How ashes gently return to the sea

Your Return To Sea ash canister is designed to release your Loved One's ashes slowly for the first few days following deployment, allowing for a natural and gentle Return to Sea. The result is a lasting connection between your Loved One and the waters that sustain all life. 

Some of the fine ash particles will be visible near the surface for a short while, but the majority are more dense than seawater and will quickly descend beneath the waves — beyond the reach of wind and surface motion. Within a half hour after release, ashes will have reached a depth of roughly 100 ft but will remain embedded in the strong core of the northward flowing Gulf Stream, which is over 2,000 ft thick measured from the surface where its maximum speed occurs. (See our web page titled 'Gulf Stream Characteristics'.)

Within a few days after release from the canister, and many hundreds of miles north of the deployment location, ashes will begin settling on the seafloor where the North Atlantic Ocean is over two miles deep - in their final, peaceful resting place.