It was our first day at sea and a fabulous day for sailing. As we rounded the southwestern tip of Martinique, a prevailing easterly wind was blowing at 20 knots off the starboard beam. We deployed sails, our professional sailors 180’ above the decks on the main mast, and our historian Tom Heffernan gave a talk on the famous incident at Diamond Rock.
By lunchtime our sails billowed, and we were doing 8.7 knots, or 10mph. The sky was painted cerulean-blue and brown boobies were diving off the bow hunting flying fish. The boobies are spectacular aerial acrobats with their 5’ wingspan and compact bodies. They dove from 20 feet high to a depth of 4 to 6 feet deep. Paula, our Expedition Leader, gave a talk on the geology of the Caribbean and Photo Instructor Rich gave a talk with practical instructions on how to use phones as cameras.
Tonight, Captain Pavel Starostin welcomed all of us to a fabulous supper. We enjoyed dinner and fellowship off the beautiful, green, northwest coast of Martinique.
