Pumice raft....for days!

Pumice

Our friend, Gene, sent us this:

August 9, 2012
An "island" of floating pumice rocks bigger in area than
Israel has been spotted in the South Pacific, New Zealand's Royal Navy said.

Officers on a Royal New Zealand Air Force ship saw the rock raft southwest
of Raoul Island yesterday (Aug. 9). It measures an astounding 300 miles
(482 kilometers) in length and more than 30 miles (48 km) in width, the
Navy said.

Lieutenant Tim Oscar, of the Royal Australian Navy, described the rocks as
"the weirdest thing I've seen in 18 years at sea,"

"The rock looked to be sitting two feet above the surface of the waves, and
lit up a brilliant white color in the spotlight," Oscar told AAP. "It
looked exactly like the edge of an ice shelf."

Pumice forms when lava from a volcano cools rapidly. Trapped gas in the
hardening lava creates pores in the rocks, which allow them to float. The
Navy said scientists believe these chunks off New Zealand's coast were
likely spewed to the surface by an underwater volcano, possibly the Monowai
seamount, which has been active along the Kermadec arc.

We are not sure of the date.  Maybe you can find out.  We are still seeing it
after a day and a half.  That is heaps of pumice!  And it is below the surface also and is coming through the salt water we use in the toilet, the sink, the cooling water for the engine, etc. When it was calm Barry made himself secure, leaned over the side of the boat with a colander and retrieved some big chunks.

We are 160 mi NW of Raoul Island mentioned in pumice article.