At Sea, Tropic of Capricorn
Today we entered the tropics. We are on our second of four sea days between Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena. The weather is becoming very pleasantly warm and people are starting to spend much more time on deck, watching from the bow, reading on the sun deck or just sunbathing in the many small deck areas around the ship. The southeast trades are blowing gently on the starboard beam so there is a little refreshing breeze all the time. We are in the middle of the South Atlantic gyre, a part of the ocean which has very low nutrient concentrations in the water, so there is little in the way of bird life. But looking down from the deck, the water is the deep blue color which we only see in the centers of the oceanic gyres, where there is nothing in the water to diffuse and reflect the light. We can see down perhaps 200 meters here.
About 1600 we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, the southern boundary of the tropics. We will be in the tropics now until the end of this voyage. To celebrate this milestone, we had a cocktail party on deck and everyone turned out to enjoy the warm breezes and fine companionship. We watched as the sun set through the light clouds on the horizon, hoping for a green flash. We were not disappointed, for we were rewarded with a very bright flash of green which tuned even the most skeptical among us into converts. It was pretty hard to miss.
During the day, we had presentations on Napoleon, in expectation of our visit to St. Helena in two days. That was followed by the first in our series of navigation lessons to help us understand how our watch officers are able to find these small specks of land in the middle of the vastness of the ocean. In the afternoon the photographers toured the entire ship looking for photo subjects. That tour was followed by an afternoon concert. So the sea miles pass gently under the keel, but we are busy enjoying he lovely weather and lively activities on board.
