Day 144 - Caribbean Passage - Day 18
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Midnight we had made it
as far as 16:58.55N 42:55.36W – Saturday 13th of December, 2008. Engine Time – 1.25
Hours (All whale dodging time) A Minke Whale, amazing,
this mighty king of the sea just cruised up next to us and said hello. I was so
happy I ran forward with the camera to take a few snap’s. The big guy
swam back and forth crossing under our boat amidships and then slowly crept up
on us from the stern, sometimes spending several minutes on the starboard stern
about 100 meters away. As it would approach, it would turn and swim below
us upside down and all you could see was its white underneath, thus it is why I
think it was a Minke whale. It was about 25 feet in length plenty big enough to
stop silky in her tracks and as it swam under us each time I was waiting for
the thud. I mean it was so close. It did make me a little nervous. Fiona was a classic, in
her pajamas put on her life jacket and instructed me to change course and then
start the engine. In the end I did as I was told but the beauty of the
deep would just not go away. I was beginning to worry, well listen to Fiona,
what if it thought Silky was another Minke whale and it was a little frisky.
Anyhow I started the motor which did not deter it, I then tried to alter the
rev’s of the engine to not much luck and then we gibed the boat and
headed off. Well just as you thought you could relax out of nowhere it came
once again. I think this time it was a ‘see you later’ call
as it broached the water, smiled, dived back down and headed for Silky at a
rate of knots only to bank at the last minute and head off. All I can say is Fiona
does not shut up about running into whales, if there is anything she is afraid
of this was it. And it had to happen literally about 100 miles from the half
way mark, I mean we were 1000 miles from anywhere. I think we are both very
lucky to have had suck a fantastic experience as many boats that cross never
sea one. Special
comments by Fiona: I think I cursed ourselves when
all the time preparing for this trip I was most frightened of bumping into a
whale. So much so that I continually went on about it, that I jinxed
us! Well today we not only saw a huge whale, but he decided to stay with
us for over an hour, weaving around the boat. The sight of this huge
whale gracefully submerging from the huge swell was one that I’ll never
forget. Unfortunately the pictures don’t really do the size of him
justice. I donned my life jacket on just in case, after reading all the
horror stories about whales demasting, capsizing, attacking etc before we
left. To my relief, this particular whale had no intention of doing any
of the forementioned, instead he was happy checking us out and keeping us company
for a while. Day 144 Traveling Direction
– West Wind Direction –
South East East – moderate Swell – Moderate Average Speed
– 4.7 Top Speed – 8.2
Knots Through the water Distance Covered –
113.5 Nautical Miles |