Woodside, CA
A sad commentary on the state of the oceans, by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston… see this article in the Times.
It makes me sad that the ocean I will be setting out across this summer is a less magical, and more dangerous, place than it would have been forty years ago. If it has changed this much in the space of one lifetime, what does the future hold? Will there be any whales left at all? Or will the oceans be criss-crossed by a series of container ship superhighways?
What IS all this stuff being shipped around the world anyway? Is it really necessary, or dictated by the desire for financial gain rather than common sense?
According to Wikipedia, the world’s biggest container ship is 400m long and can carry 14,500 containers, a cargo worth up to $300 million. Between 5 and 6 million units are in transit at any one time. This “entails a great deal of risk” says Wikipedia.
I guess they mean financial risk, but I’m thinking more of the risk to a little 24-foot rowboat…