How can I visit 'Null Island'?

Question

So while Null Island is one of the most 'visited' places on Earth, the island itself doesn't exist - it's a geocoded point added to the Natural Earth map, among others, to indicate the latitude/longitude location of (0,0).

That said, the location itself is very real, and there's something there to see - Station 13010 - Soul is a buoy moored at the exact (0,0) coordinates.

I've looked this location up over the years, and not being that close to land (Accra, Ghana isn't too far away, but isn't close enough), if I was able to visit it (like visiting the poles, but on water), I'd have to rely on transportation other than myself, I suspect.

I don't believe any flights go directly over it, or at least you couldn't rely on it, so I'm wondering if there are any organised boating tours / cruises that visit this point, for the novel moment of crossing (0,0)? Or helicopters, perhaps? Basically, are there any ways to get to this location on the earth?

I hear the best time for a good view is 00:00-00. Endless nothing in all directions. — user56reinstatemonica8, May 10 '16 at 13:16
Is there a sign hanging from the buoy? The curious case of a NullPointer that does exist :) — Juha Untinen, May 10 '16 at 13:27
.. if unfortunately some government organization maintains it; perhaps you could fake up some sort of charity, sponsorship, educational or the like project, you know? and get a ride-along. — Fattie, May 10 '16 at 15:08
@JoeBlow Worse still, it may no longer be maintained by anyone. — wedstrom, May 10 '16 at 15:41
I guess that's true: I don't know much about ocean buoys. there's definitely a business opportunity here, you could sort of crowdfund for say 40 people to share charter of some crappy local boat out there. So, adventurers would make their own way to Ghana (or ??) and then the OP would organise some sort of charter. It looks like it's 600 km from Accra though!! — Fattie, May 10 '16 at 16:32
@JonathanReez How does the elevation coordinate work - do you have to jump in the water to be at zero or what — coburne, May 10 '16 at 17:59
Google Maps shows it as an island, and one company - Social Media Training. Interesting! — Canadian Luke, May 10 '16 at 18:06
@JonathanReez Depends on the geodetic system you use. I doubt any of the common ones actually have sea level at 0,0 positioned to exactly 0. Sea level constantly changes anyway. — neo, May 10 '16 at 18:14
The buoy is still functioning, at least - that NOAA link shows that the buoy has transmitted meteorological data within the last 8 hours. — ArtOfCode, May 10 '16 at 18:46
@JuhaUntinen you mean: the exceptional case of a NullPointer that exists! ;) — Oliphaunt, May 10 '16 at 20:48
Since the article you linked has a fake photo, it seems that the writer couldn't find any photos of the actual bouy. If there were trips, photos would be all over social media. Unless the null filter makes it impossible to find real objects so-coded... — JDługosz, May 10 '16 at 22:55
@CanadianLuke the point of adding the island is to spot errors. The company showing up there, according to the linked article, is an example of bad geocoding returning 0,0. — JDługosz, May 10 '16 at 23:12
Someone runs a business on that island, according to google maps — Display Name, May 11 '16 at 09:30

lambshaanxy · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-10T13:28:39.630

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The fascinating Confluence Project records four visits to (0,0).

Visit #1 was by a US Coast Guard vessel that happened to be sailing past, and they took a (bad) photo of the buoy too.
Visit #2 is not listed. Mysterious...
Visit #3 was by a group of artists (!), who sailed from Hamburg, Germany to Tema, Ghana on a cargo ship. There they chartered a boat and sailed almost two days non-stop to get nearby, finally taking a small zodiac (rubber dinghy) to the exact spot. This is the only remotely practical option for the average tourist, and also the first and only visit that fully met the Confluence Project's exacting rules -- but no sign of the buoy!?
Visit #4 was on a research ship sailing from Angola to Europe.

edited May 10 '16 at 13:28

answered May 10 '16 at 12:07

lambshaanxy

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This is the first I'm hearing about this project, and I want in! – Mark Mayo May 10 '16 at 12:14
@MarkMayo Then just visit a confluence! Unfortunately all the easy ones are already taken, but now that I've conquered 12°N 93°E, I've had my eye on 2°S 106°E and 1°N 103°E for a while... – lambshaanxy May 10 '16 at 12:47
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when are you free? Travel.SE adventure! ;) – Mark Mayo May 10 '16 at 12:48
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@fcalderan I'm guessing there have been a lot more than 4 visits. Before the U.S. Coast Guard took a picture of the buoy, I'm guessing someone actually set up the buoy. :) – reirab May 10 '16 at 14:39
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Fascinating. You could visit an incredible number of these at once near the poles! :) – Fattie May 10 '16 at 15:01
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"four visits" guys, they simply mean known by the confluence team, not "ever in the universe" – Fattie May 10 '16 at 15:02
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@reirab That mysterious visit #2 was a government project to go back in time and place the buoy before visit #1 caused a time paradox that destroyed the universe. – Kevin May 10 '16 at 19:12
@JoeBlow They've thought about that: http://confluence.org/infoconf.php#poles – lambshaanxy May 11 '16 at 09:41

How can I visit 'Null Island'?

1 Answers1