Research done on size of the male dung beetles penis and horns shows that size only matters in populations with a high percentage of females. Size of the horns that is. In populations with a smaller percentage of females the smart dung beetle sneaks off with the female while his macho friends are fighting it out. The dung beetle is also the species with the fastest evolution, however, whether the big horns or the cunning mating tactics will be the evolutionary winner is still to be decided.
We are obviously sailing again, and the night watch reading is sponsored by the Fides left over stash of New Scientist magazines. And good reading material is becoming increasingly important, as sitting outside, enjoying the stars, the moon and the great quiet is becoming an increasingly cold and wet experience.
On board the Mjner, size also matters. At least if you ask Jeroen, who is feeling very macho these days. 68 cm and 5.5 kg of blackfin tuna does that to a man. And we are now sure to we have food enough to last us until Falmouth. Day 1: sushi, day 2: tuna steak sandwich lunch, grilled tuna steak dinner. Day 3: Fish curry. Day 4: fish sticks. Any suggestions for day 5 are more than welcome..
Horta on Faial, Azores was difficult to leave. It is the designated marina for all boats crossing the Atlantic back to Europe, and except for the very few locals, all boats there have sailed more than 1500 miles to get there. Every day new boats come in, often with broken sails, always with great tales, sometimes with the assistance of a fellow sailor towing them into the marina. It is the place where you come across people you haven’t seen for months, and the social aspect of cruising very quickly fills the evenings, and ruins the mornings. Every day we said; tomorrow we will leave, go to another island, and every day we found new reasons to postpone. When French friends that we hadn’t seen since Morocco (project Esperanto) almost talked us into staying for another week, we realized that we should either leave now, or find an apartment.
But apart from Horta Marina there really are many things to see on these beautiful green islands. Wine routes, whale watching, volcanic craters, and black beaches. Most of which we didn’t do. Yet another destination has been added to the return on holiday wish list.
PS That we stayed long enough to watch the Denmark-Netherlands match was inevitable. That this match will never be mentioned again goes without saying…
Hey lieve mensen, is de vis al op? Wat ons heel goed beviel was kleine stukjes ervan snijden, die opbakken met lekkere kruiden en dan door de nasi of wat dan ook. Beviel ons zelfs twee dagen achter elkaar met een dikke trevalle Jack. (mei, Guadeloupe) Wij liggen als halve landrotten al weer bijna een maand op het Spaanse Water in Curaçao. Bevalt prima. Veel werk met het schuren en lakken vd Victory. Regelmatig overvalt ons een sterke heimwee naar ons gezamenlijk opvaren de eerste maanden van onze reis. Those were the days my friend ! Kortom we missen jullie, ook al hebben we het prima naar onze zin. Hartelijke groeten aan ons landje straks; Jan Bart en Monique
Luise, don´t worry, Denmark will be second in the group and this way avoid Brasil…..
No comments anymore about Jeroen´s size……otherwise when arriving in Holland it was tuna of 15 kilo´s!