At the time of writing we are positionally on the same Latitude as Aberdeen. We are so far north; dusk stretches around to dawn. No nautical twilight, but continuous soft light bridging the 'late-early' hours of the day. Visibility has improved in the last 24hrs as our barometer has climbed closer to the local high pressure. Edges of high pressures are sunny, since air aloft as it is pushed down converts its gravitational energy into thermal, evaporating its vapor. When the sun does pop through it heats us up nicely, and we can sunbathe in our yellow Musto foulies.
It is a relief to have sun because as we rounded the Ice Limit, leaving the trade winds behind, we have had consistent low lying cloud cover. It is low lying because of the air temperature. A chilly 10 degrees, that feels very cold when you have travelled up from the equator. Visibility has been worse since leaving the trades as cold water meeting warm moist air mists up. It is particularly bad on the east side of the Atlantic and gets clearer the closer to Scotland. Helming can be discombobulating when the sea colour matches the cloud filtered sunlight, as wave details cannot be distinguished.
The ocean is a cold grey-blue, the wake full of luminescent plankton and jellyfish. Since one watch spotted a sperm whale that broached very close to the yacht, everyone has been on standby for another sighting. Mis-calls of dolphins that look like pilot whales are becoming common place. The sea birds have become a rounder shape, more similar to the body of an aircraft than their gaunt southern relatives.
Tom