Position: 2000 LT, 37° 07’N, 028° W
Date:Thursday June 3, 2010

Portugese man-o-war

In about a day we will sail through the Azores Archipelagos. The distance between the islands Flores and Santa Maria is not less than 630 kilometers. Seagulls and Boobies are  giving away the closeness of land. When there’s birds there must be fish you would think. Nevertheless no fish are biting our lines.
The day before yesterday Portugese man-o-war visited the ship. These are not hostile vessels interpreting yesterday’s canon firing as an attack, but a certain species of jelly fish. They are named man-o-war on their small sails sticking out of the water maneuvering them through the ocean. Although anything related to sailing we usually sympathize with, these are not very friendly animals. They have very long tentacles that are poisonous.
            The first bird visiting us this week was a tern, a sea swallow. How this little bird survives at sea is a miracle. It stayed with us for a few days, on deck or flying around the ship for a bit. One evening it sneaked into the charthouse and ended up on the chart table. Correcting charts is a very accurate job carried out by the second officer. A little bird designing its own islands on it is bound to end up in the soup pot….

Richard Slootweg
Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam