Transatlantic: Day 19 [Day 40]

Today is July 26, 2018 and the most magnificent thing happened: Dolphins.

The winds returned and we began sailing rather quickly, fast enough that we were comfortable under full sail without much effort and yet the seas hadn’t built yet so we were moving along at a relatively flat attitude. Out of nowhere I begin hearing the sounds of dolphins as they jump out of the water to survey the world above the waters edge. They approach the cockpit where I stand up and begin filming them. They seem to like this and we have found that if we do not make a big to-do over their presence at this point, they will then just swim along to somewhere else. If we do this big to-do, they will then move up to the bow and begin bow riding us!

To make this moment even more special, we were moving along under full sail at speeds over 6 knots! The dolphins in the past seemed to get bored with us and basically float along in front of the boat as if offering to give us a tow if we threw them a line simply because they felt sorry for how slow we were moving. These dolphins got to have fun bow riding us! We were moving and they were kicking!

Dolphins are one of the most awesome parts of blue water cruising. It doesn’t matter the weather, the conditions, or your energy level; when dolphins come around, all you want to do is watch them play and stare in awe at the awesome display of grace and agility that a dolphin embodies.

As the sun began to get low on the horizon (and the dolphins probably got a bit tired) they departed us and we were once again all alone out in the middle of the ocean. The closest mammals in this part of the world came to pay us a visit and check in on us, but now they have gone back to their world as we skim the surface of an alien world where we are merely visitors who have already sent in our mark from far away (plastics).

Sunsets out in the ocean are always beautiful, and one of my favorite parts about being out at sea. The clouds block out the sun but the rays come peering through in splendid form, reminding you that you are an insignificant observer in this incomprehensibly large universe.

Transatlantic: Day 18 [Day 39]

Winds have sort of returned. We have enough to keep our sails full, our wind steering on course, and the sense of movement through the water, but not at any real speed that you feel your direct attention is needed at every single moment.

This kind of slow and comfortable sailing is actually my favorite. Nothing happens fast, nothing is really important, and everything is easy to handle. The winds are light enough that full sails can still be managed without the aid of a winch, but you have enough wind to keep the sails full, even when moving through the seas. The winds are also too light to actually create large seas so the boat doesn’t actually ride up and down waves. Instead, it just looks impressive as the bow slices through the waves and the water parts around the front of the boat. It looks really good but it’s not really that impressive of a feat.

While out in these conditions, a whale surfaced near the boat and Maddie was able to get a picture of him. At first glance, I thought it was a Minke Whale because of the size of the whale, as well as the size and position of the dorsal fin. Once we made landfall and had access to literature on whales, we now strongly believe it was a Northern Bottlenose Whale.

You can sort of see the beak of the whale under the surface of the water in the picture above. In the picture below, you can see this weird hump on the head which was characteristic of a Northern Bottlenose Whale as well, and not a feature of the Minke Whale. The whale surfaced around us a few times and it felt truly magical. Here we are out in the middle of the ocean and the whale decided to surface next to us!

The whale could easily see us at the surface and chose to reveal itself to us at that point. It could have easily surfaced far away from us where we might have heard it but never seen it. It could have also surfaced once and then dived back down and out of sight, but instead, it remained near us for a few minutes, watching us as we watched what it was doing.

Today was absolutely magical! We had enough winds to feel like we were being productive, and then we saw a whale out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! We are as far from any whale watching tour possible and got to see a whale in their natural environment, where they spend most of their lives, in the deep blue.

To top the day off with an extra special amount of magic, the moon rose while the sun was still up.

I know this will sound childish, and even after studying celestial navigation, I still feel that the sun belongs in the sky by day and the moon in the sky by night. On moonless nights, I feel like if something vital is missing; likewise, on days when the moon is out I find myself looking at the moon and thinking: “You aren’t supposed to be up there yet!”

Every time I see the moon by day, that childish thought rolls through my mind. On the flip side, that thought makes me notice the features in the sky!

Whales in Their Natural Environment

Whales live in the ocean, this is a simple fact that we all know, but do we truly understand it? 

whale watching tours will show you whales when they pass near our environment, the shore, where a short boat ride will bring our paths together. Whales migrate seasonally, and their routes near shore are well understood now. What about when they are not near our world, and instead we are the ones visiting theirs?

While in the absolute middle of the Atlantic, 1,500 nautical miles from the East Coast of the United States and 1,500 nautical miles from Portugal, we were visited by a whale. 

This Northern Bottlenose Whale came by our boat and swam with us for a few minutes. In this realm, we are the visitors in their world. We have left the shore and come into Whale Territory where whales want to come near us to see who is the new visitor in their waters. 

Seeing a whale out here is truely magical. They can see you from far underwater and choose to surface near you, especially the second and third times. This is performed on their terms and should be referred to as Human Watching for the whales. 

Hitting a Whale

On our way to Horta, we passed a sleeping sperm whale. This whale was massive and laying just at the waters surface. The trouble is, a sleeping whale is akin to a floating island, and they do this at night when visibility is reduced even further.

We encountered a sleeping sperm whale one morning, the sun had just risen, and the whale was still sound asleep. 

The only clue to the presence of this massive whale is the puff of mist emerging from the blow hole. At night, when the seas are dark, the dark skin of this whale sitting right at the surface will blend in. Imagine being on watch out in the middle of the ocean, far from anything when all of a sudden you bump into something!

If you are in an old heavy boat moving slowly, you will simply bump into the whale. In the most idealic of situations, the whale will be unharmed and leave you alone, but we have heard stories, particularly with sperm whales, where they get angered and then strike back! 

If you have a light weight modern yacht, your encounter with a whale might be much less than startling to both parties. We met a sailor who ran into a sleeping whale with his modern fin keel yacht; and the damage was extensive! The whale damaged his keel, causing it to begin leaking (but the keel remained attached), though it ripped off his starboard rudder and crippled his saildrive.  

Now the sailor found himself with the inability to propel himself via mechanical means and only able to steer when on starboard tack. The entire return voyage to port is fraught with fear that at any moment his keel might fall off, leading to his immediate capsize. He was also relying on the speed of his bilge pumps to expel the water that was seeping in around his damaged keel bolts ever quicker. 

Older yatchs with full keels and attached rudders offer a little more resilience to this kind of collision. The keel is integral to the hull, so the force of the collision is dissipated over more surface. The hull/keel junction is also sloped, promoting the occurrence of a glancing blow rather than catching on the perpendicular leading edge of a thin fin keel. Lastly, the rudder is firmly attached to the trailing edge of the keel, and therefore riding in the protection of such a strong member of the yachts underwater form.

Whales are massive creatures who can easily go unnoticed in the expansive seas. These behemoths also position themselves in a precarious location at a time when visibility is further reduced and await the inevitable. They are sleeping, and you simply can't see them while on night watch. The only comfort we have found is the fact that whales are still a very tiny fraction of the surface of the ocean, and statistically the chances of being in the same place and same time as a whale are minuscule. That simple thought helps us sleep while off watch, knowing that the person on watch can't see them but is likely not going to hit them either.

Day 15 Azores

We saw whales today! They came right up to our bow and checked us out, surfacing to spray with their blowholes and show us their long gray bodies. It was enchanting to see them in the most natural way possible and I felt truly blessed by their visit. After describing their smooth gray bodies and small dorsal fins to our parents, we concluded that they must have been Minke whales. Their presence lasted only a few minutes, but it was time enough for me to run to the bow and enjoy them from only a few feet away. The sound of the blow hole so close was surreal since I'd heard it in movies so many times, but never in person. The other wildlife that has graced us over the past few days is the man-of-war jellyfish. They silently pass by the boat, sporting their fans that resemble transparent purple crescents. It's easy to forget that below these flower petal fans are the tentacles responsible for making them one of the most deadly creatures in the world.  They drift peacefully by us all day. The whales didn't seem disturbed by them.

This passage is mostly boring and uncomfortable, but there are days like today that renew my appreciation for everything we are doing. If we hadn't spent four days bobbing along going backwards, we may not have had such exciting visitors. I'm still impatient to get to land. I'm ready to take a warm bath and converse with other humans. I'm ready to take a long walk and smell leaves.