Dolphins and the red dust
Fleck
Tue 4 Jun 2013 17:23
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Having grown accustomed to the new point of
sailing, and the particular movements now required to enable me to
swing/lurch from one safe perch to another within the cabin, I can report that
already there is a sameness to these days in the North Atlantic that I
experienced in the south. The sea remains rather discoloured from the Amazon run
off, and its appearance is not enhanced by the sky which is also an unchanged
hue of grey around the horizon, clearing overhead to a pale watery blue. The
wind varies from 12 to 20 knots from the north east, and my ears are now so
tuned to the sound of the wind in the rigging that I don't need my dials any
more, and the electronics are switched off.
So perhaps this would not be a good base for a 24
hours TV news service, but just supposing that this were to be the case, here
are today's headlines and stories,
RED DUST HERALDS NEW IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION. Red
dust has accumulated in the rigging of the yacht 'Fleck', 200 miles from the
coast of Surinam in South America. The likely source is the Sahara Dessert,
3,000 miles away in Africa. We tried to interview some of the particles, but
they were saying nothing, heightening our suspicions that they might be
illegals.
SURINAM DOLHPINS IN MASSACRE. A large school of
about 40 dolphins were enjoying a right carve up in the North Atlantic
yesterday, 200 miles off the coast of Surinam. The victims have not been
identified, but were probably small tuna. Both hunters and the hunted leapt out
of the water in a frenzy of activity, creating a remarkable local wave
disturbance. Later some of the dolphins approached the yacht 'Fleck' in a more
playful mood. Our expert marine biologists were able to translate their
leaders prepared statement: "We were sorry that you caught us with our pants
down this afternoon, and have come to reassure you that we are at heart just the
cute playful highly intelligent folk that you humans think we are. And
anyway if you think our table manners leave something to be desired, just
reflect on the behaviour of humankind during the conduct of the Second World
War, and sort yourselves out before setting out on the oceans preaching
that we should chew seaweed for a living."
AND NOW A WEATHER UPDATE etc etc.
The currents hereabouts are just as shown in
my pilot book: north west with eddies. Yesterday afternoon it was against us for
a while, now it is pushing us towards the Caribbean at more than 2 kts. Indeed
at this rate we shall be in there in about three days, but there's many a
slip!
No news from my regulars re. any impending
hurricanes, so I will take that as a no. Provisional plan is to check in at the
north east end of Tobago, then day sail down to Chaguramus at the north west tip
of Trinidad, taking a few days for this. It is supposed to be pretty, and it
avoids the transit of the busy channel between these two islands being
undertaken at night.
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