- The sun21 crew at the press conference after their arrival in New York (Beat von Scarpatetti, David Senn, Michel Thonney, Martin Vosseler, Mark Wüst, from the left)
- Arrival in New York City
- The mayor of Miami, Manuel A. Diaz, presents the crew the Keys to the City of Miami.
- Arrival at Martinique.
- The sun21 heading to Martinique.
- On the way to the Canary Islands.
- Due to a storm the sun21 sought refuge in the harbour of Casablanca (Morocco).
Weblog
Jan 15, 2007: Mermaids, whales and flying fish
Inspite of total calm, our boat gets ahead efficiently. So, if a sailor asked us, what to do in such a calm, we would advise the crew to dig out the Bridge cards.
Friday's morning weather was calendar-photo-like. The quietness on the ship and around was marvellous. No ship at the horizon of all four directions. The next continental coast (Afrika) is 700 miles away, the next island (for us: Martinique) is 1'890 miles away.
So, there is plenty of time left for the wonderful mermaid Undine to finally visit our boat. She would like it. No motor-rattling would scare her, our large deck would offer her room to rest. And she would be astonished, with all ships she comes across, to find two violins and no oil on ours.
Our position on 12 January 2007: 20° 35' N / 28° 20' W. We floated 82 miles, with 4 knots speed. Sea is calm (large dunes), there is nearly no wind. So, if a sailor asked us, what to do in such a calm, we would advise the crew to dig out the Bridge cards.
At the end of the afternoon, we spotted whales. It was a group of Pilot-Whales (Globicephala, in German "Grindwal"). We saw them from a distance of 500 m only. The males are 4-6 m long, the females 3-5 m. Those whales dive down to 4-600 m in order to hunt squids (Calamare) for food.
Our position on 13 January 2007: 20° 03' N. 29° 50 W. Wind NE, 18 knots. Waves up to 3 m., speed: 4 knots. Mileage today: 90. Temp. 23 °C.
Wind and clouds came back on Saturday. The waves were consequently shorter and sometimes crossed. Towards the end of the afternoon, we saw a new bird twice: His name is "Tropic Bird" (Phaeton). His feathers are light brown with white stripes. It has a red beak and long, thin tail feathers. The bird provided a living example for what we knew from the dry paper: We have crossed the tropical boundaries.
Sunday stood under the sign of flying fish. While Beat was writing mails in the deep calm of the night, a sharp shotlike bang on his starboard-"hut" surprised him (damn it, a pirat attack?). In the morning, we found the poor beast on deck. It had collided with our boat; this evening, another one crashed. At noon, we admired a whole swarm of flying fish but hurry up to watch them!
Our position on 14 January 2007: 19° 25' N / 31° 31' W. Wind NE, Beaufort 4, "Mer agitée à forte". Speed around 4 knots, mileage today: 98. Temperature: 77° Fahrenheit.
By the way, Undine has not joined us yet; but in the morning, Beat found a hidden shell in a corner of our boat with the following poem inside:
Troop home to silent grots and caves
Troop home! And mimic as you go
The mournful winding of the waves
Which to their dark abysses flow.
At this sweet hour, all things beside
In amorous pairs to covert creep.
The swans that brush the evening tide
Homeward in snowy couples keep.
In his green den the murmuring seal
Close by his sleek companion lies;
While singly we to bedward steal
And close in fruitless sleep our eyes.
In bowers of love men take their rest,
In loveless bowers we sigh alone,
With bosom friends are others blest –
But we have none – but we have none...
The Mermaidens Vesper Hymn (George Darley, 1795-1846, Ireland)
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Comments
Regina:
I think Undine is safer, not to visite you!
Five men alone!
Grüsse aus der Engelgasse
Echo vom Büchergestell aus Rifferswil::
Markos Avyeris
I come from the wind
and march with the wind
My whole soul rejoices and goes
into the violent wind.
I am the Great Catalyst,
breath of Zeus, lord of the heights.
He smoothens the sharp edges of the rocks
and demolishes the dynasties of old
uplifting the great roads
and scattering the clouds
in the heavenly seas.
My soul rejoices in this storm
as a fountain dances in the sun.
There have I stored all my hopes
and my capital.
I hear the cry from tomorrow
that carries away the present,
fells the old trees
and sweeps away the other wolrd's leaves.
I will cleanse the fumes
and will recycle the marshes
for the big rivers to flow free.
The time of the sun has now come
and it will descent and the prairies
will bloom and the mountains will turn green.
Steffi Hans-Ruedi Catherine Conradin:
Giraffen wünschen Euch das Allerbeste und noch viele erfreuliche Begegnungen.Grüsse aus dem Basler Frühling
Regina:
Schnell auf diesem Weg, weil das Mailen nicht geht, lieber Martin. Was, schon wieder schlechtes Wetter, schade.
Ganz herzliche Grüsse von Rosemarie Straumann, derzeit noch im Spital, Füsseoperation scheint gelungen.
Und en liebe Gruess vo mir!