My attention was diverted away from the helm as I noticed something flopping about in the water 100 yards ahead. A fin? Two fins? No, they were wing tips attached to graceful and gliding manta rays. I called my wife Melanie and we turned off the engines to try and avoid frightening them off. We drifted slowly towards them to discover that our Privilege 435 catamaran, Rock ‘n’ no Roll, was surrounded by a family of them, eight in all.
Incredibly they seemed not the least bit bothered by us, cruising around gently in circles, just doing their thing.
Now stationary, I stripped off, donned mask and snorkel and slipped into the water with them. Wow! In front, beside and below, everywhere I looked, I could see one; this was magical. After a while they got inquisitive and glided gently straight towards me. It was a little intimidating having a 6ft wing span, huge white mouth and big beady eyes heading for you, but with a gentle flap of their wings they glided by. We spent about an hour with the mantas before they dived slowly into the deep and we said goodbye. Another magical moment to cherish and we felt it was an auspicious start to this new phase in our sailing adventure, although it wasn’t to last long.
この記事は Yachting Monthly の January 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Yachting Monthly の January 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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