Cheers to the breezes

Claire,thanks for sharing our passion for life and also the info on dead
fish around Ascension.I have a few scuba diving buddies and I hear the
Red Sea is astounding.On my last trip to India I sailed past Bassas da
India,according to me one of the most beautiful spots on the
planet.Yesterdays blog was posted by Pieter in a moment of
inspiration.It is what happens when we are out here at one with all
around us.The more we discover about the universe,the more we realize
that planet Earth is in the greater scheme of things merely a grain of
sand.Can you imagine?

I was on the 6 to 10 watch this morning and with sailing SW the time
zone moves on and sunrise was only after 7.I had the immense pleasure of
watching Venus just above the sickle moon paving the way for the
sun.Last night I was on the 9 to midnight watch and laying on my back I
was looking at the galaxies through my 16x50 binoculars.Clear skies,no
moon and as always,mesmerized by this experience we call life.5000
years,the Greeks saw great drama in the skies.On the other side on the
Pacific,the Polynesian explorers used the skies in a most amazing
fashion to find there way and not get lost on the big blue ocean.They
had no written history,there knowledge was passed on in songs and
rhyme.They would,for example start their journey at a certain time when
the moon just peeps over the horizon,aiming for a certain star.When
another star drops below the horizon,they would change course and aim
for another mark in the sky.they would carry on in this mode till they
get to their destination.Apparently there is a book,Man the
Navigator,that expands more on this.

Our fascination with the skies above has been an integral part of our
existence as a human species since the earliest time.Wherever you look
at ancient civilizations,you find this fascination with the skies
above.The Egyptians and their pyramids is one examples,the Mayans that
descibed stars that only recently were discovered,and so it goes on.On
the Mayans,2012 is around the corner,the end of a huge cycle,and the
beginning of a new one.There is a lot of speculation what that really
entails,and for the doom prophets,a great way to spread their
fear.Personally I hope and think that it will herald a new awareness of
what we as human beings really are,inside and out.A new appreciation for
things we often take for granted or have tried to dismiss as
irrelevant,a new value on life.A new connectedness with one and all.

I visited some of the Mayan ruins two years ago with my lovely wife and
our then 5 year old daughter.Learned a lot about their culture and got a
more intimate feel about what they were on about.One of the starngest
things was standing on a playing field where a game similar to rugby was
played.Whoever scored a goal was beheaded!Hows that for doing your
best?What a privilage it was to sit on these ancient ruins with my
family and some of the descendants from the ancient Mayan tribes.My
daughter with her long blond hair was never left alone by the other
children in the village.Braiding her hair,running around and
playing,they were completely fascinated by this little white girl,and
treated her like a princess,which is of course what her daddy knows she
is.These are some of the rewards of this line of work,the places we
see,the thoughts we have,the experiences we enjoy,the cultures we meet.

Back to now,squadrons of gistening flying fish taking off all around
us.Not much wind but we are doing ok,motorsailing and with the
tradewind clouds above us we may still get a bit more than a breeze
to expediate our journey.Our position @ AM 09:30 UTC 05*25'S/17*02'W.We
are 460 nm from the equator on our current course.At 5nm/hr we should
cross it in four days time at 06:30 in the morning.Brad has vouched that
he wants to swim across the line.Yes,the two crew aboard will cross the
equator for the first time on the ocean and their initiation is
looming...ha ha ha.

Have a great day

Paul