OGAP Sampling Voyage - In Darwin’s Wake Holland - Canary Islands - Uruguay - Patagonia
October – November 2021 aboard the PELAGIC 77 Vinson of Antarctic
On the morning of October 11, 2021, the Vinson of Antarctica, a newly built 77-foot polar expedition vessel, departed the KM shipyard in Makkum Holland and made its way through the locks leading out to the North Sea to start her 8,000 nautical mile voyage to Patagonia.
Over ten days leading up to departure, OGAP scientific leader and Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida Dr. Leonid Moroz and OGAP co-founder Peter Molnar outfitted the vessel with plankton sampling and scientific equipment to gather, observe, document and genetically sequence elusive microscopic species using OGAP unique methodology and mobile labs
Vinson and the OGAP team followed the route of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking voyage sailing southward to the Canary Islands, across the Atlantic and along the east coast of Brazil ending at Punta del Este Uruguay.
The voyage was the latest leg of OGAP’s 15,000+ nm sampling transects completed to date to study thousands of known and new species and potentially millions of novel biologically active molecules to expand our understanding of life in our oceans, unlock the deepest workings of biology and lead to new medical treatments for humankind.
The five-week Atlantic crossing allowed the international science team to:
· Test novel laboratory equipment such as powerful microscopes and refine observational techniques in a range of sea states;
· Gather and study unique organisms such as sea angels and sea devils and come across very unexpected organisms such as cryptic larval forms in the open ocean;
· Gain experience of the workflow, living conditions and outfitting onboard a 77’ vessel very similar in size and volume to the current design models of SRV Morpheus.
Detailed accounts of the voyage and the work performed:
As the OGAP team disembarked in Uruguay due to COVID restrictions, OGAP is planning future sampling voyages in Patagonia including the Beagle Channel and the Cape Horn Islands to complete tracing Darwin’s groundbreaking voyage of discovery. A highlight of the voyage was the chance to train the two young Chilean sailors onboard. As they were born and raised in Puerto Williams, we hope to include them in future sampling efforts as to develop local participation in this important scientific work. This is a part of a broader mission to train and educate science citizens and all diversity groups in marine sciences and Planetary Health.
Ongoing study of this region of the Southern Oceans will provide a true proof-of-concept of OGAP’s goal of building a high-resolution genomic atlas of the world oceans.
The voyage was generously underwritten in part by Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, prominent tech investors and founders of Gemini, a crypto exchange and custodian. “We appreciate OGAP’s unique technological approach, and the potential for dramatic advances in our understanding of biology,” says Cameron Winklevoss.
Vinson of Antarctica team played a critical role, graciously offering OGAP use of its newly built expedition vessel. We thank the entire Vinson team and the Winklevoss brothers, for their early and substantial support of the OGAP mission.