Homo erectus paddled out onto these seas on log floats, Phoenicians and Romans sailed past these shores in search of wealth and empire, navies of the great European powers fought for control of these waters as a key to the lands they surround, but all the while another world has waited only a few feet below the hulls of the busy ships, silent, full of mystery and beauty. The waters of the western Atlantic are rich, billions of tiny algae nourish a towering food web, coloring the sea a deep green and drawing a cloak over the world beneath the waves. But though removed from our sight, the creatures of the submarine realm live in close partnership with our terrestrial lives; fishermen and seabirds bring the energy and nutrient wealth of the sea ashore, rivers return the gift and in their estuaries sun and land, freshwater and salt all combine in the richest ecosystems on earth. Still, the oceans are truly different, an alien world, the most ancient realm of life on the planet. Here are animals with bodies like brilliant pink flowers, with limbs like delicate ferns waving in the currents, spiky stars, scuttling crabs, golden sponges, bright curious fish.
Today I used the Caledonian Star's undersea gear to dive and videotape this beautiful, surprising world, descending onto a rocky reef below a lonely lighthouse off the tip of the Quiberon Peninsula at the southwest corner of Brittany. Though the water was chilly and visibility was very poor, I encountered a wonderful variety of marine creatures. Large decorator crabs prowled below the canopy of the kelp, strange sponges called Deadman's Fingers poked up out of the sand into the dark water 60 feet down and a small friendly wrasse swam right up to the lens of my camera. Back on board, I edited the best shots into a short presentation and was able to share these delights with everyone in the group at the evening's recap. This voyage, from Africa to England, has been a remarkable odyssey through the fascinating history and culture of the region, but today it was a particular pleasure for me to turn our attention for a few moments to the seas on which we have been sailing. And to remember that through every era of history we have encountered, the sea has lived beside us.
