Pacific Crossing, Part VI — The Things You See at Sea

There are not so many things to gaze at while in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. One wave looks pretty much like the other. Mind you the color of the water tends to change shades from a deep blue to dark gray, depending on the clouds and the time of day. And the swells are rather interesting to watch as they slowly make their way towards the boat, some cresting so close that you think they are actually trying to get into the boat with you. But waves and swells are not so interesting to photograph.

Dolphins
We love dolphins and they seem to enjoy coming around the boat as well. We had the pleasure of their company yesterday evening. It was a pod of dolphins, difficult to say how many but at least ten. They seem to like swimming in the surf the boat creates. They can swim quite fast and are lovely to watch. I think they came by to help us celebrate our reaching the half way mark on this journey.

Sunsets and Moonsets
We all love a beautiful sunset and I have taken my share of photos. I never cease to be amazed at the changing colors and hues and shapes and patterns created by the setting sun. At sea it is really cool to see the sun dipping into the ocean or sometimes it looks as if it is falling off the edge of the earth.

Moonsets are also quite beautiful. Impossible to photograph on a boat that is constantly moving but amazing to watch. Tonight I was treated to a real beauty of a moonset. It was a crescent waxing moon, the type where you expect to see someone reclining in its curve. As it slowly sank on the horizon it turned an incredible shade of peachy pinky orange, slipped behind a cloud for a moment before making its final dip into the ocean and out of sight. I think it was almost as beautiful as those great big harvest moons we see back home.

Flying Fish
These strange creatures that can't seem to decide if they belong in the ocean or in the sky are quite abundant in this ocean. We have seen large schools of them flying out of the water, apparently being chased by a predator. Or perhaps just going for a fly the same as we dip in the ocean for a swim.

Debris
Well, the most interesting debris we saw was what appeared to be a raft. Three large logs held together somehow bobbing along. We could only speculate what it was, where it was coming from and if anyone had ever been on it. But we didn't see any sign of Wilson.