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Habits of Health - Log 2



Greetings from the habits of Health

I am writing you today, Wednesday November 7th, somewhere southwest of Bermuda and Southeast of the Abacos in the Bahamas - over 600 miles from Florida on the mainland of the United States. It is late in the afternoon and we have had a great day of sailing so far. 

We could not ask for better conditions. In a word, they are ideal... we are on a starboard tack with winds out of the southwest at approximately 20 mph. The Habits of Health is in the groove at 9 to 11 knots. "Beautiful" doesn't begin to describe what we are seeing and experiencing. The temperature is warm and pleasant, the colors a re vibrant - from the deep blue of the sea to the pastel light blue of the sky dotted with the billowing white towers of cumulo-nimibus clouds. It's a great day to be at sea!

Much has transpired since I last corresponded with you 2 days ago. So now I will fill you in with all that has happened both at sea and on board the Habits.

Close of Day 3
When I last wrote to you it was late afternoon two days ago. we were anticipating one of those spectacular sunsets that are seen from the water looking west. And, as much as I have seen them in the past, I never tire of seeing the incredible majesty of the sun going down at sea. Often staged through the filter of great clouds in the distance, the vibrant hues that range from blue to pink or golden to burnt umbra - and practically all colors in between - seem to be displayed on a larger scale from the sea. Each sunset is a work of art, both unique and magnificent for its own sake...and short lived, ephemeral in it's duration. Our sunset on Monday night was one of those incredible sights..it did not disappoint us.

We all enjoyed a great dinner in the cockpit and then Captain Wayne set up the watch schedule for the evening: David took 9 PM to 1 AM, Lori from 1 AM to 4 AM and Dan from 4 AM to & AM. However, Terri decided to help Lori at around 3:15 and she went on watch solo from 4 till about 5:30. She and I took watch from 5:30 on and were joined by David at around 6 AM. 

Unlike the previous night, nothing unusual occurred during our watches in the early morning of November 6.. with the exception of David, Terri, and I experiencing the dawning of a new day and the sun rising over the east. Like the sunsets, these too are generally very impressive and inspiring. However, on this day we had a heavier than normal cloud cover and so this sunrise - although beautiful - was somewhat muted 

Day 4
At daybreak yesterday morning we were greeted with a bluish gray cloud cover and we thought that the day may turn out to be a bit dreary. But, as the morning progressed, the gray clouds gave way to a perfectly beautiful day, transforming the sky to a clear blue with wispy high serrus clouds. The sailing conditions were also very good... good winds, mild waves, and a comfortable sail. 

We were excited about a two things that day... first, the great progress we were making and second, anticipating and listening to the unfolding of the results of the US elections taking place. The Habits is equipped with satellite radio so at any time during the day we could tune into Fox News to get the latest updates.

Unusual Citing
At 9 AM we were probably 350 to 400 miles off the mainland when I noticed something I had not seen before in the 3 other 1500 races I experienced. Coming low to the deck straight in front of the boat I made out two bright lights heading towards us. We quickly determined that it was a low flying plane that looked to be of military origin, perhaps a C-130. 

It is rare to see any aircraft this far out to sea but not completely unusual. What made this different was that this aircraft was very low to the sea and was systematically flying in a predictable pattern, back and forth as if it were covering a specific grid or quadrant. The plane flew over or very near to our vessel at least 4 to 5 times. Then, after about 20 minutes it flew out of sight.

Shortly thereafter, we saw in the distance near the horizon - about 3 miles away we spotted another aircraft. This time it was a large helicopter. And, like the airplane before it, it began a criss-cross systematic pattern of flying.... low to the deck as if it were looking for something or someone. We were able to get a close- up look of the chopper as it circled our sailboat. It was large and gray and appeared to be a US Navy aircraft. Like the lager plane before it, the helicopter was with us for about 20 minutes and then flew out of site.

We are not exactly sure of the mission of these two aircraft but we speculate that either they were engaged in some type of training maneuver or else they were on a search and rescue mission. We have not heard any information from Fleet Command to assume the latter so we suspect the they were engaged in training.

Friendly Visitors
In mid-afternoon, Terri spotted from our starboard side something that go us all excited and all of us out of the cockpit and onto the front deck! What we observed was a large pod of about 25 to 30 spinner dolphins! If you've ever been in a boat and had dolphins swim alongside and criss-cross in front of your vessel, you know how much fun this can be!

Spinner dolphins are absolutely beautiful sea mammals, They are speckled and colorful, are about 3 to 4 1/2 feet long, and are unbelievably playful and enthusiastic. They stayed with us a least 10 minutes - maybe longer - jumping out of the water, crossing in front of the boat going back and forth, and swimming in pairs or threes. Their water acrobatics were amazing! David stayed at the bow and videotaped the whole event... and by the way, getting completely soaked in the process but loving ever minute of it!

What was curious to me was this: humans and dolphins are both mammals. We share more in common they you might imagine. But the environments we live in on this planet are very different. So, here we were, human beings passing through the domain of these magnificent sea creatures. We were passing through their world - a world where these wonderful friendly animals live with their families and experience this world at a much different level than we do. But, on this day, these carefree beings welcomed us with their enthusiastic smiles. They were were living as free spirits, exploring their world with curiosity, being with family and friends... and having fun. And, then it occurred to me, on this day and sailing far into the ocean, so were we.

Near Miss at Sea
Unfortunately, I am going to have to end my correspondence to you now and to be continued tomorrow. But, I do want to finish the narrative of what happened in the the evening of Day 4 and the early morning of Day 5. Suffice it for now for me to tell you that in the dark of the night, the Habits of Health dodged a very real and scary bullet. More information to come in my next post.

Until nest time... this is crew member, Dan Bell, signing off


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