A Green Flash and Whales
Ninaofsouthampton
Thu 10 Jun 2021 13:47
First, we need to start with an apology, despite the battery on the tracker being supposed to last for the whole trip, ours has a mind of its own and we have just discovered that it has shutdown so we have probably been in ‘stealth mode’ for some time. It is currently being charged down in nav station so hopefully normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
We had a reasonable 174 mile day yesterday which is a great improvement on the previous day, despite the relatively light winds we managed, through constant tweaking of the sails and the odd course change, to keep Nina moving under sail till very late evening.
After supper on deck and a small beer to celebrate the 300 mile milestone, James and I who were on watch waited with great anticipation for illusive ‘green flash’ as the sun sets. After a somewhat cloudy afternoon, the skies had cleared and the seas flattened out so we were optimistic that this would be the night, however, in my experience, even then you are more likely than not to be disappointed.
However, as the sun dipped under the water, there was indeed a flash of light, more white than green but definitely witnessed by both of us and nothing to do with the very small beer we had earlier.......we were then treated to an amazing sunset with the skies and clouds going from yellow and orange through to deep red and purple.
Just to top it off, three whales approx 400 metres of our port side broke the surface and we witnessed their water spouts before dipping below the surface again. Despite keeping a constant look out till darkness, disappointedly they didn’t reappear.
We managed to keep sailing till the small hours in the morning, when finally we had to give up and start motoring through the high pressure zone. We expect to have to do this till sometime tomorrow when we should start to see the northerly winds and we will be able to bear away and head to the next waypoint at Cape St Vincent which as I write is currently 486 miles away.
No further sighting yet of whales today but we are ever vigilant and hopeful. We have however taken the opportunity of the flat boat under motor to do some jobs and all get a much needed shower........
All the best from Nina ( and her much sweeter smelling occupants)
Nick
Sent from my iPad