Laura let me know that commenting on this blog was a pain in the ass... I
have known it for weeks, now, but until I am near an internet I can do
nothing about it. I am posting by sending txt emails via the ship's iridium
phone- no proof-reading (my editor partner and editor friends must be beside
themselves), no formatting, no photos, no nuthin'...
I may have the opportunity as soon as Dubai to upload photos and fix the
commenting, but I can make no promises.
The Red Sea looks remarkably like the western part of the Med... a field of
deepest blue with white horses racing us to the southeast. I think I need
to create a chart of the colors of the seas... each one has had it's own hue
that none others can claim. While the Red Sea looks like the eastern Med,
the hue of the churned waters is yet another blue that defies naming.
We're in infested waters and my watches have become centered on spotting the
infestations before they become a ship-board problem. A ship like this has
50 foot freeboard and is cruising at about 20 knots, so we're not much of a
target... but this captain treats the threat against the ship very
seriously.
I now understand how and why celestial navigation originated in this part of
the world. I have never seen a sky so filled with stars in my life... it is
positively stunning. And so many of them are like Sirius (a strobe of
ever-shifting colors)- unfortunately, I cannot use google sky map out here
or I'd have names for you, but as soon as I can I'll get a chart and tell
you the names of my favorites.
Thankfully, I can comment, but it's not set up to b easy. I know we'll all look forward to when everyone else can, too. But you can't even read them yet, can you? Well, once comments are enabled and you're away for a while again, you'll have nice surprises waiting for you.
ReplyDeleteI so wish you could take pictures of the stars! But even if you could, it wouldn't be the same. Just as is true with the colors of blue.
Infested waters sounds terrifying but I'm glad the captain takes it as seriously as he does - and that there's a drill involved to make sure you all stay safe no matter what. This must be quite the experience.
So glad you're posting this blog - at least there's a bit of vicarious experience.
BTW - I can post using my Gmail account. If you have a gmail address, a word press account or a few other options, you should be able to post. Type your comment, then choose who you're commenting as (with one of said accounts), and hit publish. You'll have to prove you're not some sort of bot by typing in a code, but should be easy enough if you get to that point.
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