More dolphins, explosions and situational awareness

Current location: 48°38’22’’N 4°39’33’’W Most western point of France

A little while ago we passed the most western tip of France and we are now heading northeast through the English Channel. Bottlenose dolphins sought us out as a final salute just as we rounded the corner and passed the most western point. They were much larger than the other pack of common dolphins that joined us the other day, but they exacted just as much joy in me as the previous group. I wasn’t as prepared as the previous time with camera in hand, and I prioritized enjoying the moment, wisely so, because it didn’t last for long. My days of transport are filled with book reading, thesis writing and spotting for other vessels and ‘fish sticks’ (fisherman’s nets that seem to be littered everywhere), with the highlight of the day being lunch and coffee time. After breakfast we set off, and I can’t help but to smile every time I, with toothbrush in my hand and mouth filled with minty foam, look out of the window and see the Atlantic bouncing up and down. So far we have heard three distress calls, all of which seemed to involve a white small motor vessel with engine trouble. Today we also heard, for the first time, a ‘safety message’ on the VHF radio transmitted in English as well as in French. The French navy was doing under water explosions, pretty much in line to where we were heading. In the beginning of last summer, one of our Sail side directors Tor (The current skipper of S/Y Ocean Star in the BVI’s) stressed the necessity of situational awareness – always know where you are. And today a situation presented itself when it was of utmost importance. The first time the message was transmitted, being used to French blabbing on the radio, I missed half of the transmission in English, I understood everything but the position. A couple of minutes later the transmission was repeated, and I wrote down what I thought were the right coordinates, but was unsure of their correctness due to a weird French accent and the transmission being quite fast. I suppose that is all you get, a couple of seconds to pay attention, and if you don’t have pen and paper near at hand, you are sure to get the numbers messed up. This was once again a wake up call for me about things that I really must improve on – know where you are. Thanks Tor for pointing out important things that might end up being invaluable knowledge in the future!