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 dilly-dallying cost her the Race? Will another turtle take advantage of her indecisiveness and speed past her across the finish line?

ON THE MAP: Don’t forget to follow the turtles on the race map!

Several turtles are spinning around the same 10-12°N latitude 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?

Don’t you wish you could see what the turtles see while they race toward the finish line? Get a glimpse in today’s blog by humorist George Meyer.

Also, Janet Evans – the greatest female long-distance swimmer of all time lets us in on her training secrets for Nightswimmer and her other turtles.  Read the full post >>

And the results are in for the longest dive competition! Find out which turtle made the most dives lasting over 60 min!

To follow this one up, check back on Monday, April 27th to find out which turtle made the most frequent deep dives!

Who knows, we might even have a winner in the Race on Monday!

Billy seems to have gotten stuck – maybe he stopped to look for a bite to eat? Regardless, his pause is allowing Backspacer to pass him!

ON THE MAP: Don’t forget to follow the turtles on the race map!

Seabiscuit appears to be following the path taken by Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear toward South America – can he catch up with them?

Are Grembo and Searcher headed to Africa? Did they not get the memo about heading to the Caribbean? Maybe Searcher is showing Grembo some way – cool deep – sea spots in the eastern Atlantic.

What’s Cali doing? He seems to have taken a turn to the west – did he hit a strong current that’s blown him off course? Is he trying a different path? He looks to be steering toward the U.S. coast. Could he be headed to 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 – such as plastic debris – in the oceans. Leatherbacks sometimes mistake floating plastic bags for their favorite food – jellyfish – and can die if the plastics they eat block their digestive tracts. Click here to take the No Plastics Pledge, and help keep leatherbacks and other marine life safe!

We also have a fantastic special guest blogger today. While we Race announcers continue to give updates on the Race, marine ecologist and environmental writer Dr. Carl Safina shares his thoughts and experiences about sea turtles and the oceans that have resulted in three books, most recently The Voyage of the Turtle.

And a reminder: The results of the second swimming challenge – which turtle made the longest-lasting dives – will be revealed this Friday, April 24th!

RELATED: There’s a Future in Plastics

ON THE MAP: Don’t forget to follow the turtles on the race map!

Billy is getting really close to the finish line in the northern Caribbean – will he finish soon? The other Racers hope not!

Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are still nearly tied and heading toward South America, with Estéban and Lindblad the Explorer trying to keep them in their sights.

Keep an eye on Seabiscuit – he’s not far behind! Is he going to try to come from behind, just like his famous equine namesake and his famous human coach, Olympic relay star Jason Lezak?

Grembo and Searcher are still the farthest east of all the turtles – are they trying a backdoor approach to the Caribbean? Or have they been distracted by some tasty jellies? Or maybe Grembo is looking for a great break to snag a few waves…

Surfers like Grembo, like sea turtles and swimmers, love the water and want to keep it clean. Surfers worldwide constantly search for the spots with the most pristine waves and beach. Check out what surfing ambassador Josh Berry has to say about taking care of the oceans!

Sea turtle expert, recreational surfer, and ocean lover Wallace ‘J’ Nichols also offers some seafood for thought about how to get involved in ocean conservation.

Check back tomorrow for the Earth Day special edition of Great Turtle Race – it’s already halfway over!

Speaking of which, being a breaststroke specialist has really helped me to prepare my turtles – Grembo Jones, Lindblad the Explorer, and Estéban – for the Race. We breaststrokers have to rely on stamina and leg strength – putting the most power to every stroke as possible. This means I’ve got a lot in common with leatherbacks, whose enormous fore-flippers and swimming muscles are built for strong swimming.

However, my three turtles have pretty strong personalities, which makes it difficult to hold their attention for very long. Grembo is a prankster and cannot hold still for longer than a few seconds; Lindblad is always staring out the window or exploring different corners of the pool; Estéban is always socializing, trying to figure out where the party is. Lucky for me, I like to stay busy with a variety of activities from swimming to modeling to public speaking to SCUBA diving, so I can keep up with them! I just hope some of what I’ve tried to teach them has sunk in!

Being involved in the Great Turtle Race is particularly special to me because I’ve long held a deep love and respect for the ocean world. I’m an avid diver and wildlife enthusiast, and free-swimming with sea turtles in their big blue ‘pool’ is about the most wonderful way I can think of to spend my time.

DAY BY DAY: Follow every move the turtles make on the race map!

I’ve also been lucky enough to witness a female leatherback haul ashore, make a nest, and lay her eggs, in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The care that a mother turtle shows while into delicately sculpting her egg chamber with her rear flippers – which are her rudders while swimming – is absolutely mesmerizing. If you haven’t seen a sea turtle nest, you should make it a priority to do so.

It seems like most of my life is tied to water in some way, just like these turtles. This kind of lifestyle, combined with my first-hand experiences with the wonders of ocean life, has made it clear to me that safeguarding wet, wild places is a huge, but crucial task for humanity, turtles, and our shared blue planet.

GET INFO: Learn more about Amanda Beard

ON THE MAP: Follow the turtles on National Geographic’s race map!

All the turtles – except for Lindblad – have exited the Gulf and appear to be heading south. Lindblad the Explorer is really living up to her name; she seems reluctant to leave the Gulf and start her new adventure before she sees a few more things on her checklist. Being an experienced traveler, she knows where she’s going so isn’t worried about catching up with the other turtles.

Cali appears to be taking advantage of his head start and is near the front of the pack. Billy is heading for the east coast of the USA – does he know a shortcut? Nueva Esperanza is starting to pick up speed, while Seabiscuit spun out once he got out of the Gulf, but now has his bearings and is making progress.

Wawa Bear is making a big turn and is the farthest east of any turtle in the Race. It must be hard for her to steer her big body – sort of like hard-shelled cruise ship! Are Grembo Jones, Searcher, Estéban and Nightswimmer following Wawa Bear? Maybe they’ve heard that she knows the way to the Caribbean….

DID YOU SEE? The State of the World’s Sea Turtles IV

Also, click here to find out more about threats to sea turtles, including fishing gear, and what conservationists are doing to solve the problems! Katherine McLaughlin and Carl Safina from the Blue Ocean Institute blogs about how you can make responsible choices of your seafood.

Mark your calendars! On Monday, April 20th we will announce the results of the first swimming challenge: Which turtle spent the most time in cold water?

Almost all of the turtles started deep in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, so they have a long way to go – thousands of kilometers! – 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!

ON THE MAP: Check out National Geographic’s race map.

Cali got a bit of a head start to help him after his ordeal of being entangled in fishing gear (check his profile to learn more), but has moved off the finish line. 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 gates – er, the Gulf. Lindblad the Explorer, Estéban, Nightswimmer and Backspacer need to make up some ocean! And fast!

Check out today’s blog from Dr. Mike James, scientific director of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network, to learn more about leatherbacks and the field work in Canada.

Also, find out about pre-Race preparations and festivities in Canada and the Canadian Sea Turtle Network.

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