Becoming an Emerald Shellback

I previously wrote about Neptune Day and the process of becoming a shellback. Well, the nautical accolades keep coming and during our transit from South Africa to Ghana I became an emerald shellback by crossing the 0° 0° mark.

Buoy marking 0* 0*

The 0° 0° mark is where the Prime Meridian meets the Equator and 0 latitude, 0 longitude results. The ship went slightly off course to make sure everyone got the opportunity to mark this special occurrence. Unlike Neptune Day, there was no ceremony and other than the sighting of a buoy in the water the morning proceeded as normal.

The buoy is close to 0° 0° but not exactly on target. While it’s fun to think that a buoy has been placed at the 0° 0° mark for no other reason than to mark the spot in the ocean, it actually takes weather and wave readings. Although it’s tethered to the ocean floor 2,000 meters down, it moves slightly with the waves and therefore is not directly on 0° 0° all the time.

Not all voyages that pass the 0° 0° mark actually see the buoy so it’s unique that we did. The Captain blew the horn and sailed a big circle around the buoy to mark the occasion. And with that, the spring 2014 voyagers became Emerald Shellbacks.

On the ship, there is a TV station that marks our navigation. You can see us at 0* 0*!