Magical Rainbow Porpoises

There are these moments on the water where you look around and think, 'is anyone seeing what I'm seeing?!' and then you realize, 'nope...this is for me'.  These moments are pure magic.

On our way up the inside pass I had one of these moments.

It was drizzling and the sun was shining.  I was hunting for rainbows.  One cropped up and I immediately starting taking photos.  It stuck around a bit - so I started to try to get artsy.  Pictures of the wheelhouse combined with rainbow-y goodness outside.

We were in a fairly narrow waterway and the rainbow spanned the whole channel from Port to Starboard.

All of a sudden I noticed some splashes at the base of the rainbow on my Starboard side.  I start taking photos there.

Then I realize it’s a pod of porpoises!  

I’m going crazy.  I’m snapping as many pictures as I can.  I know you can imagine this.

They zoomed over to the front of the tug and rode the bow wake for a few minutes and then zoomed off.

I was on cloud nine.  

A pod of porpoises - came out of a rainbow - and rode my bow wake.

PURE MAGIC.

They looked like baby Orca’s.  After doing a bit of research I learned they are called Dall’s Porpoise - and their behaviour was spot on.  

I took a video right before they dug out.

Please, flip through the gallery to enjoy some Magical Rainbow-y Porpoise Goodness.

One side note:  the photos and video were taken with my iPhone.  Please excuse some of the slightly pixelated images!

The ever elusive dolphin...

Nothing gets me fired up to blog quicker then getting a great shot of a marine mammal.

I've posted quite a few throughout the years here.  Most recently it was of a fin whale.  My archives are a mess from transferring my blog a few times and so seeing older dolphins is nigh impossible.  

The thing is 9 times out of 10 I don't get the shot.  Of all the photos I take of dolphins and whales its very rare for me to get a gem.

They almost all look like this:

I've been trying for a little transparency on the photography front so I figured I'd share a dolphin splash.

For the record, I'll photograph dolphin splashes all day long if it means I might get a gem!

As Promised. A Dolphin Photo.

I love dolphins.  That is all.

Nautie Notes :: Basil, Coconut Oil and Dolphins.

Dear Sweet Little Basil Plant,

I'm so glad you're coming back to life.  I mean, so, SO glad.  I was really worried about you for awhile there.  A little green in this world of blue is lovely.  Hang in there little friend!

Dear Atlantic Ocean,

I thought we were friends.  You seriously did me wrong this crossing.  You were just so rough.  Ugh.  I know its winter and all but.....really?!

Dear Coconut Oil,

You taste sooo yummy in my Oatmeal.  You have changed breakfast for me....like forever. I now wolf down my morning bowl of Oatmeal happily.  *For all you haters silently thinking, 'chick puts oil in her cereal - no wonder she has a ba-donka-donka' you can just hate away*

Dear Dolphins,

Thank you so much for showing up today.  I needed you.  Badly.  Watching you frolic in the bow wake was as magical as usual.  I loved watching you zoom around skimming just under the surface of the water.  I also loved how white your tummies were.  Again, Thank You.

Dear iTunes,

I don't know if I love the new you.  I can hardly keep up with all the changes in your life.  I feel like we're drifting apart.  Spending time with you just leaves me confused.  I'd love to say, 'it's not you...it's me...' but I can't - it's you.

Dear Hilo House,

You'll soon have a person occupying you.  This is exciting!  Treat them well please.  Tell those nasty spiders to keep to themselves....we don't need to scare them away...

Dear Nautie Friends,

I know I've been a little scarce lately.  Get over it.  Kidding....I'm sorry?  In all seriousness my stress levels have been through the roof the past few days.  I'm feeling a little better and I'm ready to get back in the game!  Enjoy your weekend!

xoxo,

Megan the Nautie Mermate

The Blues...

Yesterday I had a case of the blues...and it was a bad case of the blues. It's bound to happen a few times during a rotation.  (In fact I've talked about it before...)  I wake up and think, 'Get Me The 'Eff Off This Ship!!!!'.  Then I start thinking other depressing thoughts.  Such as, 'everyone at home is forgetting about me.  Why am I wasting my life out here?  I've got to get a new job!'.

Clearly, thoughts like these aren't healthy....or productive...

While I'm having these thoughts I can clearly intellectualize the fact that they aren't even rational but, that doesn't make them go away.

So there I was....standing my afternoon bridge watch feeling sorry for myself.  (My watch partner was probably feeling sorry for himself too....I was pretty miserable to be around...)  I couldn't stop thinking about the weddings I was missing....and the friend reunions I was missing....or the fact that someone else was driving my car to a dinner I couldn't attend.  I was truly just standing there, staring out the window, feeling so incredibly melancholy that I was on the verge of tears.

Then I spotted it.  A huge school of dolphins heading our way.

I ran to get Big Bertha and just started snapping away.

They frolicked, splashed, jumped, flopped and surfed.

It was as if all my melancholy just disappeared.  I felt invigorated, renewed, refreshed and lucky.  It was like being sprinkled with magic happiness dust.  It made me wish so, so much that I could somehow share the feeling.

Do you ever just stop and think, 'Oh My Goodness....I forgot how incredibly lucky I am...'?

After I stood on the bridge wing and watched the last dolphin zoom away all I could think is:

An Attitude of Gratitude.  An Attitude of Gratitude.  An Attitude of Gratitude.

I continued to stand there.  I started taking pictures of the sea foam.  I took some photos of our wake.  I let my hair get super messy and zip around my head.  I just stood there feeling lucky.

*For the record I was seriously missing the lens that makes Bertha BIG.  Oh good golly miss molly....if only I could have zoomed in closer....*

Atlantic Crossing

The bright blue waters of the Azores are well behind us - the Atlantic has darkened substantially in color in the last day and a half.  This means one thing to my brain:  we're almost to the Strait of Gibraltar.  The horizon is hazier, there are more ships in the vicinity and most importantly the office has emailed asking us to increase speed.  Civilization is close.