At Sea
After a wonderful day savoring the sunshine in St. Malo and sampling the local delights like fresh oysters, today we had the chance to take it easy on board.
The bridge was a great place to be as we saw a small group of common dolphins and a variety of seabirds. We saw skuas, Wilson’s storm petrels, sooty shearwaters, and many Northern gannets. The Northern gannet is a large bird with a wingspan close to 6 feet. Adults have a striking pattern of mostly white with sharp, black wingtips and a bluish tinge to their beaks. Gannets feed mostly on squids and in the Bay of Biscay the main part of their diet is made up of anchovies. We watched a group of birds dramatically plunge, feeding on a small fish school. Gannets can spot fish from as far as 100 feet above water using their incredible binocular vision, then fold their wings and like a missile, drive head first into the sea at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. They have fascinating adaptations such as a very thick skull, their beaks are shut up tight to not allow any water in and they have a special air sacks in their necks that act like shock absorbers as they plunge into the water. It is one of the true birding highlights to see this feeding behavior.
There were several presentations throughout the day. We learned about what it takes to be a National Geographic Photographer from Jay Dickman. David Barnes told us all about Napoleon, and Global Luminary Marilyn McAfee told us about her career in the foreign office.
In the early evening we had another wine tasting, this time with three French red wines. Vintner Mark Fincham, who makes his own French wine, gave us the history of the wine and some things to consider during the tasting. We tried a Cotes du Rhone Village, a Vacqueras, and a Chateauneuf du Pape Les Cailoux. It was a wonderful way to wind down a relaxing day at sea.
