Testarossa Daily Message: Sunrise, Sunset, The Green Flash, and and and.../ Monday 23 May 2016//
As of 1632L hours on 23 May 2016, our position is: 37*01.082'N /
41*49.990'W. We are steaming 077* COG making 6.1 Kts SOG, under main and
motor, approximately 632 NM's from the Azores.
Dolphins!
Lots and lots of Dolphins!
Today has been a near continuous parade of Dolphins! So much so, that
David has taken to calling this, "The Day of the Dolphin!" With numerous
sightings, numerous attempts to capture them on film riding our bow
wave has been attempted. Let's all hope some of these efforts have paid
off and we can feature some of these in our next Testarossa film: "Bene
Testarossa, Bermuda to the Azores."
BTW, the type of dolphin most
commonly seen today is believed to be the "Common Atlantic Dolphin."
Not so common to those of us use to sailing in the Gulf as these guys
are rather smallish. After seeing numerous such Dolphins jumping
completely out of the water, I would estimate their length to be
approximately 3' long. Some larger dolphins are also spotted - but these
do not tend to leap into the air. Also, these are not to be confused
with the Miami Dolphins, as we are well outside those territorial
waters!
Last night featured a glorious sunset. In fact, this has
to go down as one of the prettiest sunsets yet observed by all aboard.
Clear skies, turning brilliantly orange, a few puffy clouds here and
there, showcased a large brightly luminous glowing orange sun. Oh the
orange! All hands were mesmerized watching the sun as it made its final
descent into tomorrow.
And the Green Flash?
As all agree,
conditions for the observance of a green flash last evening were very
promising. We had all the right ingrediants: Bright sun, clear skies,
no obstructions, a sea surface. But what foiled us - can anyone guess?
The seas! Right there at the end, the boat gently rocking up and down on
the large ground swells, we knew our chances were limited at best. And,
as luck would have it, we sank deep into a trough, while the sun sank
beneath the distant horizon leaving only an orange glow where once the
sun had been. As I once heard exclaimed in Key West at sunset pier:
"Don't worry folks - the Sun will be back tomorrow!"
And so we
too wonder if tonight will give us a glimpse of that elusive green
flash...The conditions today also appear to be promising, with the
additional caveat that the seas have laid down quite a bit, and our
chances of observing the sun actually set are better than before. We
shall see...we shall see...
Night watch, was...well night watch.
Once again. To fully appreciate spending an evening on night watch on a
sailboat, I recommend the following: Simply stay up all night tonight,
then go to work tomorrow. Repeat, and you get the idea. Of note however
on last evenings watch, was the complete loss of wind at about midnight.
With that, we started our engine and have since been motoring. Drats!
Sunrise, was most spectacular as well. A dim lightening of the skies,
followed by bright orange sky line again, and the sudden appearance of
the sun's rim peaking through a hole in the clouds. As I watched the sun
rise, the brilliance of this glowing orange orb we call the sun is
truly magnificent.
Today has been pretty casual, as far as life
at sea can be. Lots of reading, contemplating, dolphin watching, music
listening, and ship's work. Cheese Happy Hour just finished. Fishing
lines are set, but no bites as of yet. Still no luck on our water maker,
although parts are on order. Babalou took a salt water deck shower, but
the rest of use were tentatively waiting to see if we could recharge
our water maker. There may be more takers tomorrow.
Personal Messages from the Crew:
-------------------------------
Captain George: Too much time to think!!! Already planning the Azores!
Ms. Lorrie: JBS ~ Culebra 8/16? Lets do it!
Babalou: Hi Sweetie!! All is well aboard. 3 beautiful days of weather.
Scratched out scratched out scratched out. Please call Derrick to clean
Partager's bottom and arrange to pay Derrick. #850.384.9539 Thanks, your
cabana boy (Editor's note: No crank calls please to Derrick claiming to
be "the cabana boy.")
Felipe: 4CJ - Baby! Miss you! Hang in there kiddo! Be in touch soon! Always remember, AML4U! xxx wink emoticon
Mr. David, Esq: Loved the Dolphin action today was great - Mum and Dad -
I am, though, cursing the decision that you made to take me to the
wonderful hot climates of Bahrain as a youngster - as I am feeling the
cold! The fleeces are paying off though, lots of layerssss! Franapolis -
I wish we could fly you on to the boat for today and tomorrow - the
swells have gone and you would have loved the dolphin action! Jealous
you have been getting some waves, sounds like it has been nice having
the Berg around... One crazy thing that we have seen even more that
dolphins is Portuguese Man of War jellyfish - they are literally
everywhere! So I especially don't want to go overboard now! Look forward
to having a good chat soon, Dp xxx
------------------------------
Take care all, and Cheers from the salty red head, Testarossa! Azores bound,
(Salt Encrusted) Testarossa Sends,
USA 143