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    Around-n-Over

    Question - "What does having a dream mean to you?"
    Answer - "A dream is a goal glimmering in the distance; it is an inner calling which, when accomplished,
    serves as the rite of passage into wisdom." Erden Eruç - Sep 17, 2004
     

    Image: A full moon is an invitation to stay out longer, and it takes me home. A full moon is an invitation to stay out longer, and it takes me home.

    The verdict: A record sighting!
    November 12, 2007 - Day 126    7.7582N,157.4184W
    I have received confirmation that the bird species which visited my boat on Oct 31, was a Laughing Gull (larus atricilla), out at sea a record distance.

    Our ornithologist friend Pepper Trail says: "With the latest close-up of the gull's head, all the pieces fell into place, and the experts now agree that your bird was a Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla). I'm sure it would laugh, all right, if it could know what a fuss it caused. This is the 'least unlikely' gull in the equatorial tropical Pacific, where any gull is unlikely. Peter Pyle, who very helpfully sent around your photos to other experts, has said that he plans to include this record in a new book on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands (and surrounding ocean) that he is working on."

    This species, found along the west coast of Mexico as a breeder, and into the eastern Pacific post-breeding, is a coastal bird as all gulls are. When it came to visit on October 31, it was almost 3,000nm away from its home, the same distance that Seattle is to me now.

    When I see a full moon on the ocean, I sometimes wonder if Nancy in Seattle is also seeing it. The thought of that connection makes the ocean feel smaller and the distance between us less formidable. A silly way to think perhaps, but it is a comforting thought which I choose to keep.

    Erden.

    Previous Dispatches
    image

    I am not a happy camper!    November 10, 2007 - Day 124
    "No complaining. No whining. No despair. Winds will blow. It is in their nature. They are pushing your boat back north, too bad. Try again later. December shows NE winds across the Equator west

    image

    Debate continues on the bird...    November 8, 2007 - Day 122
    The bird which I last reported on November 2nd and 4th was a gull, but there is not a consensus on which species yet. Gulls are coastal birds, and not a pelagic bird species, so we have on record an

    image

    I was down to 2 quarts of water!    November 7, 2007 - Day 121
    The last 4-5 days have been sunny, and finally the cabin is dry, the batteries are recharging, and I don't dread stepping outside. I am south of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) now, an

    Later dispatches - Previous dispatches


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