Climate Change

Decimated mangrove forest in the Ten Thousand Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Rising sea level intensifies the impacts of catastrophic storm events on the low lying islands here.  

Our voyages on S/V Pandion are not only taking us to new places. We are also observing and experiencing the consequences of our planet's changing climate. This is not something that will happen in the future; it's been going on for decades and the impacts are clearly visible.  

Ten Thousand Islands  Our first encounters onboard S/V Pandion with climate related impacts were over three years ago, in the Ten Thousand Islands, located within the boundaries of the 110,000-acre Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve near Naples, Florida.  

Marina boardwalk in the Ten Thousand Islands,
submerged by tidal surge from passing tropical storm  offshore. 

Twenty fives years earlier, the Rookery Bay Reserve hosted a workshop on sea level rise effects on South Florida. Dr. Hal Wanless, a geologist from the University of Miami, shared results of his research indicating that we would likely see  outer barrier islands pushed back by storm events, no longer recovering lost shorelines through natural deposition of sand. 

Storms scour sand and expose mangrove peat from ancient forests in the Ten Thousand Islands.
These shorelines are not recovering as they used to, with higher sea levels eroding and pushing shorelines into retreat.

Today a close look at the Ten Thousand Islands reveals that Dr. Wanless was accurate. Islands that provide critical beach nesting grounds for sea turtles and shorebirds are losing ground. Recent storms have stripped shorelines of sediment, exposing mangrove peat layers from ancient mangrove forests, and erosion is now claiming hardwood hammocks that have survived for centuries. Gumbo Limbos and cabbage palms are toppling into the ocean. 

At the remote Dry Tortugas National Park, home of historic Fort Jefferson, evidence of coral bleaching related to effects of climate change are seen throughout the area. 

Dry Tortugas National Park  At this remote and pristine sanctuary, located over 100 nautical miles from mainland Florida, federal and state officials designated the area as a National Marine Sanctuary due to it's importance as a coral reef refuge and nursery for fish and wildlife. Yet, when we dove the reefs there from S/V Pandion, it was easy to see that the corals are in peril. 

Bleaching of corals occurs as ocean temperatures surpass survival limits for living corals,
leaving behind the white skeletons of once flourishing reefs.

Signs of coral bleaching were everywhere. Bleaching occurs when the coral animals that build the reef succumb to disease, most often from stress related to warming sea temperatures and ocean acidification (as atmospheric CO2 is absorbed in massive amounts by the ocean, the pH of ocean waters changes, creating more stress on fragile corals). When I discussed our observations with local rangers, their conclusion as to cause was climate change. The Dry Tortugas are too far away from the coast of Florida to be impacted by land based pollution.

Late summer 2018, with four active hurricanes tracked by NOAA's National Hurricane Center.
As ocean waters continue to warm, climate scientists predict more frequent and intense storms. 

Storms  Climate scientists have also predicted more frequent and more powerful hurricanes as ocean temperatures continue to rise. The last four years have been the hottest years in recorded history. The summer of 2017 was devastating for Florida and the Caribbean, with two Category 5 storms causing loss of life, massive damage and property loss. 

When we crossed paths in the Berry Islands last year with the circumnavigating Hibbard family, their description of the impacts to the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria was startling. Following the losses incurred by these two hurricanes, many marine insurance agencies folded, and insurance rates have increased for ourselves and our fellow sailors.

Sailing vessel sunk from recent hurricane in the anchorage at Grand Cay, Bahamas.

Surviving Irma   Our own experience with Hurricane Irma in 2017 was something we will never forget. Originally forecast to track north off Florida's east coast, we had prepped Pandion for tropical storm conditions at our marina in Goodland (located on Florida's Southwest coast). Within 48 hours of landfall, the powerful Cat 5 storm's predicted track shifted significantly west in our direction, so we went with Plan B: we took Pandion off the dock, storm anchored her with two anchors and 100 feet of chain each, in a secluded cove in the Ten Thousand Islands that offered all round protection. 

Then we left her (Pandion was the only boat in this cove), returning home to complete final preparations, and evacuated north along with thousands of other residents. Irma made landfall in Goodland, with the eye of the storm passing directly over Pandion. We ended up in Jacksonville, after losing power and evacuating flooding conditions across the state. 

September 2017. Hurricane Irma makes landfall in South Florida.
The eye of the storm passed directly over S/V Pandion, storm anchored in Goodland.

Irma shut down the entire state of Florida, causing massive damage,  power outages, and fuel shortages (Florida gets gasoline from ports, and Irma closed down all three major ports). A week later, we returned with great anxiety, to find that Pandion had ridden through the storm safely, losing only one solar panel. The docks at our marina were destroyed. It took four weeks to restore power to our home, so we lived onboard Pandion.  

Docks where Pandion had previously been moored were destroyed by Irma.
Prior to landfall, we took her to a cove and storm anchored, and she made it through in good shape.
Many local boats that stayed at marinas for the storm were heavily damaged or destroyed

Coastal Erosion  More recently, during our explorations on Jekyll Island in Georgia, we biked along the coastal road and were surprised to discover a massive sea wall being constructed along the remnants of the eroded beach along the Atlantic shoreline. In 2017, the State of Georgia allocated $ 4 million for the project. 

Sea wall under construction at Jekyll Island, Georgia. The wall stretches for over three miles along the Atlantic shoreline, in an attempt to prevent further coastal erosion from impacting homes and condos located on the island. 

We are seeing more heavy construction of sea walls along the coast. 

What Can Be Done?  Consensus within the science community (not recent, this issue has been well documented and described by climate scientists for over 20 years) is strong: Our climate is changing due to increased emissions of carbon dioxide linked to the burning of fossil fuels, causing warming of the atmosphere and heating our oceans, and increasing acidification of ocean waters as CO2 is absorbed. Nothing about this continuing trend will change unless people first understand the issue and decide to do something about it.

It is not up for debate. It took far too many years for us to finally accept that smoking cigarettes will kill you, but that concept is now generally accepted and our behavior has shifted: deaths from tobacco use (at least in the U.S.) have dropped significantly.

Dealing with climate change also requires change in behavior. The difference is that choosing to continue to smoke tobacco is a personal choice that carries the highest risk for the smoker. With climate change, choosing to to do nothing will continue current trends and will impact the planet and all of us. Lowering CO2 levels in the atmosphere requires engagement by individuals, communities, and governments.

Onboard S/V Pandion, sails harness wind to help us travel hundreds of miles on renewable energy.

Here's our strategy to help make a difference: Onboard S/V Pandion, we use renewable sources of power (solar and wind) for transportation and electricity. Six solar panels mounted to our transom arch help keep our house bank of five AGM batteries charged up. Our sails allow us to harness winds that have carried S/V Pandion many hundreds of miles.

S/V Pandion has six solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity,
stored in our bank of five LifeLine AGM batteries.

We do use engines that burn fossil fuels, including two Yanmar diesel engines, and a Yamaha four stroke outboard gasoline engine on Newt, our dinghy. Each of these engines has been designed for ultra low emissions that significantly reduce CO2 discharges into the atmosphere. When we owned vehicles (prior to our sailing life), our primary vehicle was a Toyota Prius hybrid that also had ultra low emissions, as well as outstanding gas mileage, averaging well over 45 MPG.

We use our folding kayaks to explore many islands in the Bahamas, using good old muscle power. Sort of renewable. 

We buy local produce and food in the Islands, and have changed our diet so it's healthier, with a smaller carbon footprint.

We also vote. Any candidate for local, state or federal office that claims that climate change is a hoax, or refuses to acknowledge that our climate is a serious issue that demands action, will not earn our vote. The current Administration's refusal to accept the recommendations of their own federal agencies on climate mitigation, stepping back from the Paris Climate Accord, and rolling back limits on gas mileage and emissions are inexcusable. The Department of Defense, however, continues to develop contingency plans for climate change effects that are already having impacts worldwide.

Yale University's recent nationwide poll on how we perceive this issue is heartening: Americans who now accept climate change outnumber those who do not, by 5 to 1.

So it's a big issue. Not easily solved. But it's happening and we have to face it, and not just for ourselves. Brenda and I are parents and now grandparents, and we care deeply about what world we will be leaving for the next generations. The technology to move us from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is out there.

And now that awareness among Americans, who are among the world's greatest contributors to CO2 emissions, is on the rise, we can begin to change our thinking and our behavior.