Chaguaramas bay, Trinidad 2 September 2007 Les på norsk

First world ocean conquered

**HORIZON** With a steady course set for the horizon and the promised land that we knew was waiting somewhere far beyond the endless, blue prairie. Every day we would eek our way slowly but surely some 100-120 miles closer to our destination.

NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES

CHAGUARAMAS: The Underveis and her crew have crossed the Atlantic, and our first world ocean has been traversed. A big relief for us, even though the passage went relatively smooth.

FACTS ABOUT THE ATLANTIC

Total area: 76.762 million sq km
Lowest depth: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench - 8,605 m
Total Coastline: 111,866 km
Fraction of world ocean: 28%
The Atlantic Ocean is the youngest of the world's oceans - it was formed in the Jurassic Period.
Many of the great rivers of the world flow into the Atlantic, so that it receives water from about half the world's land area.
The Atlantic was the first world ocean to be crossed by ship and the first ocean to be crossed by aeroplane. And now it is the first to have been traversed by S/Y underveis!
The Sargasso Sea is the saltiest part of the Atlantic. The seaweed of the Sargasso Sea is believed to live for hundreds of years; maybe some alive today were seen by Columbus who sailed through the sea on his way to America.
An estimated 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans. 85% of the area and 90% of the volume constitute the dark, cold environment we call the deep sea.
The oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface and contain 97% of the Earth's water. Less than 1% is fresh water, and 2-3% is contained in glaciers and ice caps.
Life began in the seas 3.1 billion to 3.4 billion years ago. Land dwellers appeared 400 million years ago, relatively recently in geologic time.

(Sources: World info zone, Atlantic ocean)

**WATER OVER OUR HEADS** Hygiene is important when sailing across the oceans and live closely together. Some creativity is required, and you can be sure that a cooling shower in the sunshine did us a lot of good. Even though the water temperature reached up to 30 degrees centigrade...

**SNACKS** Every morning the watch to be relieved could stroll across the front deck and pluck the days flying, fresh lunch. But usually we would fry the food first...

**SHAVING** A completely ordinary thing to be doing, but in a totally unordinary place. Anyone out there who has a better view from their bathroom?!?

**DOZING** 28 days at sea means that there is some time available for doing what we do best: Doze.

**ON WATCH** Grand admiral von Olsen at watch. Skip ohoi! The worst part about reaching land is the fact that we had to start relating to vlocks and calendars again.

**OFF DUTY** Rune is off duty and lies in his bunk fantasizing about the first meal of fresh meat that he will have as we reach land.

**AT ANCHOR** Underveis at anchor in Chaguaramas bay. Thousands of sailing vessels from all over the world sail by here every season on their way to Panama, South America, home to Europe or to the USA.

**TERRA FIRMA** It took a couple of days before we could stand upright without assistance after having been at sea for four weeks. But we have done it, and the Atlantic ocean is now behind us!

We hadnt seen other people in four weeks, and over here are what must be some of the most beautiful people on earth. A feisty mix of African, Asian, Indian and European blood. We gazed in wonder, while the palm trees gently swayed in the cool evening breeze. Finally, we had reached the southern paradise! But duty first. We had to get the boat on shore, as the hurricane season was approaching rapidly. Finn Olav had to get home to Røst to work at Kårøya for the summer. But now we are in place again. Working, freelancing and getting ready to continue. We also have to decide where to go next, although we think we have decided to go through the Panama canal and into the Pacific.

Chaguaramas bay, Trinidad, 02.09.2007