If I told you the world’s largest garbage dump was almost twice the size of continental United States would you believe me?

Well, that’s how big the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the collective name for two gigantic masses of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean. The two masses are known as the Western Pacific Garbage Patch and the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been described as a “plastic soup”. It consists of about 100 million tons of garbage, extending up to 100 feet below the surface, all being held together by the swirling currents of the ocean. The mammoth garbage patch is a result of general litter from both sea vessels and land. Here’s an animation showing the movement of the currents surrounding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

found on greenbagsunlimited.com

found on ayanaresort.com

A car sits atop another in an area affected by an earthquake and tsunami in Miyako, Iwate prefecture March 14, 2011.

A pleasure boat sits on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture on March 14, 2011. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images)

The vast devastation wrought by the earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, may only be matched by the destroyed lives left in their wake. Few survivors have been found, but families continue to search for their sons, daughters, wives, husbands and friends. Threats of a nuclear reactor meltdown and resulting disaster loom. – Paula Nelson

Images provided by GeoEye show the Arahama area of Sendai, Japan on April 10, 2010, left, and March 12, 2011. (GeoEye/Associated Press)

A girl’s shoe sits in flood debris Monday, March 14, 2011, in the coastal area of Soma city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. (Wally Santana/Associated Press)

found on boston.com

An oncoming tsunami strikes the coast in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan March 11, 2011. The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire.

Workers inspect a caved-in section of a prefectural road in Satte, Saitama Prefecture, after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Japan slammed its eastern coast March 11. (Saitama Shimbun/Associated Press/Kyodo News).
Vehicles are crushed by a collapsed wall at a carpark in Mito city in Ibaraki prefecture on March 11. (Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images).

A fishing boat rests surrounded by debri in the city of Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture on March 12. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images)
Japanese soldiers make their way atop a wall to get around vehicles swept by a tsunami at Kesennnuma, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press)

A vessel sits after it was washed away by tsunami into urban area in Kesennuma, Miyagi, northern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press)

Cargo containers are strewn about in Sendai Japan March 12. Japan launched a massive military rescue operation Saturday after a giant, earthquake-fed tsunami killed hundreds of people and turned the northeastern coast into a swampy wasteland, while authorities braced for a possible meltdown at a nuclear reactor. (Itsuo Inouye/Asociated Press)

A volunteer firefighter searches for victims of the tsunami at Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan March 13. (Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press)

Vessels washed away by the tsunami sit on land in Minami Soma, Fukushima, northern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press)

found on boston.com

The island of Pemba, known as ‘Al Jazeera Al Khadra’ (the green island) in Arabic, is an island forming part of the Zanzibar archipelago, lying off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is situated about 50 kilometres to the north of the Unguja (the island proper of Zanzibar). In 1964 Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika to form Tanzania. It lies 50 kilometres east of mainland Tanzania, across the Pemba Channel. Together with Mafia Island (south of Zanzibar), these three islands form the Spice Islands (not to be confused with the Maluku Islands of Indonesia). In 1988, the estimated population was 265,000, with an area of 980 km².

Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Zanzibar, is dominated by small scale farming. There is large scale farming of cash crops such as cloves — there are over 3 million clove trees.

In previous years the island was seldom visited due to inaccessibility and a reputation for political violence, with the notable exception of those drawn by its reputation as a center for traditional medicineand witchcraft. There is a quite large Arab community on the island who immigrated from Oman. The population is a mix of Arab and original Waswahili inhabitants of the island. A significant potion of the population also identifies as Shirazi people.

photography by jeseper anhede/ www.anhede.se

found on wikipedia.com

Shortened courses and unfriendly weather, but still Serious Fun! Prize giving at Kim Sha Beach at 6pm tonight! Followed by some amazing music entertainment: Orange Grove, Brainpower and of course WYCLEF JEAN! Are you ready???!!!

Philipsburg, St. Maarten (March 4, 2011) – The 31st edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta kicked off in surprising style  as nearly 200 boats in 18 classes set sail anticipating both serious fun and, of course, serious competition. While most everyone enjoyed a good time and tight racing, they also encountered seriously challenging conditions thanks to squally skies, fluky breeze, and more than one or two windless holes on the racecourse.

found on heinekenregatta.com

The sand grain is so fine it squeakes under your feet. The water is so clear you get a fear of heights snorkeling over the drop outside the shallow reef. The beach is yours and yours alone.
This is barefoot luxury.

- Jesper Anhede

Many parts of the island are not easily accessed, as there is only one metalled road. The rest are often dead-end dirt roads, but while exploring them on your own you might very well find that hidden-away beach you have always dreamt about. Pemba Island has been separated from the mainland and Zanzibar for decades, leaving an untouched and pristine island of great beauty and fertility. The mosaic of forests, swamps, mangroves, hidden beaches and lagoons is scattered with the ruins of mosques and tombs mostly reclaimed by the forest – sites that date back to Arab domination when Pemba Isalnd was seized by the Sultan of Muscat (Oman) in the 17th century. He loved the Spice Islands and established his court in Zanzibar and ruled Muscat from there.

The resort is focused around a large open planned relaxing area that welcomes you to the sea. Life on Pemba revolves around the ocean tides, and as the day progresses you will witness the ever changing colours and shades of blue and green as the tide ebbs and flows.

Photography by Jesper Anhede

Found on  www.anhede.se & www.themantaresort.com

Despite its location almost smack in the center of the Caribbean Sea, the island of Jamaica doesn’t blend in easily with the rest of the Caribbean archipelago. To be sure, it boasts the same addictive sun rays, sugary sands and pampered resort-life as most of the other islands, but it is also set apart historically and culturally.

Today’s visitors will appreciate their trip to Jamaica all the more if they embrace the island’s unique character and the inherent ‘African-ness’ of its population. Aside from its people, Jamaica has much to offer, the curious, thirsty or weary traveller. Nowhere else in the Caribbean is the connection to Africa as keenly felt as it is in Jamaica. Kingston was the major nexus in the New World for the barbaric triangular trade that brought slaves from Africa and carried sugar and rum to Europe, and the Maroons (runaways who took to the hills of Cockpit Country and the Blue Mountains) safeguarded many of the African traditions – and introduced jerk seasoning to Jamaica’s singular cuisine. St Ann’s Bay’s Marcus Garvey founded the back-to-Africamovement of the 1910s and ’20s; Rastafarianism took up the call a decade later, and reggae furnished the beat in the 1960s and ’70s. Little wonder many Jamaicans claim a stronger affinity for Africa than for neighboring Caribbean islands.

One of Jamaica’s greatest allures is its idyllic tropical maritime climate. Coastal temperatures average a near-constant 26°C to 30°C year-round. Temperatures fall steadily with increasing altitude but even in the Blue Mountains average 18°C or more. The annual rainfall averages 1980mm, but nationwide there are some considerable variations, with the east coast receiving considerably more rain than elsewhere on the island. Parts of the John Crow and Blue Mountains receive an average of 7620mm a year. By contrast, the south coast sees little rain and in places is semi-barren.

A ‘rainy season’ starts in May or June and extends through November or December, with the heaviest rains in September and October. Rain can fall at any time of year, however, and normally comes in short, heavy showers, often followed by sun.

Jamaica lies in the Caribbean ‘hurricane belt.’ Officially the hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30; August and September are peak months.

found on lonelyplanet.com

Sailing your dream yacht in Croatia – Exclusive well planned yacht charters, quality boats, first class service, care, and technical back up. We offer you the perfect setup on boats  and crew for a dreamholiday you would not forget.

Our holidays are tailor-made to your requirements and are perfect for families, couples and groups looking for a true Croatian sailing adventure!

Ocean Stockholm offers a brand new Hanse 540 in the crystal clear adriatic waters this summer. A perfect size for a 2-family group. Our aim is simply to make sure that you have a holiday to remember!

found on oceanstockholm.se

“It is fantastic!” This was Paul Cayard’s verdict after a four-hour sail on the AC45 catamaran in beautiful conditions on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf today. Cayard and a crew from Artemis Racing put the cat through a thorough testing session.
Weekend boaters out on the water in force were thrilled to see the America’s Cup cat fly past – less than a week after it capsized in a freak wind gust in the Rangitoto Channel.

After the capsize, the damaged wing was taken to the Core Builders facility in Warkworth, north of Auckland, where a small team, including the America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) team and members of the Artemis Racing crew, executed a flawless repair in just four days.

“We learned a lot in the process and were able to make some small modifications which we believe would reduce the damage if we have a similar incident again,” said Phil Jameson from Artemis Racing, who assisted in the repair of the boat’s wing sail.

Conditions on the Hauraki Gulf for the AC45’s return were excellent, with the breeze building from 12 knots to a solid 18 knots towards the end of the session.

Cayard qualified his comments by noting he was not a multihull sailor. “I have not done much sailing on multihulls, apart from messing about on a Hobie,” he said.“But this seems to me to be a great boat, very well designed. I was able to sail it for quite some time and it was very user-friendly.

“One of the biggest challenges with cats is the danger of digging in the leeward bow, but we never had that issue at all. There was always good buoyancy in the bows. I think that when you consider this project went from zero to sailing in just over four months, it is a very impressive effort.”

Paul Cayard.

Artemis Racing testings – Day 2 -  Ivor Wilkins-www.americascup.com

found on artemisracing.com