Last night when Phillippa went on watch at midnight the sky was dark, overcast and ominous. Gradually the clouds began to break up, lightening the mood of the night and revealing a brightly waxing moon and later showing the most glorious spectacle of the Milky Way and all the stars.
With the clear skies came a shower of shooting stars including one great fireball that blazed its way overhead. What more could one wish for after the darkness of the early hours than a warm, bright night at sea? The dramatic changes in the sky where a great parable for ones emotions on night watch, feeling dark and gloomy as one wakes up in the middle of the night but then brightening as one begins to wake up properly and appreciate the splendour of the night.
Soon after I took over the watch at 03H00 Venus appeared over the eastern horizon, followed a little while later by a spectacular sunrise.
Company over the last day has been much the same as the previous day: one ship passed during the night, a few flying fishes took to the air and a couple of birds could be seen in the distance. The birds were too far away to identify properly though one had the flight characteristics of a Shearwater.
We are now at 28*53 S 037*17 W. The weather is still hot, with a northerly breeze of just over 10 knots and a moderate sea.
With the clear skies came a shower of shooting stars including one great fireball that blazed its way overhead. What more could one wish for after the darkness of the early hours than a warm, bright night at sea? The dramatic changes in the sky where a great parable for ones emotions on night watch, feeling dark and gloomy as one wakes up in the middle of the night but then brightening as one begins to wake up properly and appreciate the splendour of the night.
Soon after I took over the watch at 03H00 Venus appeared over the eastern horizon, followed a little while later by a spectacular sunrise.
Company over the last day has been much the same as the previous day: one ship passed during the night, a few flying fishes took to the air and a couple of birds could be seen in the distance. The birds were too far away to identify properly though one had the flight characteristics of a Shearwater.
We are now at 28*53 S 037*17 W. The weather is still hot, with a northerly breeze of just over 10 knots and a moderate sea.
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