whole has fascinated us for decades.
But is there any truth to the tales?

Just off the southeast coast of the United States, there lies a span of ocean that’s long held a fearsome reputation.
Ships traversing its choppy breadth disappear without a trace.
Flights routed above the waters blink from radar screens, never to be seen again.
The mysterious happenings have conjured stories of supernatural interference, alien kidnappings and an area somehow outside the normal bounds of physical reality.
The Bermuda Triangle, it’s said, is a haunted place.

That’s just one version of the story, of course.
The Bermuda Triangle has been the site of a number of high-profile and still-mysterious naval and aviation disappearances.
But that those disasters are the result of anything sinister, as opposed to the logical conjunction of environment and statistics, is extremely doubtful.

Still, a number of people have proposed scientifically valid explanations for the disappearances of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle over the years.
The ocean is a dangerous place, after all, and it’s not uncommon even today for things to go wrong.
In the storm-tossed waters of the North Atlantic, safety is never a guarantee.

Where is the Bermuda Triangle?

The Bermuda Triangle, as it’s most commonly defined, stretches between Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico and the island of Bermuda.
In all, it encompasses hundreds of thousands of square miles in the North Atlantic Ocean, a huge area.
The region also sees heavy traffic from ships coming and going from the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

The Bermuda Triangle got its name from a 1964 article in the pulp magazine Argosy, which linked together a few disappearances in the region.
“The Deadly Bermuda Triangle” didn’t offer up any explanations for the occurrences, though it did heavily emphasize the mysterious nature of the area.
The article features the disappearance of the U.S.S Cyclops, a Navy supply ship, in 1918, and the loss of a flight of bombers during a practice run in 1945, as well as one of the search and rescue planes sent out after them.

These incidents, and others, have today become part of the lore of the Bermuda Triangle.
These stories are often stitched together to hint at something untoward lurking beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to the supernatural explanations, a number of more realistic explanations for the phenomenon have been put forward throughout the years, ranging from wayward magnetism to dangerous bubbles.

 

DR

 

Dangerous Waters

The fact that the area within the Bermuda Triangle is heavily trafficked could account for some of the mystery.
Any region with lots of ships going through it is bound to see more accidents than a place with less activity.
Pair that with the fact that the Bermuda Triangle is often swept by hurricanes, and it’s not hard to see why ships might occasionally sink there.

Another common explanation for the Bermuda Triangle rests on magnetism.
The Earth’s magnetic North Pole isn’t the same as its geographic North Pole, which means that compasses usually don’t point exactly north.
Only along what’s known as agonic lines, which line up magnetic and geographic north, are compasses truly accurate.

One agonic line runs from Lake Superior down through the Gulf of Mexico near the Bermuda Triangle.
One theory holds that mariners, usually accustomed to accounting for a discrepancy in their compass readings, may make mistakes when very near to the agonic line that lead them astray.
Paired with the often shallow waters of the island-strewn Caribbean Sea, navigational errors could lead to boats running aground on hidden shoals.

Another theory posits that the Bermuda Triangle might be home to a large-scale magnetic anomaly, a region where the Earth’s magnetic field lines are warped and twisted.
This, too, could cause navigational mistakes.
But, as others have noted, there’s no evidence the Bermuda Triangle contains any unusual magnetic disturbances, something that’s clear when looking at a magnetic map of the region.

More recently, some scientists have suggested that ship sinkings in the Bermuda Triangle could be due to massive bubbles released from undersea methane deposits.
The seafloor in the region is known to contain large pockets of gas that could be released suddenly, turning the ocean into a frothy soup that swallows ships.
A similar process likely created huge seafloor craters near Norway.

But though the mechanism itself makes sense, there’s no evidence of any recent methane release from the area around the Bermuda Triangle.
The last time anything similar happened in the region was around 15,000 years ago, according to U.S.
Geological Survey geologist Bill Dillon.

Another explanation for the Bermuda Triangle that checks out on paper is the presence of rogue waves.
These huge waves can form unexpectedly and rise two or even three times above surrounding waves.
As Vice reports, British researchers used lab and computer models to simulate the effects of rogue waves more than 100 feet tall on ships as part of an investigation into the Bermuda Triangle.
Ships that were sufficiently long could get caught suspended between two wave peaks with nothing supporting them from below and snap in half, one researcher theorizes.
But, while rogue waves are certainly capable of capsizing or breaking a ship, we have no definitive evidence tying them to any of the naval disasters in the Bermuda Triangle.

The U.S. government doesn’t recognize the Bermuda Triangle, and the area doesn’t appear on any official maps.
And the Coast Guard and Department of Defense have repeatedly refrained from giving the area, or its legends, any outsized significance.
Furthermore, there’s no evidence suggesting the region sees higher rates of maritime or aviation disasters than anywhere else in the world, after accounting for the amount of traffic that passes through.
The Human Factor

The true explanation for the Bermuda Triangle may ultimately reside not in the ocean, but in our minds.
Our minds are often biased toward bizarre or otherwise memorable events, and have trouble accurately accounting for statistical discrepancies.
For example, we’re more likely to remember things that seem exceptional — such as a ship that disappears with no explanation— than something more ordinary, like a ship sinking in a hurricane.

And once something stands out to us, it can form the basis for further attention.
It’s a form of what’s called a frequency illusion, sometimes referred to as the Baader-Meinhof effect.
Essentially, once we’re introduced to something once, we tend to notice it more often all around us.
That can lead us to think whatever we’ve noticed is becoming rapidly more common, when, in reality, we’re just noticing it more.

Whatever is ultimately responsible for the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, be it psychological or otherwise, it’s worth remembering that there’s never been any evidence that the region is any more dangerous than anywhere else.
So go ahead and take that vacation to Bermuda — but, as always, make sure to wear a lifejacket when you’re out on the water.
It’s just common sense.

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : The Bermuda Triangle: A breeding ground for rogue waves or ... / Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle solved?  / Mysterious waters: from the Bermuda Triangle to the Devil's Sea / The Bermuda triangle of space: the high-energy South Atlantic ...
• History :  Bermuda triangle
  

2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart

The crew of the 30.5-metre (100-foot) maxi yacht Black Jack prevailed in the contest for Line Honours at the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

It was a seesaw battle, initially raced in punishing conditions before ending in light and variable winds.

Black Jack successfully held off the attentions of two other similar-sized maxis to secure the Illingworth Trophy awarded to the first boat to finish.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is one of the preeminent offshore competitions and the 2021 race is living up to its fearsome reputation with fleet enduring an extended period of strong southerly winds and a big sea during the early stages.

Perseverance has characterized the race since it was first held in 1945, and never more so than this year.

2022

Over the past months, we kept thinking about “Groundhog Day."

 

Antidote to avoid a new groundhog year ?

Getting better at taking life one day at a time. Maybe.

ref : WP

How to build the ultimate superyacht for isolating on board

From BoatInternational  by Elaine Bunting

Escaping from the world is always possible on a yacht.
Now, says Elaine Bunting, many owners want to live and work aboard for even longer

One of the unforeseen consequences of being locked down for much of 2020/2021 was that owners spent more time on their yachts – if they could get to them.
One-week trips to the boat were being extended to two or three weeks, and some owners even chose to ride out the worst of the pandemic on board.
Charters, too, were affected, with brokers reporting that while bookings were down, charterers were taking trips for longer periods.

This shift in usage has demanded new thinking from the superyacht industry.

How do you turn a yacht that was designed for brief stays into a semi-permanent home, and a place to work?

Credit: Burgess

“[Covid-19] has brought it home to people that they can spend more time on board if they need to,” says designer Jonny Horsfield.
His company, H2 Yacht Design, is behind long-range yachts such as 63.7-metre explorer vessel Scout and REV Ocean, a 182.9-metre expedition vessel that, when delivered, will become the world’s largest superyacht.
The studio’s portfolio also includes 75-metre Feadship Arrow, launched last summer, and 123-metre Lürssen Al Lusail from 2017.

“Generally speaking, I would say the interesting new yachts are much as they were a year ago but with more comfort, storage and supplies,” he observes.
“People are looking for a more casual solution to comfort rather than concentrating so much on what is normal or good for charters, and they wish to customise a little more.”

Storage, Horsfield says, is often compromised in order to squeeze in extra guest space.
Next-generation yachts fit for longer-term living will need more.
“I don’t think there’s a [specific] figure you need, it’s just more important to get it right than in the past,” he adds.
Read on for more tips for enjoyable longer spells on board.

Upgrade the onboard office

Luminosity has an office-cum-conference room that is almost the same size as the master cabin
Credit: Burgess

“More people are working remotely, especially now they have seen that it works really well,” says sailing yacht designer Bill Dixon.
“Video conferences have improved immensely so maybe travelling for work will become the second option.
Owners can actually spend time on their yacht and work and earn money.”

At the extreme end of what is possible, REV Ocean is fascinating, designed to operate independently for months in remote areas from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and be interchangeable with an office environment ashore.
“You could run your entire business from that yacht,” says Jonny Horsfield.
“It has a functional business centre and a recreation of the owner’s entire office.
We have allocated a whole office suite and a trading room where you can have six guys on screens, as well as a massive conference room that can seat 35 directors where you can have board meetings – and they can all stay on board. It’s massive, bigger than most companies’ offices.”

The nature of boats was starting to change before the pandemic and this is now happening more rapidly, says Canadian naval architect Gregory Marshall.
“What we are seeing is a lot more self-contained long-range boats being away for four to six months.
This is a definite shift, and it’s across the board from 25 and 26 metres to our largest extended range project of 82 metres and everything in between."

“More than 50 per cent of clients consider their office [in the design] and we have certainly been doing more video conference rooms and more common spaces off a sky lounge rather than the owner’s suite so people can sequester themselves in that.”

Create dual-use spaces to maximise what you can do

The beach club on Life Saga
Credit: Giuliano Sargentini

A yacht is all about enjoying downtime, family time and holidays, and there will continue to be a need for flexible, multi-use spaces.
Designer Tim Heywood thinks that the experience owners and their families had of isolating on yachts gave some “the opportunity to turn hard times into a diverting and potentially enjoyable experience.”

With that in mind, size matters.
“It is possible to enjoyably isolate aboard a moderately sized yacht of, say, 30 metres, but to take a sizeable family with back-up staff and full health facilities, I would aim for something in the region of 70 to 90 metres with a touch-and-go helipad.”

For longer periods it is paramount, Heywood feels, to have facilities to keep family and guests entertained.
“You need a saloon that can double as a cinema, if you don’t have a cinema planned, and a dining room that is equipped with conferencing facilities.
Children’s play and craft rooms and additional gym equipment are all facilities that should be maximised.”

The cinema on board 83m Here Comes The Sun
Credit: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

The 83-metre Amels Here Comes The Sun, 68-metre Amels Neninka (previously Aurora Borealis) and 86-metre Oceanco Seven Seas are examples of superyachts that have cinemas that can be used as lounges, and a growing number of yachts, including recently delivered 80-metre Artefact, feature a play and craft room for children

The same applies outdoors, which can also be set up for multi-use, with more flexible arrangements than the normal fixed sofas and sunbeds, “allowing different layouts to add surprises to every day”, says Heywood.

Laura Pomponi, founder and CEO of Luxury Projects, says that versatile, convertible areas are more in demand than ever.
Lounge areas that can become a cabin, a gym that can be turned into a recreation area or an office, or a beach club that can be a cinema are all examples she cites.
Amenities such as balconies, saunas, spas and gyms are prized, particularly when guests are restricted in going out or have time on their hands, and convertible areas allow the living space to be varied.

The family deck craft room on Artefact
Credit: Francisco Martinez

Pomponi and other designers say clients have been asking for a more homely, residential feel.
That means comfy sofas, high-end AV systems and high-speed communications.
It might also mean a different interior style.
“The minimalism we have seen in interiors in last few years with lacquered surfaces and strong contrasts doesn’t work any more,” Pomponi says.
“We are back to veneers, warm light, linen fabrics and calm tones.”

Gregory Marshall agrees that there is a move away from elaborate interior styling, driven by the wish for a cleaner aesthetic.
“In the last few months people have settled into the concept of being germophobes, and that is changing interior design itself,” he observes.
“People want fewer nooks and crannies that are hard to clean.”

Invest in better systems

70m Joy has a beach club that doubles as a disco
Credit: Feadship

“Family is one thing. Friends? Well, you know what they say: after a week, friends are like fish, they go off!” says the owner of a 41-metre explorer when asked for his advice on spending long periods on board. You need “a good chef who makes every meal an interesting part of the voyage, and one who takes into account each of the guests’ particular needs.”

Asked what else he would recommend, he replies: “Good separation of owner, guests and crew, tenders that are multifunctional and seaworthy, enough fuel at cruising to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from, say, the US and full displacement and the ability to handle rough conditions.
Also, living areas that feel warm and look warm in cold climates, and a lot of spares and backups.”

But if good food is essential, the facilities and systems that make it all possible longer term need to be planned in a new build or refit.
In more remote places without regular access to shore, where crew can’t be flying in food from all over the world, thought has to be given to how food would be stored using extended fridges and freezers.
You need more, and bigger, storage, perhaps also rubbish and waste-handling systems, plus bigger tanks for fuel and black water.

A 47m Laura Pomponi project for Feadship with a flexible upper deck lounge/gym (above) with fold-down bed (below)
Credit: Luxury Projects

Daniel Nerhagen, from Swedish studio Tillberg Design, has worked on the build and refit of superyachts from 72-metre Serenity and 69-metre Saluzi all the way up to cruise ships.
A point he makes is that cold storage allocation for provisions and rubbish is critical for independence but seldom easy to create in an existing vessel.

“On many yachts we have a very long range with fuel to be at sea or at anchor and that is not a challenge.
But most are used to being able to restock every week,” he says.
“With the Covid-19 situation, yachts were parked outside the harbours and crew were not allowed ashore.
That led to challenges, as they didn’t have the space.”

So what can be done on existing yachts? 

“You could take out all the tenders and add fridges and build cold rooms on deck,” he suggests.

Waste-handling systems area also becoming more sophisticated.
They are widely used on cruise ships, which can generate up to 10,000kg of rubbish and solid waste every day.

“To recycle food waste you can get machines that remove the water and dry the organic material, turning it into powder, and you store that in boxes,” Nerhagen says.
“All these waste-handling and compaction systems are available but you need to allocate space for them.

Most yachts don’t have it and it is hard to retrofit.”Nerhagen observes that new regulations and standards in the cruise industry are resulting in older vessels being scrapped. 

“Looking at another market segment, cruise ships, a lot from the early 1990s are going to scrap as they are not complying with the latest regulations and you cannot retrofit these systems. It’s cheaper to build a new ship than to comply.”

 

“We are definitely seeing much bigger toys on board for going to remote places”
Credit: Tom Van Oossanen

Easy, fast access from shore is another essential requirement when living on board for longer periods.
Yachts need to carry good tenders, preferably covered.
For larger yachts travelling to new destinations, or away for longer, a certified helipad becomes important.

“We are definitely seeing much bigger toys on board for going to remote places,” says Gregory Marshall.
“If you want to do a 200-mile trip you need a tender that can do that.
The 82 metre we’re working on packs an 18-metre tender.”

Another consideration for ensuring smooth running for a longer period is crew rotation, which can have an impact on the space set aside for crew quarters.
“It’s not always high on the list of priorities,” says designer Jonny Horsfield, “but you need to think about how the crew are being looked after.
A lot I know are confined to the yacht and it is not great for them so the idea of having more space would be good.”

None of these changes necessarily demands a new build.
Royal Huisman recently redelivered 56-metre Feadship Broadwater with a brief to turn her into “a modern and liveable home from home.” To achieve this, the transom was removed and the yacht extended by four metres and given a restyled stern with an aft deck and beach club.
Outdoor amenities include a new hot tub on the sundeck and a bar.

The yard is working on a conversion of a 43-metre Ron Holland-designed ketch from 1993, Juliet, to hybrid propulsion.
This will allow more silent running and to take advantage of her fuel storage for longer periods away from port.

H2 is working with a client who is looking for more space and wants to lengthen an existing yacht rather than wait for a new build.
The project would cut the yacht in the middle and extend it by around 10 per cent, leaving the engine room intact.
Large doors opening out on to balconies will be added, and more space for the owner, with another suite, cinema, and bigger dining room, while the old spaces will now be office areas.

Get ahead in technology

Besides fostering changes in design thinking, the quest for independence could also drive interest in sustainability.

“This is a big topic and it comes up at every client meeting,” says Daniel Nerhagen from Tillberg Design.
“How can you be self-sufficient? Wind turbines, solar panels, battery packs and fuel cells – how to extend your range or reduce fuel consumption and run the generator for only a few hours per day.

“These systems require more space than traditional diesel engines so it’s always a question of your priorities.” But, he adds: “For many people, the technology is a showcase.
It will accelerate – that’s inevitable.”

Bill Dixon, of Dixon Yacht Design, specialises in sailing yachts, such as the 55-metre Dixon 175 and the 70-metre Project NewDawn.
The latter is something of a crossover, a sailboat with an easily handled free-standing rig that has similar accommodation to a motor yacht of the same size, and for a comparable cost.

Technology that regenerates power from self-propulsion is the future, Dixon believes.
“Where it really does key into self-sufficiency is that, if you have some sail power, you have a way of generating electricity.
As we know now, Black Pearl nearly runs the vessel if it is sailing at a reasonable wind speed.
I believe we will see a lot more of that.
People like the idea."

“Then there is taking the energy you generate and making hydrogen for fuel,” he adds.
“On one of my potential projects, a client has already investigated fuel cell technology.
In the scheme of things, a large yacht of 100 metres can go fast and generate a lot of free energy.
If you really want to do something incredibly special, this is the way to look at one future for large, eco-friendly superyachts.”

Explore new places

Credit: Tom Van Oossanen

 

A popular prediction throughout 2020 was that people’s appetite for travel would dwindle.
Don’t bet on it; you just have to look at the huge uptake in private jets.

“I think people will want to travel but to new destinations, which is why the range and ability to be away for longer is important,” says Dixon.
If anything it’s possible there could be an upsurge in the desire to spend more time exploring and visiting new places or more unusual destinations.

“Owners are not giving up free time; they need their holidays.
Leisure time is important,” agrees Daniel Nerhagen.
“A yacht is still probably the safest place you could be and where you can escape all the current situation.”

A yacht that has been refitted or built to create the right environment and spaces for longer-term living, working and relaxation will allow owners and guests to take maximum advantage of the new working-from-home culture.
Could such configurations eventually become a new norm?

“What has happened [in 2020] will change people’s thinking about future projects,” says Nerhagen.

Credit: Tom Van Oossanen

 

For those who have made changes, the timing could hardly be better: a radical shift in the variety of ways business is conducted opens up new freedoms and broader horizons.

“It is its own bubble,” remarks the owner of his 55-metre explorer yacht, who spends months at a time on board with his family.
“It protects you from some parts of the world and allows you to build a strong family bond.
There is no greater luxury than being on a yacht.”

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : A $50 million boat for the toys you can't fit on your yacht / Trade wars even scare the megarich – just look at Superyacht sales / Blue Planet gives super-rich their new toys – submersibles / Exploring the Arctic circle on board scientific superyacht Yersin / The $1 billion superyacht: Bigger, longer, but is it better? / World's largest yacht launched: the 183m REV Ocean / Norwegian billionaire funds deluxe deep ocean research ship