The setting
Sunrise on the open ocean
Sailing in big seas…
…and on calm waters.
Heading into a nasty squall with rain and heavy winds.
Chilly but relatively comfortable
Hitchhikers during the day and night
A swallow holding on in strong tailwinds
Nightrider
One of the bigger birds; a boobie
Irie’s trampoline collected heaps of flying fish on ocean passages
A variety of bait arrived aboard: flying fish and squid
The reward
Using the little squid in an attempt to catch fish…
Trolling the handline with squid as bait.
Success! A small mahi mahi. As these fish die, they lose their vibrant colors and turn dull grey.
What are these winged hitchhikers doing thousands of miles from land and how do they survive?
September 30, 2020 at 13:38
Love the Boobie! I want to see one of these one day but I don’t think I want to cross an ocean to do it!
No idea where they came from but I bet they were very glad to see you.
October 1, 2020 at 15:22
Oh, the boobies are great! When we were at a certain anchorage in the Galapagos Islands, we had flocks of blue-footed boobies dive bomb next to our boat. It was a spectacle to behold. One day, I should post a movie about it. I have so many wildlife clips and photos that I have never done anything with… Any bird that makes it to the middle of the ocean is incredible! 🙂
October 5, 2020 at 11:57
You need a YouTube channel to share those wildlife clips – I’m sure all your readers would love to see them. Make sure you have Wi-Fi when uploading them though. 😉
October 5, 2020 at 17:55
I’m not good at film and having a popular channel is not our thing. Too much work and too personal. Some of my videos are on there, though, because I first post them on YouTube and then embed them from there into my blog posts. So, technically, I do have a YouTube channel already. I think I have five followers as of now. 🙂
October 13, 2020 at 11:34
I’d be happy to edit your vids
October 14, 2020 at 14:04
Thanks, but… who are you? It will be a while before (if) I get into video production!
September 30, 2020 at 13:45
That’s what I’ve always wanted to know: What are those birds doing out in the middle of the ocean?!
October 1, 2020 at 15:23
Right? I was hoping you’d have an answer to this, Sean! 🙂 Maybe they got blown off their route and became disoriented?
September 30, 2020 at 13:49
This is great and brought back fond memories for us. One time at anchor we had a brown pelican on the bow of our boat not bothered at all by our cat, Roscoe. Got some great pics of the encounter.
Cheers!
October 1, 2020 at 15:25
That must have been an interesting scene – your cat and the pelican meeting. When you mentioned the bird on the bow of your boat, I had to think about this happening to us in the Galapagos as well. That particular Mr. Pelican had no qualms about claiming his territory and I have photos with one of us together with the pelican in one photo. The wildlife there is as “non-bothered” as it gets! 🙂
September 30, 2020 at 13:50
How cool to see a boobie. At first I thought it was fake. My guess would be the birds are migrating. Glad they got some fuel!
October 1, 2020 at 15:27
Oh Jill! I know you like birds, so I hope you’ll be able to visit the Galapagos Islands one day. The creatures there are amazing and don’t mind the attention. I’m hoping to post some more wildlife photos on Instagram in the near future. Whenever I get to that. 🙂
September 30, 2020 at 16:04
Wow, that’s quite some sunrise! Really beautiful. Your hitchhikers are gorgeous too. Love the boobie. 🙂
October 1, 2020 at 15:28
Hi Sylvia! The only time I ever managed to watch – and photograph – a sunrise was when we were on ocean crossings and I had the night watch. I’d still be in bed otherwise! 🙂
September 30, 2020 at 17:26
That is so interesting! How nice of you to provide a much-needed respite for the birds!
October 1, 2020 at 15:29
In those challenging situations they were welcome to stay, Janis. At anchor, when they shit all over the place, we encouraged them to move on! 🙂
September 30, 2020 at 19:25
That one shot with the wave looks enormous! What a cool post, Liesbet!
October 1, 2020 at 15:30
Crossing the ocean isn’t the most comfortable endeavor, Terri, especially when the wind and waves are up! My stomach still churns when I think back to those weeks…
September 30, 2020 at 20:21
Your photos tell the story and remind me why I wouldn’t have the courage to make an ocean crossing with squalls, near or far. So cool!
October 1, 2020 at 06:36
This is exactly what I was thinking. Very cool to see the photos and read the story, but I would NEVER be brave enough to venture that far from shore!!
October 1, 2020 at 15:35
True, Joanne. It’s a bit scary (although I never thought about it that way back then), because once you head west, there is no turning back. In a sailboat anyway! The reason is the predominant wind patterns. You’d almost have to sail all the way around the world to end up where you started. 🙂
October 3, 2020 at 06:24
Holy Hell! That’s something I never thought about! One more reason for me to stay close to shore.
October 3, 2020 at 15:45
Yeah… if you have no idea where the predominant wind comes from, don’t move onto a sailboat. 🙂 You can just read about those life experiences in my blogs and book, haha.
October 1, 2020 at 15:33
Hi Marian! When you start a long passage like that, you hope for the best, since you can only check the weather five days out or so and even then it’s rarely accurate. But, it’s safe to say that we probably never made a multiple-day crossing without any squalls. That would be rare. And blissful! Even at anchor these storms can be challenging. We’ve seen the highest wind gusts (40-50 knots) settled in bays actually, not on the ocean.
October 1, 2020 at 07:28
It always amazes me how some birds show up in the middle of the ocean. I guess they look for clam seas and sit on the water to rest. Did you ever get seasick?
October 1, 2020 at 15:38
Good thinking, Hugh! That might be how they ended up that far from land, on floating debris. We have encountered snakes at sea that way. Not in the middle of the ocean, but when it rains hard in Panama, for example, snakes hanging out on snapped-off tree branches would make it down the rivers into the bays and then – in two cases I remember – climb aboard and freak the hell out of our friends.
Oh yes I got seasick. I’m a motion sickness kind of girl, unfortunately. But, that’s a story for another day. 🙂
October 2, 2020 at 06:58
Snakes? I’d have acted like those friends, Oh, wow. I’d have tried to get as far away as possible from any snakes, Liesbet.
I’m surprised you suffer from seasickness. You say a story for another day, but I’m wondering now if you tried any cures for it?
October 3, 2020 at 15:41
It’s hard to get away from snakes when they have invaded your home (which is a boat) and there is nowhere to go! 🙂 That was the situation in the two cases we know of. The one in the Dominican Republic was a boa constrictor and the husband managed to maneuver the snake off the boat. His wife and son were onboard as well. In the situation in Panama, they managed to kill the snake in the kitchen by chopping its head off. A scene of a horror movie! They took photos of it as well…
Regarding the seasickness, I sometimes took a European medicine for it: Stugeron. We managed to buy it in liquid form, which is easier to dose for individual’s needs. In general, I don’t like taking medication, so I usually suffered through those episodes, vomiting overboard when needed and continuing the boat tasks. In many cases, I could not lie down or rest, because during stormy weather, all hands were required to keep the catamaran afloat. Staring at the horizon helped as well, as long as the boat didn’t go up and down too much. 🙂
October 1, 2020 at 08:30
Awesome shots, Liesbet. This further increases my appetite to read your memoir! 😀
October 1, 2020 at 15:40
Thanks, Donna! We’ve encountered so many curious and amazing things during that decade. But, I think I have more photos of certain events than I have stories or words recorded. My memoir represents only a small part of this lifestyle and details like hitchhiking birds are not a part of it. I’m hoping to post more photos the coming months. Time to do something with part of that extensive archive!
October 1, 2020 at 12:38
That is a great question–where do they come from? In my books, I always have the sight of a bird mean land is near. But you’re proving there’s a flaw in my theory!
October 1, 2020 at 15:44
Right, Jacqui? I remember thinking the same when we encountered birds in the middle of the ocean… Where is land? This is more prominent near the atolls of the South Pacific. You wouldn’t be able to see these low-lying motus (sandy islets) until you’re only a mile or so away, but the birds would explore much further afield, so you see them before you see land.
October 1, 2020 at 15:50
Right now, being on a boat far from everything seems like such a great idea. I think we humans lose color when we die, also (at least our body does), and lastly, we see lots of boobies when we’re in Hawaii. Aloha, and cheers.
October 1, 2020 at 16:01
Hi Pam! I mentioned this before, but I’d love to explore Hawai’i one day since I have never been there. Not by sailboat, though, because it is not known as a great sailing destination. Boobies are so cool, once you get over their name. 🙂 And, yes, you are right, being on a catamaran in the middle of some atoll right now doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. I practically am doing that, though, albeit virtually, since a good friend of mine is still sailing down there and sending me updates once a week. 🙂
October 1, 2020 at 17:18
A booby, how cool! I’ve never seen one in real life; only in bird books. I just looked up your friend and discovered s/he’s a brown booby – I’d only ever heard of the blue-footed booby. I learn something new every day – thanks!
October 3, 2020 at 15:34
Thanks for classifying my feathered friend, Diane. At least I had the “boobie” part right! Whenever I decide to post a video on this blog with blue-footed boobies diving en masse next to our boat, I will dedicate it to you! 🙂
October 2, 2020 at 02:34
A strange looking bird, that Boobie. Looks like he needs a friend 🙂 🙂
October 3, 2020 at 15:34
His friend might be resting on another sailboat crossing the Pacific Ocean! 🙂
October 5, 2020 at 19:58
Oh yes, that stellar sunset takes the prize for me. <3
October 7, 2020 at 13:23
Sunsets over the water – your favorite! Except, maybe not from aboard a pitching sailboat… 🙂
October 7, 2020 at 17:50
You got that right, lol 🙂
October 15, 2020 at 18:15
How astounding that they could be so far from shore! Did they ride along for an extended period of time? The photos of the booby is amazing. I imagine quite a surprise to have him land on the boat!
October 20, 2020 at 09:03
Hi Sue! Yes, these birds rest on the boat for hours on end. One even stayed through the night. They must be exhausted. Like someone else mentioned: they might find respite on debris in the ocean as well. But, I still haven’t figured out why they fly these huge distances without land for thousands of miles. I think they must have gotten disoriented.
October 26, 2020 at 12:44
Hi Liesbet. Once again, I’ve managed to get way behind in reading your blog. I didn’t know that about heading west, and not being able to turn back because of the prevailing winds. It must have been quite scary at times doing an ocean crossing. And exhausting.
Jude
October 28, 2020 at 10:06
Hi Jude! Welcome back. Reading your comments takes me down memory lane again. 🙂 I don’t think I was ever scared on an ocean – in general I’m not a fearful person – but it was extremely uncomfortable at times! Everything depends on the sea state. On our longest (21 days) passage, there were about ten days when we lived on “automatic pilot”. Just surviving. No fun, relaxation, or comfort to be had. Believe me, I often wondered why people do this kind of thing, crossing oceans…