The South Pacific
Regatta cruised from San Diego, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii in 5 days. It took another 5 days to reach Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands. The purple triangle in the above map shows part of the area where our ship sailed; Polynesia. All in all, Regatta spent many days on the South Pacific Ocean. And we didn't even go to the North Pacific!
How Big Is The Whole Pacific Ocean?
Area: 63.8 million sq miles
Average depth: 12,925 ft
Volume: Estimates vary from 317 to 330 million cubic miles
Facts:
The Pacific Ocean (The name Pacific originates from the Latin word 'pace' which means peace. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, named the ocean 'mar pacifico' in 1591.) is the latest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia int he west, and the Americas in the east. It covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galapagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the Pacific and in the world, reaching a depth of 35,797 ft. 3 people have been there! The Pacific Ocean is so vast that it covers more area than all land masses in the world combined. It contains about 25,000 islands, the majority of which are found south of the equator.
Regatta cruised from San Diego, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii in 5 days. It took another 5 days to reach Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands. The purple triangle in the above map shows part of the area where our ship sailed; Polynesia. All in all, Regatta spent many days on the South Pacific Ocean. And we didn't even go to the North Pacific!
How Big Is The Whole Pacific Ocean?
Area: 63.8 million sq miles
Average depth: 12,925 ft
Volume: Estimates vary from 317 to 330 million cubic miles
Facts:
The Pacific Ocean (The name Pacific originates from the Latin word 'pace' which means peace. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, named the ocean 'mar pacifico' in 1591.) is the latest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia int he west, and the Americas in the east. It covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galapagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the Pacific and in the world, reaching a depth of 35,797 ft. 3 people have been there! The Pacific Ocean is so vast that it covers more area than all land masses in the world combined. It contains about 25,000 islands, the majority of which are found south of the equator.
(above info from Oceania Cruises Currents Newsletter Nov. 4, 2017
What did we do on those sea-cruising days?
Crossing the Equator Ceremony
Day 13 was a Cruising the Pacific Ocean day, but it was very special. We crossed the equator! If you've ever done by ship, it requires a special ceremony. From the beginning of time seafarers have participated in ancient ceremonial initiations for crossing specific navigational parallel's on the globe.
Such practices are so vintage in origin that their derivation has been lost. The tradition continues with the initiation of all Polliwogs, those soft gushy creatures that have never crossed the Equator into the secret society of Shellbacks, the hard, tough creatures that have crossed the Equator before. Since Bob and I crossed the Equator on our last cruise to become Shellbacks, we watched the ceremony from the top deck as King Neptune and his band of brothers and sisters paraded around and then transformed the pollywogs! (Sorry, I didn't get any good photos of the transformation. It involves water being dumped over your head and kissing of a giant fish, which was a real one!)
What did we do on those sea-cruising days?
Crossing the Equator Ceremony
Day 13 was a Cruising the Pacific Ocean day, but it was very special. We crossed the equator! If you've ever done by ship, it requires a special ceremony. From the beginning of time seafarers have participated in ancient ceremonial initiations for crossing specific navigational parallel's on the globe.
Such practices are so vintage in origin that their derivation has been lost. The tradition continues with the initiation of all Polliwogs, those soft gushy creatures that have never crossed the Equator into the secret society of Shellbacks, the hard, tough creatures that have crossed the Equator before. Since Bob and I crossed the Equator on our last cruise to become Shellbacks, we watched the ceremony from the top deck as King Neptune and his band of brothers and sisters paraded around and then transformed the pollywogs! (Sorry, I didn't get any good photos of the transformation. It involves water being dumped over your head and kissing of a giant fish, which was a real one!)
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| King Neptune and his queen. |
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| Regatta Band leading the Crossing the Equator Parade with King Neptune ready for the initiation. |
| Relaxed! Read! Relaxed!
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