35°39.2’N 43°25.4’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.2 knots (on engine)
Heading: 072
Distance from Bermuda: 1,076nm
Distance to Horta: 730nm
ETA (Horta): Sunday May 31st
What a day of excitement. Here is a list of the things we saw today :
5 turtles
3 freighters
1 ball – which we christened “Wilson”
2 pods of dolphins – the second of which played around the bows for a few mins
1 plank
2 floats, one of which we retrieved to be used as anchor float
Some birds and some jelly fish on regatta
We played games guessing the length and beam of the freighters/tankers and then tried calling them to see if we were right. The first two we could not establish contact but the last acknowledged us. My guess was way off.
The plank was accompanied by about three fish. It passed withing a few feet of the lure that we’ve been dragging off the back of the boat. The lure did not peak their interest. I think the trick to successful fishing is to get a lure that is more desirable to fish than a plank.
Jim saw a whale blow. He is convinced of it. This got us all excited for a while but there was no repeat.
We also got to launder and dry out many towels which were beginning to honk. Life is good.
We are told that as we approach the Azores we see more and more wildlife. If this excitement increases I don’t know how we will handle ourselves.
I’ve always believed experience is relative. The thrills of last couple of days can easily be seen as trivial against the trials of land life. But here aboard Windancer in the middle of nowhere the little things count and mean a lot. It’s kind of nice.
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