Anyone seeing any sargassum on Sea Days?

[MeHeartCruising]

Does anyone else think “Sargassum of the Seas” works well for the name of a ship?

[Ret MP]

18 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Does anyone else think “Sargassum of the Seas” works well for the name of a ship?

Sounds like an X-rated movie to me. 

[resetjet]

17 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

Its a click bait news headline this year.  Of course.

 

It's been happening forever, more noticeable since 2010, because 'it is a headline.  It implies a certain narrative re: climate.  Although it is more consequential to the Caribbean islands, it also impacts Florida coasts, and currently anything Florida that is negative will get front page status (sargassum seaweed, pythons, spring break, etc.).  😉 

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/great-atlantic-sargassum-belt-here-stay/593290/

 

"The Caribbean would usually experience a few small mats of sargassum washing ashore in a given year, until 2011, when the seaweed first began arriving in unexpectedly large waves. Similar pileups have occurred almost every year since; 2015 and 2018 saw especially bad blooms."

 

Now, no one has the sargassum levels, extended aerials and satellite imaging for the past 200 years, but they are sure this is all recent phenomenon.  🤣

 

It does not SMELL until it is on shore (i.e., it does not smell at sea for the cruisers concerned) ~

 

"In the North Atlantic, sargassum is an important habitat for marine life, but after 48 hours on shore the seaweed starts to emit toxins like hydrogen sulphide which, in low amounts, smell like rotten eggs."

 

We have it annually in south Florida on the East Coast.  In the past, the beaches were cleaned daily mechanically.  NOW,  the 'turtles' have a calendar and around March 1 the beaches can't be cleaned in the same fashion.  There are no turtles yet at our beach, but March 1 is the date the regulations change.  You know, the 'turtles' have a calendar.  🤪

 

All is good though.  Here in FLL, we harvest the seaweed from the beaches, compost and dry rot through soil mix and re-use to fertilize the dunes and waterfront areas, n.a.t.u.r.a.l.l.y.  It may be temporarily unsightly, temporarily smelly etc. but it is eco-friendly to fish, other wildlife on the shore and to plants and trees in the dunes and beachfronts.

 

 

 

Exactly. Click bait.  Its not a giant carpet of seaweed.  Its just small patches over a big area.  Happens every year

[ssb]

From above article :

 

John Yang says:

" It sounds like science fiction. A 5,000 mile long belt of seaweed mitt weighing more than 11 million tons is sloshing around to the Atlantic Ocean. When some of it reaches Florida, it threatens to wreak havoc in the coastal waters and on the beaches, but it is very real. It's called The Great Atlantic Sargassum belt, so big it can be seen from space spanning the tropical Atlantic from West Africa to the Caribbean."

Edited March 22, 2023 by ssb

[Cayman1]

I see a lot of Sargassum from my wife daily. 🤷‍♂️ 😂

[resetjet]

1 hour ago, ssb said:

From above article :

 

John Yang says:

" It sounds like science fiction. A 5,000 mile long belt of seaweed mitt weighing more than 11 million tons is sloshing around to the Atlantic Ocean. When some of it reaches Florida, it threatens to wreak havoc in the coastal waters and on the beaches, but it is very real. It's called The Great Atlantic Sargassum belt, so big it can be seen from space spanning the tropical Atlantic from West Africa to the Caribbean."

Its true.  Its just not a belt.  I just sailed through the center of it twice last week.  Small patches 3sf every 1/4 mile.  So spaced apart you cant even see it unless its very close to the ship

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, resetjet said:

Its true.  Its just not a belt.  I just sailed through the center of it twice last week.  Small patches 3sf every 1/4 mile.  So spaced apart you cant even see it unless its very close to the ship

For sure!!!!!!! 

 

As I've said, this is mostly media-driven hype and/or agenda-driven hype.