Travel
I Went Aboard Bark Europa For A Quick Look Around — and Ended Up Sailing Away Into The Indian Ocean For Ten Days and Nights.
On the 400th Anniversary of the wreck of the Batavia, we sailed to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands and back, in August 2013.
The night time stars are jewels and the ocean depths sparkle
We are at sea in the Indian Ocean, aboard Bark Europa and the Milky Way is strung like rubies and diamonds flung against a midnight blue sky. It is crumpled here and there with pockets of deepest black that promise to reveal the brilliant secrets of the universe, which your searching eyes will never discern.
Orion rises above the horizon, pointing to the Southern Cross while small rills of foam stream away from the bow, sparkling under the slice of a new moon.
Being on watch is the best part of sailing on Bark Europa. You are not there to just look. It’s about becoming one with the ship. Of being aware of how the wind feels against your face; noting if it has moved to cut across the back of your neck instead of chilling the end of your nose and watching to see if the helmsman has repointed the ship into the wind or if, as the…
