At Sea
The day dawned cloudy but calm. An early riser saw a breaching whale at just past five. The humpback had leaped clear of the water three times. It could have been an omen, but what kind was unclear. Little did we know then that the seas would build.
By breakfast the horizon had darkened and the clouds had thickened. Lightening appeared far in the distance, but it was not ominous at first. A look at the radar showed rain showers ahead. Soon the squall line could be seen and thunder could be heard. And then we were in it. The white caps were flattened as the rain came. We had been looking for whales, but now our vision was sharply curtailed and whale watching was in vain.
During the morning a few birds found us. One masked booby went after a flying fish on the wing but missed. Others soared up our port side. The wind, which had been on our stern, now began to back. In half an hour it moved through ninety degrees. The sea had become jumbled with conflicting swells beginning to move the Endeavour.
For awhile, the rain abated and a few observers came on deck. Just before lunch a land bird found our island and sought shelter. It found the railing on the port side just behind lifeboat number four. Soon photographed, the streaked flycatcher found another hideaway, or flew off in search of the mainland, forty miles to the west.
By lunch the wind had backed another ninety degrees, and a swell from the south was competing with other less dominant ones. The white caps were now everywhere. Someone was reading Gale Force 10, a story about Beaufort who created the wind scale in use by sailors around the world, and tried to judge what level the winds had reached.
Lunch was uneventful, but the sea continued to build by the time guests were headed for dessert. The first at our table with dessert tried to cut into the deep, dark chocolate layer. It was more than worth the challenge; the first bite was delicious. Soon, drooling with expectation, all at our table had some of pastry chef, Sebastian Schilbach’s, decadent dessert. Topped with whipped cream and a fresh strawberry, the dessert received resounding accolades as the seas outside became even more disturbed. We had run into some rough weather, but we continued our course headed for Rio de Janeiro...consoled by a cacao confection.
The day had begun with hopes of whale watching off Abrolhos Reef and the early whale breaching had been a good omen, but as the day progressed, Sebastian’s dessert might have been the more accurate omen. It was called Rocky Road Chocolate Bar.
The day dawned cloudy but calm. An early riser saw a breaching whale at just past five. The humpback had leaped clear of the water three times. It could have been an omen, but what kind was unclear. Little did we know then that the seas would build.
By breakfast the horizon had darkened and the clouds had thickened. Lightening appeared far in the distance, but it was not ominous at first. A look at the radar showed rain showers ahead. Soon the squall line could be seen and thunder could be heard. And then we were in it. The white caps were flattened as the rain came. We had been looking for whales, but now our vision was sharply curtailed and whale watching was in vain.
During the morning a few birds found us. One masked booby went after a flying fish on the wing but missed. Others soared up our port side. The wind, which had been on our stern, now began to back. In half an hour it moved through ninety degrees. The sea had become jumbled with conflicting swells beginning to move the Endeavour.
For awhile, the rain abated and a few observers came on deck. Just before lunch a land bird found our island and sought shelter. It found the railing on the port side just behind lifeboat number four. Soon photographed, the streaked flycatcher found another hideaway, or flew off in search of the mainland, forty miles to the west.
By lunch the wind had backed another ninety degrees, and a swell from the south was competing with other less dominant ones. The white caps were now everywhere. Someone was reading Gale Force 10, a story about Beaufort who created the wind scale in use by sailors around the world, and tried to judge what level the winds had reached.
Lunch was uneventful, but the sea continued to build by the time guests were headed for dessert. The first at our table with dessert tried to cut into the deep, dark chocolate layer. It was more than worth the challenge; the first bite was delicious. Soon, drooling with expectation, all at our table had some of pastry chef, Sebastian Schilbach’s, decadent dessert. Topped with whipped cream and a fresh strawberry, the dessert received resounding accolades as the seas outside became even more disturbed. We had run into some rough weather, but we continued our course headed for Rio de Janeiro...consoled by a cacao confection.
The day had begun with hopes of whale watching off Abrolhos Reef and the early whale breaching had been a good omen, but as the day progressed, Sebastian’s dessert might have been the more accurate omen. It was called Rocky Road Chocolate Bar.
