Wind Surf Day 11 – Rolling, Birding, and Whale Watching

 "To wander is to be free, to connect is to belong."

Wind Surf Transatlantic Sailing Day 11


Yesterday had been another chapter in the ocean’s story, and by morning, we were more attuned to its subtle variations. A slightly different wind, a softer swell, or a deeper shade of blue in the waters around us. Each one is a reminder that no two days and no two moments are ever truly alike.


Evening Storms and Night-time Swells 


Last night, Wind Surf turned north, and as the Captain predicted, we are now sailing along the edge of the storm that has been sitting in the middle of the Atlantic for the past week. Long, lazy swells rocked the ship all night long, causing all the furniture in the Compass Rose to shift to one side of the room. When we looked out the porthole around 5:00 AM, it was dark and foggy outside, and when Sean went up on deck a half an hour later, it was raining hard.


When I went up to join him around 8:30 AM, the first thing I saw was two birds, which turned out to be Bulwer’s Petrels, skimming across the tops of the swells. I also noticed that the air smelled a bit different. We are definitely getting closer to land!


Despite the rougher conditions, we enjoyed a walk around the promenade as the decks were beautiful, wet and reflective. I picked up a couple of cups of coffee from the ever-kind Lissette at the Yacht Club Cafe and went out on deck. Here, I found several passengers and crew members watching as Sean crawled around on the wet deck, photographing angles of the ship in the reflective puddles.


I suppose neither of us could ever claim to fit in, but there are times Sean certainly knows how to stand out.

At the very least, he definitely served as entertainment for the crew and guests during their breakfasts.
 

Breakfast on Enrichment Talk


We had a quick breakfast of muesli, fresh fruit, mango smoothie, and coffee and then went downstairs to listen to Pat and Rosemarie Keough's talk on creating their beautiful and award-winning photobook 'Antarctica.' This was no ordinary book, as they made it using binding techniques from the 1400s, as well as brand-new experimental printing techniques. 


The book, which was limited to 950 copies, sold for $5,000 and cost $2,500 to produce. It has a natural leather cover, a velvet interior that is reminiscent of seal skin, and a marbled fly leaf that resembles the sea ice you must travel through to reach the continent of Antarctica. Inside the photos are stunning and thoughtfully laid out, with close-up opposite overviews, black and white photos opposite very colourful ones, and images that complement each other in their geometry and composition presented together. The process was incredible to learn about, and their images are stunning.
       

As always, it was an interesting talk, especially for us, as Sean has slowly been developing a photo book on our time hiking the Trans Canada Trail entitled Canada: A View from the Trail. As such, their experiences and advice are invaluable.
 

Atlantic Bird Watching on Wind Surf


Admittedly, it was hard to be inside when we knew there were now potentially new (to us) species of birds outside. The swells were also a bit distracting, rocking the ship side to side, and causing the horizon outside the windows to rise up out of view, filling the entire porthole with ocean, before sinking back down out of sight, giving us a view of the sky only. It made us extremely grateful that we aren't feeling seasick.


When the talk finished, we headed back outside to find a dramatic-looking sky with shafts of light filtering down through heavy storm clouds. The light playing on the water was gorgeous, with many shades of blue, grey, silver, and other less easily named colours playing across the surface in bands. We walked to the front of the ship, and were delighted when a flock of Manx Shearwater flew by relatively close to the bow, apparently making a beeline for somewhere important.

We spent the next few hours up on the very top deck at the front of the ship. The movement of the swells up there was spectacular; regardless, we managed to spot quite a few birds.


Over the course of the morning, we learned that seabird watching requires patience, with single birds appearing seemingly at random every half an hour or so. It was a lot of fun nonetheless. We also noticed that we didn't see a single flying fish today, and I'm pretty sure we didn’t see any yesterday either.


Today was definitely one of those days that I wish I knew more about marine life and the species of the sea.

Captain’s Noon Announcement

At noon, the Captain's daily update informed us that we had sailed 278 miles since yesterday. We are now travelling at 12.5 knots and experiencing 2.5 - 3 m swells coming from the NNW. The nearest land is still El Hierro in the Canary Islands, which is now 200 miles away. We are 240 miles away from Las Palmas, which we are expected to reach around 9:00 AM tomorrow. 


It is a pleasant 22°C, and the water depth has now decreased to around 2,500 m. This information left more than one of us wondering what lay beneath us as we skimmed along at the transition between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Sails Up and Lunch at Veranda


Just after the noon announcement, we were heading back toward Veranda for some lunch when the sails were unfurled. They were pulled tight, cutting their clean white lines in the clear blue sky above. The rocking motion of the ship suddenly seemed to be accentuated, but it was a beautiful sight.


After getting distracted by another bird (that we could not identify), we ducked into Veranda for something to eat. I had several different types of salad and a slice of pizza, while Sean had a veggie burger patty and salad, only some of which was swept away by the wind.


The Nature of the Atlantic 


After lunch, we returned to our bird watching and photography activities up on the deck. The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds, and the wind had taken on quite a chill, especially in the shade. Again, the light played across the sea, turning it from bright cerulean blue on one side of the ship to a blindingly white on the other.


We sighted another cargo ship crossing behind us, heading southeast. However, without a doubt, the highlight of the afternoon was spotting a whale. It came up and exhaled a large plume just off the front of the ship before resurfacing several more times as it came alongside us. Everyone on the back deck went over to take a look! As it turned out, we had just spotted a Fin Whale!


I have always been amazed on hikes and other journeys how you can go such long periods spotting so little and then have days that are so full of new things, new species and excitement that it is hard to keep up!

Afternoon Trivia with Matt O


At 4:30 PM, now both a little more sunburnt and wind-whipped, we went inside for trivia in the lounge. Today's theme was movie quotes, and with no help from me, Sean managed to correctly identify 11 of the 20 quotes provided. 


I thoroughly enjoy the trivia sessions, but they always leave me feeling slightly daft. I am simply unable to retain information about singers, songwriters, bands, music, movies, or anything else that might be useful in a trivia session.

Spotting the Canary Islands


When we came back up on deck afterwards, it was bright, hot, and sunny. As we moved toward the back of the ship Mark, one of the friendly crew members at Compass Rose, asked if we'd seen the land yet.


Tuning around there, it was - the slopes of El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, partially hidden in the haze and clouds. After 11 days at sea, we caught our first glimpse of land around 4:30 PM today! We had read about the island when we looked into walking the GR 131, also known as the Camino de Gran Canaria, because 60 km of the trail are on it. I had imagined it to be small, but from here it looks quite big and lush!
 

Captain’s Bridge Talk 


Excited by this new chain of islands and the possibility of seeing more birds and whales, we continued to circle the ship on deck. During one pass along the promenade, the crew – now familiar with me asking questions and knowing that we chatted with Captain about birds – invited us onto the bridge as the Captain gave a talk.
 

Here we were shown how various instruments work, treated to a glass of wine and served several types of vegetarian canapés!

 

Once again, it was a wonderful experience and a terrific opportunity to ask more questions about the operations of the ship as well as about spotting whales!

Dinner in Amphora


As the skies changed colour and night began to settle in, we eventually pulled ourselves away from the potential natural wonders beyond the railings of the ship and returned to our cabin. Here we refreshed ourselves, taking quick showers and changing into evening casual wear before heading to Amphora for dinner.


En route to the dining room, we were captivated by the music on offer in the lounge and so passed the better part of an hour sitting and enjoying the talented piano playing and singing of Elaine before continuing on. 

The result was that we walked in somewhat late into Amphora in the hopes of getting a quick dinner. As always, the crew was welcoming, and we soon had window seats and menus in hand.


Still full from the delicious canapés we had eaten on the bridge, we originally opted to only have a small meal tonight. However, our server suggested that we try a small serving of the citrus salad, which we both thought was incredible.


For our main course, I enjoyed something entirely new – the Imam Bayildi Oven Baked Eggplant, while Sean had Home-Made Potato Gnocchi.
 

Evening in Compass Rose


With dinner completed, we thanked our server and made our way outside and up to Compass Rose. The open-air lounge and seating at the aft of the ship now seemed to be our regular routine at night, so that we could sit under the stars as the fresh breeze of the ocean washed over us as we sailed on.

 

Sitting there, we soon were treated to more piano music provided by the same talented young lady who had been in the lounge. Throughout the evening, she sang and took requests. There is little that is more magical than hearing beautiful music being played as the moonlight dances on the waters around the ship.

Though we were enjoying our evening, it was nonetheless an early night for us. We soon headed to our room around 10 PM. Not only had we been up since 5 AM, but tomorrow we were due to dock in Grand Canaria, and we both wanted to be up to watch the approach.


Evening promised rest, but also anticipation. Somewhere ahead, unseen, the outlines of Europe waited to reveal themselves.
Location: El Hierro, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

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