5. Crossing the Atlantic against the Currents!

Imagine you are in Brest, France, and you set sail to cross the Atlantic to Miami, Florida, on a small motorboat capable of travelling at 10 knots (5 m s-1). That means that the boat’s speed would be 5m s-1 if there was no current, but the real speed of the boat will be the sum of its speed relative to the current and the ocean current itself.

You have a map of absolute Sea Surface Topography taken from satellites (shown below, and taken from real satellite data), and you must choose one of five proposed routes (numbered 1 to 5, and also shown in different colours and linestyles on the map). Which one you think is the fastest one, that is the one with the shortest crossing time (which will also save you fuel!)?

Hint: you now know that currents and surface slopes are related, so try to use the currents to your advantage!

The table below gives the distance of the different routes. Take your pick, then check the results, in terms of crossing time in days, hours and minutes.

Route: 1 2 3 4 5
Distance: 6889 km 6872 km 6889 km 6902 km 7058 km
Choose one: Check Check Check Check Check
Zoom Sign
Route map with five alternatives
Map of alternative routes. Click on the image for a larger version so you can see the current eddies.