A Day at Sea

The temperature is rising. We will cruise north for the next 48 hours to Exmouth. Yesterday it was 20 degrees at sunrise. Today, it was 24 degrees. The older I get, the finer the line between “too cold” and “too warm” gets.  We are inexorably headed to the equator, no turning back. I must adapt. 

Worryingly, the seas today are very, very calm. Is there a storm on the way? 

I start reading “Chasing Venus. The Race to Measure the Heavens” (German version) by Andrea Wulf. She describes the multi-national scientific cooperation to measure the transit of Venus across the sun, first proposed by Edmond Halley in 1716.  

The first measurement took place in 1761 (long after Halley’s death), when the leading western nations of the world were mostly at war with one another. The second measurement was in 1768, when my old friend James Cook got involved. Very readable story. It reminds one that the sharing of knowledge across political borders has greatly advanced mankind. 

The evening’s highlight: The story of “Abba” (another cross border phenomenon) is presented on the aft deck. The ship rocked as we grey haired baby boomers recalled fond memories from our youth to the accompaniment of an Abba tune.