At Sea
“Too much detail wipes out the dream.”
Vincent Van Gogh
During the night the wind had moderated and swung more to the east as did the swell. The Endeavour moved southward gradually approaching the Brazilian coast. Standing on the Bridge, we felt the simple pleasures of the warm sea breeze and the gentle rolling of the ship.
During the morning, a large brown bird overtook the ship, landed on the water to leeward and drifted astern as the ship steamed forward. Shortly, the bird appeared along side and repeated this pattern. Fly ahead, alight and drift. It was a basic strategy. On the flight forward it searched the wake for a bite to eat. After alighting, it rested. Simplicity.
At lunchtime, a whale breached in the distance just ahead. Then, he or she did it again, and again, and again. It was not a complicated maneuver. Just a power stroke, a bend upward and, voila, air born. A few breaths between leaps and then more breaches. Was it a game? Was it complex behavior? Or was it the joy of doing something you can do and then doing it once again?
At the end of lunch, another whale appeared only this time it was a humpback mother and her calf. Each time the mother surfaced to breathe, it was a smooth, rolling motion. First the blow appeared, then the nostrils, then the back and finally the dorsal fin. It was a crescent shape that began underwater, broke the surface, and resubmerged. Most times, the calf mirrored the movements of its mother. Two animals linked together by genetics and behavior doing what humpbacks do best. The lines of their bodies were smooth and clean and their movement through the water efficient and simple.
The city of Recife appeared in the distance. Simple block structures broke the horizon. Scattered along the shoreline, the uniformly high buildings welcomed us to our first site of mainland Brazil. It was not a complicated scene.
While most of us observed the humpbacks from the deck, a few continued lunch. One guest, after finishing lunch, arrived on deck to announce that he thought it was wonderful that while eating ‘rhubarb crumble with vanilla sauce’ that it was possible to watch humpback whales just outside the dining room window.
Sometimes, as we strip away the complicating details, a more satisfying simplicity gladdens the heart. We were learning Van Gogh’s admonition.
“Too much detail wipes out the dream.”
Vincent Van Gogh
During the night the wind had moderated and swung more to the east as did the swell. The Endeavour moved southward gradually approaching the Brazilian coast. Standing on the Bridge, we felt the simple pleasures of the warm sea breeze and the gentle rolling of the ship.
During the morning, a large brown bird overtook the ship, landed on the water to leeward and drifted astern as the ship steamed forward. Shortly, the bird appeared along side and repeated this pattern. Fly ahead, alight and drift. It was a basic strategy. On the flight forward it searched the wake for a bite to eat. After alighting, it rested. Simplicity.
At lunchtime, a whale breached in the distance just ahead. Then, he or she did it again, and again, and again. It was not a complicated maneuver. Just a power stroke, a bend upward and, voila, air born. A few breaths between leaps and then more breaches. Was it a game? Was it complex behavior? Or was it the joy of doing something you can do and then doing it once again?
At the end of lunch, another whale appeared only this time it was a humpback mother and her calf. Each time the mother surfaced to breathe, it was a smooth, rolling motion. First the blow appeared, then the nostrils, then the back and finally the dorsal fin. It was a crescent shape that began underwater, broke the surface, and resubmerged. Most times, the calf mirrored the movements of its mother. Two animals linked together by genetics and behavior doing what humpbacks do best. The lines of their bodies were smooth and clean and their movement through the water efficient and simple.
The city of Recife appeared in the distance. Simple block structures broke the horizon. Scattered along the shoreline, the uniformly high buildings welcomed us to our first site of mainland Brazil. It was not a complicated scene.
While most of us observed the humpbacks from the deck, a few continued lunch. One guest, after finishing lunch, arrived on deck to announce that he thought it was wonderful that while eating ‘rhubarb crumble with vanilla sauce’ that it was possible to watch humpback whales just outside the dining room window.
Sometimes, as we strip away the complicating details, a more satisfying simplicity gladdens the heart. We were learning Van Gogh’s admonition.
