Imagine That �-- What Would Be the Odds?
16 July 2011 | 34 20'N:159 34'W,
At first light this morning, we discovered the first of a fleet of sailing ships off our port quarter approximately 2 miles astern.
Raising the new arrival on our VHF we found out the vessel was a leader in a fleet of five traditional Cook Island sailing catamarans traveling from the Cook Islands to San Francisco via Honolulu.
Over the next few hours, 2 more of the sailing ships came astern and moved ahead of us on their way and if the other two vessels are on the same tack, it is likely we will see them as well before sundown.. Slightly larger and different hull shape, they're capable of moving faster through the water than our monohull vessel.
We have been traveling 900 miles with only one freighter only distantly sighted and here we see 3 sailing vessels all in one day.
We traveled the entire first leg of the trip from Cape Flattery to Hilo, Hawaii sighting only 4 vessels in the entire 2500 nautical mile trip.
The ocean is so unbelievably expansive and yet in one day it looks crowded. What a small world!