POSITION :51°31'•0 N 000°11'•3 W
DAY / TIME : 16.08 2013 , 17:00 UTC
MOOD : "one year older"
Dear Reader,
It has been quite a while now since I officially closed the Atlantic Adventures 2012/2013, and yet there are still so many visitors to the web page everyday, whilst I also received many comments and inputs from many of you out there.
My Saiing Club in Italy, in Venice actually, 'Compagnia Della Vela', Venezia, has also been very kind to me, releasing some articles about my adventures, which have been published lately in La Republica and many other italian papers.
So,honestly, I am quite happy about all of this.
There are however some few loose ends that I need to close, so here we go :
NOT A JELLYFISH ! You might remember the story : "Also Whales eat Dim Sum"
and the USO's we found, the
Unidentified Swimming Objects.
Well, here is another picture from the web, which is almost identical with the picture we took from the object in the bucket on our boat :
they are
" Portuguese man o' war",
very often described as jellyfish
which they are not !!!!!!
And they are extremely dangerous for your health, in fact they might be able to kill you if you get stung by their venemous tentacles.
and the USO's we found, the
Unidentified Swimming Objects.
Well, here is another picture from the web, which is almost identical with the picture we took from the object in the bucket on our boat :
they are
" Portuguese man o' war",
very often described as jellyfish
which they are not !!!!!!
And they are extremely dangerous for your health, in fact they might be able to kill you if you get stung by their venemous tentacles.
This species is a marine criderian, a siphonophore, as the marine biologists describe them.
The difference to a jellyfish is that they actually consist of a colonial organism made up of many many individual
parts called zooids which are however bound for life, so to speak, because individually they are incapable of survival.
And we saw the gas-filled bladder swimming and drifting on the surface of the ocean, whilst the rest is submerged.
And where does the name come from ? Well , of course, everything comes from my beloved sailing. Because this species resembles an 18th century Portuguese armed sailing ship, a "Man-of-War".
Simple, simples !
The only thing that surprises me is that they are bound to be found in the Atlantic and Pacific.
But believe me , we also saw them on our way along the Moroccan coast.
Happy Holidays, tourists in Mallorca and Morocco.
Enjoy your swim !
The difference to a jellyfish is that they actually consist of a colonial organism made up of many many individual
parts called zooids which are however bound for life, so to speak, because individually they are incapable of survival.
And we saw the gas-filled bladder swimming and drifting on the surface of the ocean, whilst the rest is submerged.
And where does the name come from ? Well , of course, everything comes from my beloved sailing. Because this species resembles an 18th century Portuguese armed sailing ship, a "Man-of-War".
Simple, simples !
The only thing that surprises me is that they are bound to be found in the Atlantic and Pacific.
But believe me , we also saw them on our way along the Moroccan coast.
Happy Holidays, tourists in Mallorca and Morocco.
Enjoy your swim !
1286 - 1331 Next is my visit to Corleone.
Well, in the meantime, I had some mail from Don Vito's family, complaining bitterly about the fact that I compared their "beautiful' place with Pordenone in NE Italy.
Ever since I have been living in hiding !
But seriously, I did the people of Pordenone unjust.
Because having researched a little more, I found out that it had a very famous person between its citizens, which even the people of Pordenone might not know about :
Odoric of Pordenone !
Born in the year 1286 at Villanova, a hamlet now part ot the city of Pordenone, NE Italy,
in the Patriarchal State of Aquilea, Holy Roman Empire,
he is very well known for his (missionary and diplomatic) travels as a member of the Franciscan order in Udine,
to China and India.
In fact his detailed accounts from these voyages gave direct input
( and were partly copied , so they say ) some 80 years later to the somewhat unknown author of
"The Travels of Sir John Mandeville",
a publication I would describe as
the world's very first internationally acclaimed ( as translated in to many languages) Travel Guide.
Even Christopher Columbus is supposed to have taken a copy with him !
Odoric died in Udine in January 1331, you can still see his tomb in the 'Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel'.
Hey, people of Pordenone, take some time over the weekend and go and visit !
Connect with your past, and be proud !
Wherever You Are !
And people of Corleone, well, watch the movie again. Best ever !
Folks, the world is small, I tell you, the world is small !
And now ? Well there are two reasons why you should continue watching this page :
First, because soon I will reveal my plans for next year,
and secondly, I want to give you an update on the new boat I am considering, and if and when I will have her built.
So up to then:
Bye,Bye,
Master Mike.
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