Tag archives for Backspacer
Posted by Welcome to the final week of the Great Turtle Race! I’m Rowdy Gaines, and we are thrilled to report that after thousands of miles of swimming, we have a winner! Backspacer has finally ended the suspense! She made up her mind and crossed the finish line through the Windward Islands, between St. Vincent and St. Lucia. Now she’s doing a victory lap inside the Caribbean. Congratulations to Backspacer and her coach, Eric Shanteau!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Who will be next? There are several turtles who seem to be poised to beat the buzzer and finish the Race. Nueva Esperanza sure seems to be picking up speed. She is heading toward the Caribbean after being hundreds of kilometers out to sea. And how about Estéban? He seemed to almost cross the finish line, but bounced back and did a loop! Maybe he’s following Backspacer’s example.
Check out Seabiscuit! He’s oh-so-close to the finish line off Suriname and French Guiana! Maybe he’s waiting for Wawa Bear. Lindblad the Explorer seems to have stopped in her tracks like Billy did before. Maybe she’s whale watching, or maybe she’s just resting up for the final push to the finish line. She’d better hurry–she doesn’t have much time! Nightswimmer has changed course and is now heading west toward the US. Check out the interactive Race Map. Who do you think will be the next turtle to cross?
We know leatherbacks are deep divers, so what about our Race turtles? The deepest dive challenge results are in! The winner of this challenge is Grembo Jones. Grembo made a total of 6 dives that were more than 800 meters (2,625 feet) deep!
On the final day of the Race, we’ll announce the winner of the granddaddy of all swimming competitions: total distance traveled. Olympic star Aaron Peirsol is the official coach for this challenge. Check back on Wednesday, April 29th to see which turtle will claim the title of champion traveler!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 11
Rowdy Gaines here with an update on the Great Turtle Race. Backspacer continues to dance around that finish line, now heading north. She’s so close to the finish line, but won’t cross. Let’s hope she makes up her mind to finish soon! Wawa Bear did some more loops, so she must not be ready to stop swimming yet!
Estéban is on a mission! He’s cruising fast toward the Caribbean, looking to enter near the Windward Islands. If this were a NASCAR race, Cali would be the winner! He seems to have completed a full lap through the Atlantic from the point where he began his migration.
Nueva Esperanza and Seabiscuit have peeled off from the rest of the group, but Nueva is pointed toward the Caribbean Sea and Seabiscuit toward the Guianas. Are they finally making their move?
We still haven’t heard from Billy, so it looks like his transmitter has stopped working altogether. This can happen for lots of reasons, but it always happens. Sooner or later, transmitters stop sending signals, and we don’t hear from those turtles after that. While we don’t know exactly what happened to Billy’s transmitter. Whatever happened, let’s hope that Billy makes it down to the Caribbean after all!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
With only three days left in the Race, it’s coming down to the wire to see how many turtles can cross the finish line before the end. Check back tomorrow to see if any turtles can make the final push to be the first to get into the Caribbean! We’ll also be announcing which turtle made the most dives into deep waters! In the meantime, check out the interactive Race Map to relive what’s happened in the race so far.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 10
Happy weekend everyone! I’m Rowdy Gaines reporting live on the Great Turtle Race!
Backspacer spun around, and then buzzed past Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, but she still won’t cross the finish line! We’ve seen these turtles do some unexpected things in the Race so far, but what is up with Backspacer?
Speaking of spinning, Nueva Esperanza twirled in place and is now pointed toward the west, as is Seabiscuit. Estéban is really moving toward the finish line now.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Cali is now near the coast of the U.S. It looks like he might even be heading back to Canada!
We’re certainly in for an exciting finish to the Race!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 9
Hello again Race fans, I’m Rowdy Gaines bringing you the Great Turtle Race! We have some major action in the Race as the week comes to a close.
Backspacer is very close to the finish line but won’t cross. She just can’t seem to make up her mind about entering the Caribbean. Will her dawdling cost her the Race? Will another turtle take advantage of her indecisiveness and speed past her across the finish line?
Several turtles are spinning around the same area north of South America, including Lindblad the Explorer, Nightswimmer, Estéban, Seabiscuit, and Nueva Esperanza. Who will break out of that pack? It looks like Estéban might be the first to leave that group and head for the finish line! But where will he cross?
Grembo Jones and Searcher are still off on their own, probably taking advantage of being away from all those bigger turtles and finding lots of jellies all for themselves!
Cali definitely seems to be heading away from the Caribbean and back toward New England and Nova Scotia. Does he think this racetrack goes in a loop? Visit the Race Map to check your favorite turtle’s position.
The results are in for the longest dive competition! All of the turtles made dives lasting longer than one hour, but Cali is the clear winner of this challenge–he made an incredible 148 dives longer than 60 minutes!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Check back on Monday, April 27th to find out which turtle made the most frequent deep dives. We might even have a winner in the Race on Monday!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 8
Hi everyone, I’m Rowdy Gaines reporting on the Great Turtle Race!
Backspacer is edging ever-so-close to the finish line. Will she cross it, or will she wait to pick the perfect place to finish her long swim? The Caribbean is a big place after all, with so many places to see…
Billy hasn’t moved over the last two days, but we now know why: his transmitter is not sending signals, so we can’t track him. Let’s just hope that he’s experiencing technical difficulties and we’ll hear back from his transmitter soon.
Wawa Bear has been swimming in a loop, and Seabiscuit looks like he might try one, too! Why play around like that when they’re getting so close to the finish line? They and the other turtles hanging at that latitude are passing through the North Equatorial Current, which is flowing from east (Africa) to west (Caribbean), and creates lots of different smaller currents that probably are like snack bars for leatherbacks there. Maybe they’re hanging out and waiting for jellyfish.
How long can a leatherback turtle stay underwater on just one breath? Check back tomorrow when the results of the longest dive competition are revealed!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 7
Hi Race fans! Rowdy Gaines here. Today is Earth Day, and the turtles are celebrating by making the Race interesting.
Billy seems to have gotten stuck -maybe he stopped to look for a bite to eat? He better watch out, because his pause is allowing Backspacer to pass him!
Seabiscuit appears to be following the path taken by Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear toward South America. Can he catch up with them?
Illustration by Chris Rooney
It looks like Grembo Jones and Searcher are heading towards Africa instead of the Caribbean. Maybe Searcher is showing Grembo some cool spots in the eastern Atlantic.
What’s Cali doing? He seems to have taken a turn to the west. Is he trying a different route? He looks to be steering toward the U.S. coast. Maybe he’s headed for Florida.
For Earth Day, what better way to celebrate than to cheer on your favorite turtle and do your part to keep the environment safe and clean! Leatherbacks and other sea creatures are threatened by pollution (like plastic bags) in the oceans. Take the No Plastic Pledge and help keep leatherbacks and other marine life safe!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 5
Hello Race fans! I’m Race commentator Rowdy Gaines. This week in the Great Turtle Race is going to be the most important, as the turtles try to cover great distances as fast as possible and get to their Caribbean destinations!
Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are neck-and-neck and look like they’re both headed for South America. How long until they get there?
Meanwhile, Billy is on a straight course toward Puerto Rico and making great time, as is Seabiscuit. He has really made up water on the leaders, making a straight line toward the Caribbean. He looks like he is on a mission! Backspacer, Nightswimmer, Cali, and Estéban are also coming on strong.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Speaking of Estéban, he is the winner of the first swimming challenge! He swam through cold water for an incredible 27.4 percent of his time in cold water. By cold, we mean colder than 15°C / 60°F!
Olympic champion Cullen Jones has been working with the turtles to get them to break new barriers in diving on just one breath. The results from the longest dive challenge will be posted on Friday, April 24th.
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 4
Hi everyone, Rowdy Gaines here on Day 4 of the Race. This weekend the turtles in the Race are making good progress toward their goal of reaching the Caribbean finish line!
Nueva Esperanza seems to be the farthest along now, as she has quietly made steady progress since leaving Nova Scotia. But watch out: Seabiscuit, Backspacer, Nightswimmer, and Wawa Bear are gaining on her and making this close race! After a few more spins, Cali took off like a shot to catch up with the rest of the turtles by the end the day! Billy is pointed straight toward the Caribbean, but he’s really far away from the other turtles.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Grembo Jones and Searcher, the two smallest turtles in the Race, are taking a very wide turn, almost toward the Azores Islands in the eastern Atlantic. Grembo is a mischievous turtle, so maybe she’s planning a surprise for the other turtles. Could Searcher be in on the prank?
Check back tomorrow to find out which of the turtles did the best polar bear impression and spent the most time in cold water during the Race. While you’re waiting for the next update, visit the interactive Race Map and check the position of your favorite turtle.
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 1
Hi, this is Rowdy Gaines reporting on the first day of the Great Turtle Race! The turtles are off and swimming!
Almost all of the turtles started in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (in Canada), so they have a long way to go to reach the Caribbean. There was a bit of a bottleneck as the racers tried to get out into the open ocean, but several of the turtles are off to a fast start!
Cali was given a head start to help him after he was entangled in fishing gear. Wawa Bear seems to be keeping her distance from the rest of the turtles; she’s a big turtle who apparently needs her space.
Nueva Esperanza is also off to a good start, but some of the turtles seem to be slow getting out of the Gulf. Lindblad the Explorer, Estéban, Nightswimmer, and Backspacer need to make up some ocean, fast!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
Posted by
Length: 150.5 cm (5 ft)
Width: 113 cm (3 ft 9 in)
Weight: 375 kg (825 lbs)
Illustration: Chris Rooney
Sponsor: Pearl Jam
Coach: Eric Shanteau
Backspacer has a lot on her mind.
She joined the Race for the sake of the journey, to take to the road
and to think about where she’s been and where she’s headed next. She
started the Race from the most northerly point of any of her
competitors, deep in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Backspacer’s sponsors,
the legendary rock band Pearl Jam, are hoping that she can win the Race
and find her way home in time for the release of their new album in the
Fall!
Backspacer’s
coach, Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau, has been helping her to focus on
moving ahead and taking deep breaths during her long sojourn south.
Go to the Great Turtle Race map.
Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
