LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 12:
February 7, 2000
0200 Advanced all clocks one hour to conform to Atlantic Standard Time (GMT -4).
0633 Sunrise. The wind is SSE 12-15 kts and the boat is on a port beam reach
headed 190 T and making about 6 kts.
0905 I have just seen a White-tailed Tropicbird with its long wisp of a tail
that makes its identification relatively simple. This is the first bird I have
seen since leaving the vicinity of the Virginia Capes on the 26th of January.
Other than this bird and a lot of Sargasso seaweed the only life form I have
spotted on this trip is a pod of dolphins approximately two days ago. I have not
even seen any signs of the flying fish, which is supposed to be present in this
area. This is a dramatic difference from the abundant quantities and types of
animal life that I saw near to the eastern seaboard of the US and Canada last
summer. I also have not seen another ship or boat since passing Bermuda on
January
30 - some 8 days ago - although there have been two or three occasions that I
heard someone transmitting on VHF channel 16 - indicating the presence of
another vessel somewhere just over the horizon.
1600 The trade winds have been very constant today blowing from the SSE at 12-15
kts and moving the boat in a happy manner southward toward Barbados.
1749 Sunset. Having finished reading my Great Grandfather Stark's history on
Barbados and the Caribbee Islands and found it quite fascinating, I am now into
Michener's "Caribbean". The way Michener writes... he tells a
fictional tale against a backdrop of actual history. It gives a wonderful
perspective of the region and of its history as well, but sometimes it is a
little difficult to sort out the "real" history from the fiction.
Fortunately Michener makes an attempt (in the beginning of the book) to help the
reader do that. But sometimes things are described that happen to real
characters and, as the reader, you wonder if it is something that actually
happened or not. Something I have discovered from his book - that actually is
true - is that Christopher Columbus was heavily investigated by Spanish
authorities toward the end of service as a Viceroy in the Caribbean and was
subsequently sent home to Spain a prisoner. Evidently this was not an uncommon
end for those folks who served the Spanish Crown in those days.
2025 Position: 20-52N 059-26W. The distance to Bridgetown, Barbados is 468 NM.
Arrival is currently estimated on Friday, 11 February.
END OF LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 12
-------------
Via Pinoak Digital - Advanced technology SSB radio digital wireless email.
In reply please do not include text above or attachments.
For further information on our service visit www.pinoak.com