Slowly edging towards the equator, and 1200km away from the nearestlandmass, the Bark EUROPA has already experienced much excitement sinceembarking from the last port in Sal, Capo Verde. Only 11 days into thejourney, numerous groups of dolphins, flying fish and blue-fined tunahave been spotted from the bow. Occasionally the odd sperm and humpbackwhale have also shown themselves, almost popping up more frequently thanships on the horizon. Even though other human life is scarce, travellerssuch as frigate birds, boobies and storm petrels also accompany us dayand night.After a magnificent full moon at the beginning of the ocean crossing,the darkening night sky has now given way to a blaze of stars andchanging colours, making star gazing during the darker hours one of themost attractive activities on the ship. Not only the sky, but also thesailing has given rise to constant changes, with the voyage crew heavingopes through shoals, the windless doldrums and many a wind shift. Now,excitement for the next step of the journey is reaching its climax, withthe equator just “minutes” away…
Fred