Dear Voyage Supporters
You usually read Voyage Blogs from Jon in this space. This evening Jon lies anchored off Rottnest Island in preparation for sailing to Fremantle tomorrow where he will cross the track of his departure on 03 November 2019. 455 days after departing Fremantle Jon will cross the finish line around 1.30pm and enter Fremantle Harbour. By crossing his departure track Jon will officially complete his 11th circumnavigation of the globe. Jon will have taken 214 water samples, each taken at 11.00am local time during the voyage. Voyage records show Jon took daily water samples of 115 litres, plus or minus 1.2 litres. This is a remarkable achievement with unexpected consistency.
After a lap around Fremantle Harbour around 2.30pm Jon will tie up at Fremantle Yacht Club for a public reception at which Jon will hand over the final batch of water samples collected along the Australian coast from Bundaberg to Fremantle.
Preliminary results of the analysis for microplastics will be announced at the reception.
The voyage is a complete success. On 31 January 2021 Jon, at 81 years of age, will be the oldest person to have solo circumnavigated the world. He will have completed more circumnavigations than any other person in history.
The water sampling process devised by Morgan Flower and James Myburgh in conjunction with Curtin University for this voyage is simple, low cost, easily installed in any vessel and allows the water sampling for microplastics to be replicated.
The data resulting from the analysis of the 214 water samples collected by Jon will provide the first reliable data base of microplastics in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. The simple and reliable water sampling pioneered by this voyage will allow future researchers to monitor the levels of microplastics. We will then know whether those levels are increasing or decreasing and the rate of change. This is essential information for managing our oceans, for the management of our oceans may prove critical to our future.
Thank you for supporting the voyage. Support has come from our wonderful donors, some of whom contributed funding, other contributed equipment or their services. Others supported with notes of encouragement to Jon via the web site. Donations have been large and small, from old and young, from across Australia and around the world.
You have made possible an important, history making voyage. Thank you.
Kind regards
Stephen (for Jon and the team)
30 January 2021