The North Atlantic Ocean has always had Sargasso weed, which was mainly concentrated near the ocean’s center in what is known as the Sargasso Sea. Sailing from the Northeast of the U.S. and routing east of Bermuda will take a boat through the western reaches of the Sargasso Sea and thus it will inevitably encounter a few patches of floating weed. But, in 2010, that all changed. During that year, according to NOAA, the prevailing westerly winds that blow from the U.S. to Europe shifted to a southerly direction, which in turn blew patches of weed north into the east flowing currents and then into the south flowing Canary Current. In this new environment, aided by warming waters, Sargasso weed proliferated until it’s extensive patches reached all the way from Africa across the Atlantic and Caribbean in the tropical trade winds. The result has been a huge infestation of the weed in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico where it washes ashore by the ton and rots in the sun. The stink can be horrendous. In economies dependent on tourism, rotting weed on the beaches is bad for business. And, for passage-making sailors, the increase of the weed along our natural sailing routes creates a hazard to navigation and to the raw water cooling systems of marine diesel engines. There is no simple solution to this huge environmental problem, but for offshore sailors we know we need to keep an eye out for patches of Sagassum and make sure our engines’raw water strainers are clear. For more information from NOAA, click here.
