Ahoy there, matey! What comes to your mind when you hear the
word “sea”? Probably sandy beaches, palm trees, the tide
rolling in and splashing the shore. How’d you like to sail with me to an invisible
sea with no shores? Great! Climb on board! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this sea’s
got a mysterious reputation for swallowing ships. Eh, it’s ok, I’m sure we’ll be fine… Destination: the Sargasso Sea. So, if this “invisible” sea has no shores,
then what makes up its borders? Well, it’s located right in the middle of
the North Atlantic Ocean, and its borders are all natural – they’re 4 major ocean
currents. It basically sits in the whirlpool between
them. There's the Gulf Stream Current to its west,
which moves up to its northern border, the North Atlantic Current. Then the water swirls downward in the Canary
Current to the east, and, finally, the southern border is the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. On its western fringes you’ll find the island
of Bermuda. Does that ring any bells? Yes, that very Bermuda and its infamous triangle
that’s been tied to tons of mysterious maritime disappearances. But I’ll get into that here in a bit… Because its “borders” are ocean currents
and currents are constantly moving, it’s impossible to say exactly how large the Sargasso
Sea is. On average, it’s about 1,430 miles long
from east to west and 680 miles from north to south. The water in it is bright blue. Go ahead, lean over the side and take a look! The water is so clear that you can see 200
feet down! Now, when you think of the North Atlantic,
you probably imagine ice-cold waters and strong winds swirling around. I mean, hey, this is where that iceberg was
that brought down the Titanic! But in fact, that’s not the case with the
Sargasso Sea. The water in it is unusually warm for this
part of the ocean, a pretty stable 75°F give or take depending on the season. The weather is surprisingly stable too, so
the winds are really calm and weak. But what’s that up ahead? A huge dark mass in the water as far as the
eye can see coming right up on us! Ah, no worries! It’s just some Sargassum seaweed! It can only be found in this very spot on
Earth, and it grows and floats in a thick mat on the surface. The amount of Sargassum in this sea is where
the name comes from, and it’s estimated to be about 10 million tons! Check it out: it slowly rotates clockwise
thanks to those currents I just told you about! The first mention of the Sargasso Sea was
made by Carthaginian mariners in the 5th century BCE. Himilco the Navigator described the unusual
waters covered with seaweed in his accounts. Then, many years later in the early 15th century,
Portuguese sailors discovered this area and spread the word about it. Christopher Columbus himself crossed it in
1492. He actually thought he’d reached some land
as he got into it because the seaweed was so dense. But really, he was still hundreds of miles
away from the shore! It’d all be just an interesting natural
phenomenon, except for one eerie detail: the Sargasso Sea is often called the Sea of Lost
Ships... And that comes as no surprise since it crosses
into the Bermuda Triangle! Yes, the one and only… So what’s so dangerous about a sea with
calm crystal-clear waters, no heavy winds or huge waves, no icebergs – ya know, the
typical culprits when it comes to taking down ships. Well, in the case with the Sargasso Sea, it’s
none of the above that brought so many vessels to an untimely demise. It’s the sea’s almost absent winds that
make it hard for sailing ships to pass through. Large freighters and barges can cross it pretty
easily, but smaller less powerful ships haven’t always been so successful in the area. Plenty have gotten stuck and lost here… The first official record of a lost ship was
made in 1840, when the London Times reported the disappearance of the Rosalie. The interesting part is that it didn’t just
disappear or get swallowed to the bottom of the sea. No, it was eventually found floating aimlessly
…with not a single person on board. The newspaper based the article on a letter
they’d received from the capital city of Nassau in the Bahamas. It said a French vessel going from Hamburg
to Havana was discovered completely abandoned. There was no damage to the ship at all, the
sails were set, and the expensive cargo of fruits and silks was also in perfect condition. So, it couldn’t have been a storm or pirates. The captain’s papers were secure and in
the right place. The officers’ and passengers’ cabins were
also undisturbed. It looked as if everyone onboard had either
abandoned ship or simply vanished into thin air. But it’d be incorrect to say not a living
soul was left – there was a cat and some birds still safe and sound! This wasn’t the only record of mysterious
disappearances in the area. In 1881, the American schooner Ellen Austin
encountered another ship traveling through the area with no passengers whatsoever. Ellen Austin’s captain decided it was a
good opportunity to capture the ship and sent some of his men over. And guess what happened? The ship disappeared for two days, and when
it was finally found, none of the captain’s crew was on board! In 1955, a yacht called the Connemara IV also
disappeared in the area and was found 140 miles away from Bermuda with absolutely nobody
on board. And between the 1960s and ‘80s, a few more
abandoned boats were spotted in the area. The list of mysterious disappearances just
goes on and on, but for time’s sake, I’ll leave it at that... All these stories, of course, made people
fear the area. They were convinced that the seaweed entangles
travelers forever, forcing them to form small isolated communities of the Sargasso Sea. That’s one theory that became pretty popular
in literature and film, like in the 1933 novel The Sargasso Ogre. (What’s that – Shrek paddling around the
seaweed in a kayak?) Nope. It describes generations dating back to Elizabethan
pirates living amidst the sea! For those who are seeking a more scientific
explanation than some dark powers or monstrous seaweed entangling ships, hate to break your
skeptic bubble, but there’s no official answer yet. Some marine experts believe it has something
to do with the seaweed and the huge whirlpool that it’s floating in. Richard Silvester from the University of Western
Australia compares it to a centrifuge that creates smaller whirlpools. They spread out of the Sargasso Sea and right
into the Bermuda Triangle. The big whirlpools are so strong that they
can catch a ship and drag it inside them. The smaller ones travel as mini-cyclones in
the air, disturbing the water below them. Whether or not the Sargassum seaweed is the
cause of all the disasters in the area is still up for debate, but one thing is certain:
this stuff is a unique biological phenomenon. It doesn’t get into the sea with water currents
from elsewhere, but is actually native specifically to the Sargasso Sea. It’s born and grows right in the water. And it’s home to hundreds of unique fish
and a few rare species of sea turtle. Marine biologists and oceanographers from
different countries name the Sargasso Sea “the golden rain forest of the ocean”
and say it plays a huge role in the life of the North Atlantic ecosystem. For example, it’s really hard for little
fish to find a place to hide from predators and grow in the open sea with no coral reefs. So, they find refuge in the Sargassum seaweed
right in the middle of the ocean. Those little fish then serve as a food source
for bigger species (oh well), and the circle of life goes on from there. The fish also take advantage of the plant
materials and use them for food as well. American and European eels come to the area
and use it as a safe place to breed. Young sea turtles hide from predators in the
mat of weeds until they grow up and become ready to face life out in the open ocean. Even migrating humpback whales use the area
as a temporary home! Unfortunately, not only turtles and fish travel
with the currents right into the Sargasso Sea. The moving waters also carry garbage with
them, including plastics that aren’t biodegradable. Once this garbage gets entangled in the seaweed,
it stays right there, surrounded by a wall of currents. At the moment, this unique sea is part of
the North Atlantic garbage patch. It was first found in 1972 and is only getting
bigger with time. At present, it’s hundreds of miles in size! The authorities in Bermuda are taking action
to protect and conserve this beautiful and unique borderless sea and its wildlife. Well, all I can say is, whatever’s making
ships disappear in this area, it doesn’t seem interested in taking our trash! Guess we’ll just have to do something about
that ourselves… But what about you: would you dare to sail
across the Sargasso Sea? Let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give
this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don’t go kayaking with
Shrek just yet! We have over 2,000 cool videos for you to
check out. All you have to do is pick the left or right
video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!
