The Bon Voyage party was enjoyed by all and it was good seeing old friends and co-workers. We also said goodbye to our trusty truck as we pushed away from
But we are not alone in our trip south. Over the past few weeks we have noticed Monarch butterflies flying overhead, landing nearby or sometimes even far out at sea. Sometimes it is one or two, and other times it is more of a steady stream of 10 or twenty. Like many observations with a seven year old aboard, such a curiosity becomes an opportunity for a home schooling lesson.
We found that Monarch butterflies have one of the world's most fascinating migration paths. Every fall, thousands of the black-and-orange butterflies fly west to their wintering grounds in
Many of our friends have been having problems visualizing the speed of our trawler and how we can go so far on so little fuel. In all this research I found that many butterflies travel more than 2000 miles and average more than 5 mph in this arduous migration. There you have it. Everyone knows that butterflies do not travel in a straight line. They flutter back and forth and up and down and they get caught up in storms. Therefore they must travel faster than that to average 5 mph on this 3 month journey. Based on this data and the fact that they will beat me south this year, I have concluded that even butterflys go faster than our trawler.
So next time you see a butterfly flitting past, Dear reader, you can think to yourself, the Emily Grace goes slower than that!
Tom
4 comments:
Hi, Crew -
Bon voyage, and keep us posted. At least you won't be arrested for speeding, and "no wake " zones will not be a problem. Even I can walk faster than a monarch flies!
Uncle Joe
Hey there...good to see that you're underway. We're in Coinjock hoping to make it across the Abermarle today, but there's a front coming through so (even though the sailors love it) we're probably going to find someplace to hole up in for a few days. Stay in touch and hope to see you along the way. Safe travels.
Linda & Corey
M/V Live Wire II
P.S. We've gotten passed by geese, gulls, pelicans and dragonflys. But, not butterflies (yet).
Are the butterflies still winning the race???
Too funny!!
Pat
I do love this comparison
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