All aboard! PANGAEA is ready for the 10th Mike Horn Pangaea Young Explorers Program expedition. Seven new Young Explorers have arrived and we're all charged with energy to change the world. We will share our new-found knowledge with you for the next 20 days. Wish us luck as we explore the Everglades and endeavor to help save the Gulf of Mexico.

November 14th,  Blog by Theresa Kaiser, 16yrs, Germany

Tuesday night was pretty special because it was the first night outside on the ocean. After sailing all day from Fort Lauderdale to Key Largo PANGAEA was fixed in one place with the anchor dropped for the night. Every young explorer was responsible for a one-hour anchor watch throughout the evening. What we “watch” for is any movement of the boat or drifting as there is always a chance that strong winds could dislodge the anchor or alter our position or the anchor’s chain could break. We take watch to make sure that we are always secure even while all is quiet and asleep. Livio woke me up at 5:30 AM and for the next hour I had responsibility for PANGAEA making sure that everyone aboard was safe. I felt a little nervous at the beginning because I realized how important this responsibility really is.

Everything went well on watch and after breakfast I had to pack all the gear which I needed for the next seven days because we have the amazing opportunity for a 6-day kayak trip of more than 120 miles through the Everglades National Park.

After we packed our gear we went with Tristan on the dingy for a twenty minute boat ride through mangroves and harbors to Key Largo where we had to pick up our kayaks from Florida Bay Outfitters. We are all super excited about this trip and couldn’t wait to go out on the water and start paddling! But first we all ate a big lunch together — staff and young explorers — to give us energy for the adventure ahead.

We finally hit the water at about 3 PM. Everybody shared a tandem kayak except for Mike who was in a single boat by himself. I was paired together with Mary, Mike’s PR director. In the beginning we had some difficulties and some laughs trying to figure out how to synch up our strokes and get that kayak to go straight! But after a while, we got used to the boat, the finesse of the rudder and to each other and we really got to enjoy this trip

After a two-hour paddle, the sun set bright in the sky and night fell and we arrived at our campsite with the light of headlamps. It was a small beach at North Nest Key –- one of the beautiful, tiny islands of the thousands and thousands in the Everglades. We set up our tents, made a campfire and I ate for the first but not the last time Trek’n Eat. I didn’t expect it to taste so good!

This is going to be the first time outside in the Everglades and I am super excited for the next few days, looking forward to exploring and to learning about this unique environment and all the animals in there!

The YEP's are now on their way to Fort Lauderdale where Pangaea awaits them. She's stocked up and ready to go! Today our Young Explorers and 8 staff from the Mike Horn team, including guides, scuba specialists, doctors and media crew, will join Pangaa in her mooring at the Bahia Mar Marina. Very soon they will start an exciting adventure, sailing around the Florida Keys, kayaking the Everglades and discovering the unique ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico.

November 13th, Blog by Dan Cullum, 19, New Zealand

For many of the Young Explorers on board, it was our first time seeing and being on board Pangaea. We arrived late last night at Bahia Mar Yachting Club in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and as we walked along the dock and saw the words ‘Pangaea’ written on the bow of a large boat at the end of the dock, we knew the expedition had begun.

Scrubbing the decks and removing rust from the railings were the agenda for this morning, followed by a boat safety talk from Mike, and then a sailing configuration session, taught by Tristan. All the Young Explorers are a little nervous and excited about our first sail tomorrow morning, we have all been told that a lot is expected of us and that we should be able to work all the equipment we learnt about today when Mike asks us.

We also learnt that a few days ago Pangaea had lost her anchor in Port Everglades and that we were going to spend the afternoon retrieving it. The GPS location had been recorded and once we were at the location, six of the Mike Horn Team went diving looking for the anchor. The Young Explorers were all watching from the boat, keeping an eye out for the divers and where they may appear. It took about 4 tries of the team to locate and retrieve the anchor which took the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.

After seeing all the diving being done today, the Young Explorers are looking forward to the diving that we will experience on this trip, and all the beautiful things that we will see.

Leaving tomorrow morning, the harbour, the safety of the port; this is it, the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

Blog written by Aya Anholt, 15, Germany

It’s the final countdown! Just a few days until the expedition begins. Time has gone by rapidly, and now is the time to be gearing up for the ultimate adventure. Lately my life, similar to all the other Young Explorers, has been hectic. Day to night, my schedule jam is packed with expedition preparations, school, volleyball, and more school.

My last few weekends consisted of an open water scuba diving certification course, which is required before going on this expedition. I dove at Whyte Cliff Park and Porteau Cove. Both of these diving sports are in close proximity to where I live. The temperature of the water was freezing, the visibility was surprisingly good, and I was lucky enough to encounter huge sea cucumbers, different species of fish, crabs, and lots of star fish. I find that there’s something truly captivating about the ocean, and when I took my first breath underwater, I realized that this is just my beginning of discovering the incredible world of H2O.

Relevant to the expedition, during science class at school, we have been doing a biology unit in which we learned about how humans influence ecosystems. Subsequently, we discussed wetlands and their ability to filter out wastes. My science teacher briefly talked about the significance of this ecosystem, and as an example, she brought up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its effects on the marshes in that region. I then explained that I will be seeing this first hand, and hopefully that gained some interest amongst my classmates.

Naturally, I am beyond enthused about the expedition! I am thrilled to be meeting Mike Horn once again, and seeing all the wonderful people I met in Chateau-d’Oex! I can’t help but smile when I think about my Pangaea family!

This is a picture of me waving at my dad, after my third dive at Porteau Cove.

MIKE HORN and his PANGAEA YOUNG EXPLORERS PROGRAM EMBARK on EXPEDITION No. 10 to:
The EVERGLADES, KEY LARGO TURTLE HOSPITAL, KEY WEST NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, the DRY TORTUGAS and the BAHAMAS

From November 13 to December 4, 2011, aboard the Mercedes-Benz powered sailing vessel, PANGAEA, Mike Horn and seven selected young explorers representing five different nations lead the first and only PANGAEA project expedition to U.S. territory for dynamic study of the Gulf of Mexico’s fragile aquatic eco-system and exploration of the Everglades– the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States of America.

Château-d`Oex, , SWITZERLAND. — South African, Mike Horn, is acknowledged as the premiere eco-explorer of the modern world. For more than two decades, Horn has undertaken exceptional feats of adventure and environmental analysis that have extended the boundaries of human achievement, natural discovery and ecological education. His latest endeavor, the PANGAEA Project, is a 4-year circumnavigation of the world through a series of 12, tri-annual expeditions each to different climates and biospheres including mountain, desert, ocean, rainforest and tundra.

This November marks the tenth of twelve expeditions (from 2008 and 2012). Horn will depart from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A. with seven young explorers chosen in September 2011 at an exacting two-week selection camp held in Mike Horn Expedition world headquarters of Chateau d’Oêx, Switzerland. On PANGAEA Young Explorers Program Expedition No. 10, Horn and his students, will initiate ecological exploration and data collection regarding biodiversity, water salinity and turbidity, aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, wildlife study and protection, waste management, petroleum, and coral preservation.

Horn and the young explorers will depart Port Everglades and sail 90 miles (145 km) to Key Largo — an exposed, fossilized remnant of a coral reef uncovered during an ice age. From Key Largo, the team will embark on a six-day/six-night 120-mile (nearly 200 km) wilderness waterways kayak excursion around the southern tip of Florida, paddling through the many tiny island keys of Everglades National Park.

Next, Horn and his young explorers will sail PANGAEA 100 miles to Key West – the “Diving Capital of the World" to examine coral reef structures and stability in the waters of the southernmost point of the continental United States. They will participate in a rehabilitation, research and release workshop at The Turtle Hospital (Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project, Inc.) in Marathon, Florida. The group will also explore the National Wildlife Refuge in Key West — one of the United State’s earliest refuges, it is home to more than 250 species of birds and encompasses over 200,000 acres.

The group will sail 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West to the Dry Tortugas — a series of islands continually changing in size as wind and waves reshape them. Some of the smaller islands of the Dry Tortugas have disappeared and reappeared multiple times as a result of hurricane impact.

The expedition will conclude in the Bahamas to explore and appreciate the unique nation consisting of 29 islands, thousands of islets and over 600 keys (A.K.A. cays) small, low-elevation, sandy islands formed on the surface of coral reefs).

The Pangaea USA Expedition is led by seven young explorers:

Rick Kotze, 20 – Pretoria, South Africa

Blog written by Rick Kotze, 20, South Africa

Could you possibly imagine the excitement of an adventure of this scale?

The sleepless nights, filled with vivid images of what’s to come.

The hours of exercise, accompanied by the knowledge that all around the world the others are also preparing.

All the thousands of mails from all around the world…

It all adds up to a feeling of anticipation and excitement the likes of which I have never felt before. It’s as though someone is constantly poking me in the ribs or whispering in my ear, never for a moment letting me forget about this great adventure that I am a part of.

It has been many years since I have felt such a great force of change in my life, sucking me in and steering me in a direction… A direction that I am only too happy to go along with. I mean anything that makes you WANT to check your mail 5times daily, or go for a run when you should be sleeping, couldn’t be a bad thing… could it?!

The expedition starts in a few days! With all that I have left to do between now and then, I’m sure it will fly by in the blink of an eye. I still need to: write two exams, go shopping (one of the few times in my life that I have been looking forward to this), move houses, sort some things out with local media, write 3 more blogs and pack my bags for the expedition! How I will manage to do all this, while the little man is poking my ribs and whispering in my ear, is a mystery. To be honest… Im gonna let future Rick sort that out and just enjoy the experience one step at a time.

I am ready to Learn, Explore and Act…In fact, I am more than ready! I have been waiting!

Follow us on the web and share the experience!

As 2011 is slowly drawing it's curtains, we are approaching our last expedition of the year 2011. I have many expectations to meet before then, but this is the appropriate time to set our New Year resolution! How can new ideas help the Pangaea Expedition? I would like to give all our supporters a chance to actively participate in environmental actions. Please let me know what you have in mind!

In just a few more days Pangaea will be full to the brim again! The 14th of November marks 'D Day' for the 10th YEP Expedition with Mike Horn. Eight excited youths are now packing their bags and preparing for a trip of a lifetime around the Florida coastline and the spectacular region of the Everglades.

I'm in Mumbai India today. The worlds population has grown to 7 billion, while the earths natural resources have shrink. If we want to give each human on the earth an average life, we need 6 times the size of the earth to meet that demand in natural resources…!