At Sea, 7ºN
Today was our second day at sea crossing from the Cape Verde Islands to Brazil. Last night we sailed through the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and experienced light showers typical of this region of rising air. It is the migrating ITCZ that produces the short rainy season in September upon which the Cape Verde farmers depend completely. When we awoke this morning, the sea was like a mirror, and we knew we had passed into the doldrums. As the morning passed, the wind began to pick up again and we had passed into the southeast trade winds. During most of the day, however, the trades blew out of the west, in contrast to their reputation as reliable, steady easterlies. This slackening and reversing of the trades happens every year, though it is less well known than their usual direction which for centuries has supported trans-Atlantic discovery and shipping.
In mid-morning we spotted some activity off the starboard side and Captain Krüss maneuvered the ship to give us a closer look. It turned out to be a mixed pod of melon-headed whales and Frazier’s dolphins. These species often travel together and there were perhaps 50-100 of each type close by the ship. We were afforded excellent views of the melon-headed whales which are a kind of “blackfish”, a group that includes pilot whales, killer whales and false killer whales. They are either large dolphins or small whales depending on one’s view. Melon-headed whales have a characteristic white line along the top of their lower lip (pictured). The melon-headed whales do not usually bow ride on ships but the Frazier’s dolphins did come to the bow and rode for quite some time as we cruised in and out of the pod.
The day continued warm and peaceful, the way we dream of these wonderful sea days, and ended with a spectacular sunset.
Today was our second day at sea crossing from the Cape Verde Islands to Brazil. Last night we sailed through the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and experienced light showers typical of this region of rising air. It is the migrating ITCZ that produces the short rainy season in September upon which the Cape Verde farmers depend completely. When we awoke this morning, the sea was like a mirror, and we knew we had passed into the doldrums. As the morning passed, the wind began to pick up again and we had passed into the southeast trade winds. During most of the day, however, the trades blew out of the west, in contrast to their reputation as reliable, steady easterlies. This slackening and reversing of the trades happens every year, though it is less well known than their usual direction which for centuries has supported trans-Atlantic discovery and shipping.
In mid-morning we spotted some activity off the starboard side and Captain Krüss maneuvered the ship to give us a closer look. It turned out to be a mixed pod of melon-headed whales and Frazier’s dolphins. These species often travel together and there were perhaps 50-100 of each type close by the ship. We were afforded excellent views of the melon-headed whales which are a kind of “blackfish”, a group that includes pilot whales, killer whales and false killer whales. They are either large dolphins or small whales depending on one’s view. Melon-headed whales have a characteristic white line along the top of their lower lip (pictured). The melon-headed whales do not usually bow ride on ships but the Frazier’s dolphins did come to the bow and rode for quite some time as we cruised in and out of the pod.
The day continued warm and peaceful, the way we dream of these wonderful sea days, and ended with a spectacular sunset.
