CURRENT LOCATION: On a mooring ball near the reef in Ensenada Dakity
18 17.609' N, 065 16.813' W

Last sailing season, Sheryl left her mark on several boats by tying decorative and functional turk's head knots on their steering wheels. Functional, because it allows you to both see and feel when the rudder is in a position to guide the boat straight (the knot is at top dead center). Decorative, because ... well ... it looks pretty.

Here are some examples...




Lately, Sheryl's turk's head knots have also been finding their way onto tiny bottles of sea glass which have been sent to friends, relatives, and readers up north. I don't think there is any functional utility in this case. It is purely decorative...



Our Southern Cross came with a turk's head knot already fixed in the appropriate place on the wheel. I have spent many hours at the helm with my eyes on the horizon, sliding my hands left and right to find the knot and ascertain the relative position of the rudder beneath my feet. This weekend, Sheryl decided to replace that knot with one of her own.

The rope she used is, itself, both decorative and functional. Some of the multicolored flecks in the line are actually reflective, so if we are shining a flashlight toward the boat from the dinghy on a dark night, we may catch a reflection from this knot...


Last night, after taking photos of our new turk's head knot, we settled into the cockpit to watch the fish show. Our boat is surrounded by rapidly moving rivers of tiny fish. They move and flow as though they were of one mind, until a predator is nearby. When you see confusion in the ranks, you know that something is up...



The silent theatre of tiny fish is occasionally accented with the 'plitter-platter' of a few dozen leaving the water briefly (plit) and returning to their aquatic world (plat). The percussive performance also includes loud 'SPLASH' sounds. These are caused by bigger fish who pursue their prey without regard to a graceful reentry into the water.

Sheryl spent much of the evening trying to capture, on film, the aerobatic maneuvers of one of the larger participants in this piscine play. It was quite a challenge because there was no warning, just a fish in the air. One had to have the camera pointed in the right direction and ready to click before the event occurred. She got many great photos of splashes, after the fact, but could not catch one mid-air.



Finally, just as twilight was turning into darkness she got one! Oh, what we do for Saturday night entertainment here aboard Prudence.



Once the show had at last been adequately documented in digital imagery, we turned in for the night. Yes, it was only 8PM, but it had been a long day filled with boat chores directed at scratching items off the 'to-do' list before we head down island. And, there is still so much more left to do.