35 useless bits of sea related information

1. The Arctic Tern holds the record for the longest migration of any bird species at a whopping 14,000 miles in just 3 months
2. The trade winds are named for the old German for track or course [of a ship] and the use of the word trade (for commerce) is derived from that
3. There are 50 species of gulls in the world, 6 species are common in Britain
4. The South West Coast path* is the longest, long distance trail in Britain at 630 miles. It runs from Minehead in West Somerset through North Devon, around Corwall, across South Devon before ending in Poole, Dorset
5. The smell of the sea shore is just that. In the same way you can tell you have reached the beach because of that seaside smell, as you approach land from the sea you start to smell the shore
   
6. The deepest part of the sea is the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific ocean at 4,280m deep
   
7. The RNLI has saved 143,000 lives since 1824
   
8. The continental plate that runs underneath Europe drops down to the Porcupine Abyssal plain. It runs from just off the west Irish coast to inside the Bay of Biscay
   
9. A log with evenly spaced knots was towed behind boats to measure speed and distance. Nautical speed is still measured in knots and notes are made in the ships log
   
10. A scallop can swim by opening and closing its shell to propel itself along 
11. Limpets have an anchor spot they consider to be home. They graze when covered in water, returning to their niche when drying out
    
12. The highest tidal range in the world is found in the Bay of Fundy, Canada with a rise of up to 40 feet. The second highest tide is in the Bristol Channel, England at 32.7 feet
    
13. Because of the tidal range, the phrase 'Shipshape and Bristol fashion' comes from the need to make sure everything was stowed correctly on board when moored in Bristol harbour as the boats would heel over when the tide went out. The Floating Harbour was constructed in 1809
    
14. Dolphins can travel as fast as 18 miles an hour
15. The longest mountain chain in the world is under the sea. At 40,000 miles long the Mid-Ocean ridge rises to 13,800 foot off the sea bed at its highest
16. The infamous storms of the Bay of Biscay are caused by the large fetch across the Atlantic moving into the steeply shelving waters of the bay
17. More than 70% of the earth is covered in ocean
18. There are official sound signals consisting of combinations of long and short blasts/tones used in times of restricted visibility such as fog to warn of hazards to shipping
    
19. The Mayflower autonomous ship is crossing the Atlantic carrying out research to mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. It is the first autonomous ship to cross an ocean. It is being monitored from its base in the UK and in America and has been 'trained' in collision avoidance
    
20. Purse seine fishers use paris pairs of boats to drop long weighted nets (the seines) in a massive circle before pulling them in like a purse string. It is vital to not get between the two boats
    
21. The Gold Anchor scheme is run jointly by the Yacht Harbour Association and the Marina Industries Association gives giving accreditation for customer service and facilities in marinas around the world. The highest award is 5 gold anchors
22. The age of sail is considered to have been 1570-1870
23. Day sailing is when you get off the boat overnight, cruising is when you stay onboard, passage making is when you go out of sight of land
24. Sextants are used in celestial navigation to measure the angle between the horizon and a celestial body (sun/moon/star) in order to determine latitude and longitude
25. The first non-stop solo round the world passage was completed in 1968 by Robin Knox-Johnson in the Golden Globe Race taking 312 days. By comparison the fastest time recorded by the new, very technical sailing boats in the Vendee Globe Race is 74 days
    
26. After the mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Bligh and 18 of his crew were set adrift in a 23 foot, open boat. After an amazing journey of nearly two months and 3,600 miles they reached land where they were able to call for help
    
27. Sea foam is created when water containing a high proportion of biomass such as algae blooms is agitated (ie by storm waves)
28. Battery Point in the Bristol Channel is the point in the UK where the deep water shipping chnanel channel is closest to the land. It can look like the large ships travelling up the river will hit the rocks
    
29. Sea grasses are really important for carbon absorbtion
    
30. Sea horses are endangered and protected by law. There are two native species of seahorse in the UK the long-snouted or spiny seahorse and the short-snouted seahorse. Recently a rare long-snouted seahorse was spotted off the Devon coast
    
31. The Ocean Conservation Trust is a global charity working towards a vision of healthy oceans through emotional and physical connections to the water
    
32. The water between Britain and mainland Europe is referred to as the English Channel in the UK and Le Manche (The Sleeve) in France. At its narrowest it is only 20 miles across and 150 miles across at its widest 
33. In the 14th centuary ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to isolate at anchor for 40 days in an attempt to stop the spread of the plague. The word quarantine comes from the Italian quaranta giorni (40 days)
    
34.  Jetsam is something thrown overboard deliberately in an emergency, flotsam is debris which has ended up in the water accidently. Whilst flotsam can be legally reclaimed by its owner, jetsam can be claimed by the finder.
35. 94% of the living species on Earth live in the ocean. There are probably many more species that have not yet been discovered.

 

* No sponsorship or anything, just a few links if you want to know more about something I've mentioned 

Also, Blogging with integrity. Edited 19/6 1400 (changes as marked, original words crossed through) because I should have rechecked the spelling and grammar properly before pressing publish - you'd think I'd know by now!