Up until a day or two ago, there was lots of chatter on the VHF. I keep the VHF on channel 16 with the AIS alarm set to 5 miles. Even 200 miles out you could hear nearly constant communication between ships (especially the Mexican fishing boats who sometimes even play music over the radio - mucho obnoxious). I was surprised as I always thought VHF was line of sight - but one night I tried called Trevor on Nakiska and he answered; we compared positions and he was 60 miles away. The horizon is only about 15 miles so apparently the VHF signal can transmit much farther than line of sight, especially under the right conditions. I had to check today to make sure the radio was still on since I haven't heard any chatter for quite a while. The AIS alarm has not gone off for days. I must be really getting out there, it is very quiet.
Last night I saw the New Hegri Moon right after sunset. This is the first sliver of a new moon and marks the beginning of a new month to the Muslims. I once worked a proposal for the Saudis to build a satellite to take pictures of the New Hegri Moon but it never got off the ground. I'm not sure what it signifies but it is apparently very important to see this in the Muslim faith. (Wish I had internet to learn more).
There is still some wildlife out here, even if there are no people. A pod (or family) of 3 dolphins stopped by this morning and rode in the bow wake for almost an hour. I even layed down on the bowsprit and felt like I was swimming with them as they glided just a foot or two below me. We looked at each other wondering what the other was doing way out here!
Many sea birds still fly around as well. I'm not sure what they are, they are smaller than Frigate birds but bigger than seagulls (where's that internet?.) They are various shades of white, gray and brown and they often just circle the boat many times. One finally took a break and landed on top of the mizzen mast for a while but at least did not leave me any guano in the cockpit this time!
Had no wind for a while around 4 this morning so ran the engine for about an hour to top off the water and batteries and make a few miles (and stop the sails from slatting). Have a nice 10 knot breeze now. Passing well south of Socorro island and over 350 miles out. Another 3 weeks (?) or so to go. Looking forward to the trade winds in a few days.
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