Cape Lookout National Seashore
Few images conjure up a sense of remote coastline more effectively than that of a lonely black and white lighthouse along the Atlantic shore. As we approached the Lighthouse early this afternoon the winds and weather rose to meet the National Geographic Explorer. The low blowing bank of fog clears to reveal the black and white diamond patterns on the Cape Lookout Light. This National Seashore is a low, narrow, ribbon of sand running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southwest. The island is roughly 56 miles long.
Although the wind and the tide conspired against our wet landing on the sandy shore, the views of the island and its Light from the bridge of the ship were remarkable and from a vantage point shared by few.
One of the most amazing events on board the ship has been our encounters with the marine mammals under way. The humpback whales (Megaptera, novaeangliae), harbor porpoise (Phocoena, phocoena), Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops, truncates) are invariably a source of fascination and inspiration for all of the bipedal land mammals on board. Today we were graced with a visit from the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella, frontalleis). This particular pod of animals were in a very playful mood and were trying to outdo each other with acrobatic exploits fueled by the pressure wave created by the bulbous bow of the National Geographic Explorer underway at about 14.5 knots. The dolphins repeatedly breached and were very visible under water as well. They were happy to barrel roll both in and out of the water and seemed to be as curious about us as we were of them, often rolling on their sides and eye spotting the human onlookers while in full flight of breach.
A day at sea is often a good thing and the idea that an expedition of this nature is “like a box of chocolates” seems to ring so true … you never know what is over the next horizon but whatever choice you are presented with is always pretty sweet!
Few images conjure up a sense of remote coastline more effectively than that of a lonely black and white lighthouse along the Atlantic shore. As we approached the Lighthouse early this afternoon the winds and weather rose to meet the National Geographic Explorer. The low blowing bank of fog clears to reveal the black and white diamond patterns on the Cape Lookout Light. This National Seashore is a low, narrow, ribbon of sand running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southwest. The island is roughly 56 miles long.
Although the wind and the tide conspired against our wet landing on the sandy shore, the views of the island and its Light from the bridge of the ship were remarkable and from a vantage point shared by few.
One of the most amazing events on board the ship has been our encounters with the marine mammals under way. The humpback whales (Megaptera, novaeangliae), harbor porpoise (Phocoena, phocoena), Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops, truncates) are invariably a source of fascination and inspiration for all of the bipedal land mammals on board. Today we were graced with a visit from the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella, frontalleis). This particular pod of animals were in a very playful mood and were trying to outdo each other with acrobatic exploits fueled by the pressure wave created by the bulbous bow of the National Geographic Explorer underway at about 14.5 knots. The dolphins repeatedly breached and were very visible under water as well. They were happy to barrel roll both in and out of the water and seemed to be as curious about us as we were of them, often rolling on their sides and eye spotting the human onlookers while in full flight of breach.
A day at sea is often a good thing and the idea that an expedition of this nature is “like a box of chocolates” seems to ring so true … you never know what is over the next horizon but whatever choice you are presented with is always pretty sweet!
