What it is like and how it lives
The loggerhead turtle is the sea turtle most often seen in Canary waters. It is recognised by its reddish-brown shell and its large, broad head, more marked than in other turtles.
It spends years travelling the open ocean, far from the coast. It is a great swimmer that covers huge distances, carried in part by the currents. Every so often it comes up to the surface to breathe and to rest in the sun.
When it may appear on our outings
It shows itself fairly regularly in the waters off south-west Tenerife. We often spot it floating calmly, its shell barely breaking the surface.
Even so, we never promise an encounter. The sea is not a stage and nature alone decides what appears each day. When one turns up, we approach slowly and in silence, without disturbing its calm.
Seeing one surface beside the sailboat is the sign of a living sea. It is a serene moment, best enjoyed in a low voice, letting the turtle carry on with its own business.
A reminder to care for the sea
The loggerhead turtle reminds us why the water should be kept free of plastics. These animals can mistake a floating bag for a jellyfish, their food, and swallow it by mistake.
That is why on board we take care to leave no trace in the sea. We throw nothing into the water and come back with everything we take. It is a simple way of giving thanks for each encounter.
Protecting turtles is not just a matter for experts. It begins in small gestures, on and off the boat, that help these ocean travellers keep crossing our waters for many years. Every turtle that surfaces calmly beside the sailboat is proof that the sea, when we care for it, knows how to give its life back to us in encounters like these.
