27 March 2006
Glowing in the dark
by Nadia, onboard the Esperanza
As Adam was heading out of the bridge, he wished me a nice, quiet watch... I thanked him but I told him that I will prefer a safe and busy watch... Mmmm, I haven't been that well served before. The navigation conditions are now a bit more difficult... it's very dark night without the moon, shallow water and the presence of many canoes (the pirogues) without lights. We need to keep a good look out and be aware of any change of situation. A few minutes after the beginning of my watch, Moff went for his first round. I was then on my own on the bridge. Suddenly, I noticed a big white spot next to the ship, but I could not say what it was.
I got anxious thinking what it may be one of those canoes that we just passed by few metres...or worse the bottom of the sea! I immediately double-checked everything, depth, positions and both radars, nothing was normal. As the rhythm of my heart start to go back to normal, I noticed another white spot following by a green mass on the surface of the sea. Dolphin! For a few minutes we been escorted by a dolphin playing in our bow waves. When Moff came back from his round the show started. We saw a lot of those mysterious white spots, were in fact thousands of fish chasing fluorescent plankton.
It was amazing to see our bow breaking the water and immediately turning it in a florescent glowing green. There was a lot of activity under the surface of the sea, and as we switched off as many light as we could, we began to see many blinking lights all around the ship. For a while we couldn't tell where the sea stop and where the sky began. It was like sailing in the northern lights... As the watch ended up, the bioluminescent spots slowly disappeared. We were privileged to experience this unusual phenomenon - just as it is a gift to be the one who takes care of the ship every night.
- Nadia
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Comments
Here's a weird bioluminescence storyGlowing Green Sausages!
Posted by: Dave - Webbie on the Esperanza at March 28, 2006 1:28 AM
Hey Nadia,
Thank you for sharing that with us :) Your description of it was really beautiful. Last year I saw something similar in the North Pacific. But I've never seen it together with dolphins and fish!
Thanks Again!~
Abri
Posted by: Abri at March 28, 2006 8:15 AM
Last night, about half the crew were on the bow, watching fish streaking through the bioluminescence. It was like watching a fireworks display, with streams of light cutting through the darkness. There was lots of "Woooo... aaaah... woooaaah!' coming from us. Amazing stuff.
- Dave
Posted by: Dave - Webbie on the Esperanza at March 28, 2006 11:39 AM
Hi Nadia, good to hear that you're having nice, safe ad busy watches ;) I'm really happy you finally "came out" - it's much more interesting to follow your stories now. See you online!
Posted by: Satu at March 28, 2006 4:35 PM
Experienced the bioluminescence phenomenon on a boat in Sea of Cortez a couple of years ago for the first time in my life and it was truly amazing. We had dolphins streaking alongside and under the boat - looked like flashlight beams under water - as well as some fish.
I believe it is these experiences that motivate our actions to protect the natural world.
Posted by: echo at March 28, 2006 5:44 PM
Yeah, I was kayaking at night in a hong in Thailand late last year and it was mesmerising to run your fingers through the water and catch the light. The world is simply damn beautiful...
Posted by: Jen at March 28, 2006 5:52 PM
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