Cruising

Ocean Sunsets

Out on the ocean, there is nothing obstructing the horizon. That means that you will have a perfect sunset every afternoon! 

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Depending on different air qualities, such as air pressure, humidity, dust, air streams, and cloud cover, you will get a new and exciting sunset every time; best of all, each sunset will be unique.

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We make a special effort to eat our dinner in the cockpit while out at sea on a blue water voyage just so that we can watch the sunset.  

There is something magical and magnificent about watching the colors in the sky change as the glowing spot on the horizon disappears beyond the horizon. As the sun fades away, the sky will burst into a painters palate of colors, and then the stars will begin to come out. 

Mars and Jupiter are usually the first of the night lights that come into view after the sun sets, and rather quickly as our eyes adjust, all the stars in the sky light up in a vast wonder above our yacht. 

I have spent many nights starring up at the mast head, watching its silhouette move among the stars. Laying in the cockpit looking up at the night sky as you sit alone on the surface of the ocean with no one else present in your visible disk of the Earth makes you feel just as alone as the invisible planets that orbit the infinite stars out there in the sky. It becomes easy to imagine that someone else might be sitting on their own craft on a distant planet, looking up at their night sky and visualizing our Galaxy as just another star in their own 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?

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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. 

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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. 

Portuguese Man-O-War

These "jelly fish" are both beautiful and terrifying.  Siphonophores Colonial Organism or Complex Organism

While they were thought of as jelly fish for some time, their exact classification has been under serious scrutiny lately. Due to their deep ocean living situation, studying their lifecycle has proven difficult, making it really hard to asses exactly what they are.  

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Portuguese Man-O-War are named so not because they come from Portugal, but rather because they look like the Man-O-War tall ship that the Portuguese used back in the age of sail. The creature has tentacles like a jellyfish, but instead of a bell filled with fluids it has a balloon. Instead of undulating the bell for locomotion, it raises a sail to the wind. 

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As if these creatures weren't interesting enough, their very classification as an organism has come into question. Portuguese Man-O-War are Siphonophores, but that is kind of the best we can do when it comes to classifying them. It turns out that the creature is more akin to a colony than a single organism. Each major part of the Man-O-War seems to be its own creature, capable of living on their own without the direct need of the other organisms. At the same time, each organism that makes up the "colony" is so highly specialized that it resembles tissues in different organs, making this a complex organism instead of a colony.   

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Sadly, this creature is so confusing and interesting that scientists still don't fully know how to classify it. Should it be a colony made up of obligate mutualistic organisms or is it actually a complex organism made up of various organs, and not various organisms? It seems like a simple question to ask and answer, but the various parts of the Man-O-War exhibit both traits and therefore it continues to perplex scientists.

Atlantic Crossing Part 8

 
 

Herby gives you a crash course on how to read the clouds and use old school weather techniques to get you across an ocean safely and without relying on electronics.

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Bermuda Beaches

In case you weren't fully in awe by the beauty of the land on Bermuda, the island chain has one more talent to take your breath away; the beaches.

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The beaches in Bermuda are amazing, gorgeous, and wonderful. Brightly colored fish are right at the waters edge as the entire island is surrounded by a barrier reef. All the fish at the beach are actually deep inside the protection of the reef, they are merely in shallower waters at the moment when you get to enjoy them.

The really mind boggling part of the beaches is that just past the colorful fish and beautiful coral is nothing. The closest point of land is around 700 nautical miles away, and that is only if you are looking to the West. If you are looking East, the next point of land is 1800 nautical miles away in the form of the Azores. To the South is the Caribbean, and to the South East is Africa. You are standing at the edge of the land gazing out onto a view normally only seen by blue water sailors. When you gaze off into the distance, there is nothing obscuring your view of the horizon and it is a sight that should be appreciated and respected. 

The beaches at Bermuda are amazing, as well as humbling as you know you will soon be out there for some beach goer to gaze out upon you on the horizon!