Sea Journeys: 2026

Sunday, August 2, 2026

August 2026 - Latitude38 magazine Caption Contest

https://www.latitude38.com/issues/august-2026/

My submission made it into the Top 10.
See page-38:

[image source: August 2026, Latitude38.com]

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

phys.org - Chicken kidney sponge could be 'outstanding' at cleaning up polluted ports

Chicken kidney sponge could be 'outstanding' at cleaning up polluted ports

"'Here we show that some sponge species have exceptional potential for use in the restoration of degraded harbor habitats,' said Dr. Manuel Maldonado, group leader at the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes in Girona, Spain. "'In our new study in Frontiers in Marine Science, we tested five species, and among them the chicken liver sponge Chondrosia reniformis demonstrated an outstanding ability to adapt to these challenging conditions and even thrive.'"

"Sponges are true ecosystem engineers. Sponge populations filter thousands of liters of seawater daily, removing heavy metals, pathogenic bacteria, viruses and organic particles while recycling nutrients through their symbiotic microbes. This doesn't just improve water quality but also delivers energy and organic matter to the food web. Sponges also provide shelter for worms, crustaceans and juvenile fish."

"All individuals of C. crambe, S. scalaris and I. oros gradually shrank in size and lingered between 20 and 165 days before dying. In contrast, C. reniformis thrived and even reproduced asexually: 91.7% of the original animals survived in the port throughout the entire monitoring period of 455 days."

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci., 29 July 2026
Sec. Marine Conservation and Sustainability
Volume 13 - 2026 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1875098
In search of resilient sponges as candidate habitat engineers for the renaturalization of polluted harbor environments

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1875098/full

Monday, July 13, 2026

December in Falmouth, Cornwall, England?

[image source: Wikimedia maps]

Research Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall

"Cornwall has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with mild winters and cool summers. Cornwall has the mildest and one of the sunniest climates of the United Kingdom, as a result of its oceanic setting and the influence of the Gulf Stream.[73] The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) on the Isles of Scilly to 9.8 °C (49.6 °F) in the central uplands. Winters are among the warmest in the country due to the moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at the coast and are also rare in the central upland areas. Summers are, however, not as warm as in other parts of southern England.[74] The surrounding sea and its southwesterly position mean that Cornwall's weather can be relatively changeable."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falmouth,_Cornwall

"Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a port on the Carrick Roads harbour, overshadowing the earlier town of Penryn. In the 19th century after the arrival of the railways, tourism became important to its economy. In modern times, both industries maintain a presence in Falmouth and the town is also home to the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, a campus of Falmouth University and Falmouth Art Gallery. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 24,032."
"The name Falmouth is of English origin, a reference to the town's situation on the mouth of the River Fal."
"In 1805 news of Britain's victory and Admiral Nelson's death at Trafalgar reached Falmouth from the schooner Pickle and was taken to London by post chaise."
"The Falmouth Docks were developed from 1858,[19] and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) opened Falmouth Lifeboat Station nearby in 1867."
"Between 1943 and 1944, Falmouth was a base for American troops preparing for the D-Day invasions."

I was looking at the map of Southern England today, focusing on area around Lands End, and nearby harbors (spurred by the current Atlantic crossing voyage of S/V Tally Ho, en route to the UK) - and as I explored the photos for the area, I was also checking hotels, on a lark - thinking how nice it might be to spend my birthday this year in some snug harbor along the coast.

I definitely think a week in the Falmouth area might be very interesting.

Here are some of the hotels that caught my attention, in particular:

St Michael's Resort (8.8 stars, 945 reviews)
Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth, England, TR11 4NB

Greenbank Hotel (9.4 stars, 1,009 reviews)
Harbour side, Falmouth, England, TR11 2SR

Travel Research:

I will research pricing/connections flying out of one of the following (for the moment):