Europa has been doing really well as she journeys along the north side of the chain, enduring calm and rough seas. We continue to hear whales and other cetaceans. Europa is half way down the chain and has 5-7 more days to go until she reaches Middle Bank. From there she will head back to the Big Island.
Not only has she been enjoying some beautiful sunrises, but she’s also swimming in some warmer water once again!
Check out the Sea Surface Temperature graph of her entire journey and then take a look and listen at the pictures and audio below as she approaches French Frigate Shoals.
Europa heading towards the sunrise
Europa getting some early morning cloud cover
Europa punching through some waves
Europa cruising an a beautiful day
Located approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Mokumanamana is French Frigate Shoals. This crescent-shaped atoll is roughly 19 kilometers wide and 28 kilometers long with 5 islets. The atoll has extensive near-shore reefs. French Frigate Shoals exhibits the classic features of a well-developed coral atoll. The coral growth is atop an eroded volcano, which has been submerged for millions of years. A steep-sided basalt pinnacle juts out of the water in the center of the atoll. This unique rock formation is the last remnant of the original volcano. The pinnacle was named "La Pérouse Pinnacle" after Compte de La Pérouse, who visited the atoll in 1786. In the moonlight the pinnacle so resembled a full-rigged sailing ship that it lured more than one vessel to her doom on the shoals as Captains investigated the unidentified companion.
Photo by: Pelika Andrade/UH Sea Grant, 2017
The Hawaiian name for French Frigate Shoals is Kānemiloha‘i; he was a brother of Pele, the fire goddess. The shallow, uncharted reefs proved dangerous for western sailors who voyaged across the Pacific during the 18th and 19th centuries. Many ships wrecked on these reefs and, to date, seventeen of these shipwreck sites have been discovered and documented by NOAA maritime archaeologists. French Frigate Shoals was claimed by the United States in 1859. Tern Island, was formed into a runway to serve as a refueling stop for planes enroute to Midway during World War II. The original seawall, runway, and some of the buildings remain. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to maintain a field station there, which supports research for seasonal field camps of biologists monitoring Hawaiian monk seals and Hawaiian green turtles.
Photo by: Koa Matsuoka, 2015
French Frigate Shoals has one of the most significant reef systems in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The 230,000-acre reef supports the greatest variety of coral species including the Acropora table coral, finger coral, and stony coral. There are also over 600 species of invertebrates such as sponges, coral worms, snails, lobster, crabs, shrimp clams, oysters, sea urchins, and sea stars, many of which are endemic (found only there) to the atoll. The outer reef waters support gray reef sharks, butterfly fish, and large schools of jacks and groupers. Endemic masked angelfish (Genicanthus personatus) are occasionally seen here at scuba diving depths. In the Main Hawaiian Islands, they are rarely seen shallower than 300 feet. Additionally the majority of the Hawaiian green turtle population (an estimated 96%) nests almost exclusively at French Frigate Shoals. Satellite tagging of these turtles indicates that most of them migrate to the Main Hawaiian Islands to feed and reach sexual maturity before returning to French Frigate Shoals to breed. Some of these turtles travel northwest to feed, while others travel as far south as Johnston Atoll. The atoll is also one of the six main breeding subpopulation sites for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.