Sailing east on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner from Seward to Sitka the sunsets were amazing. I would rush up top when it was supposed to be sunset to try and capture the event, always forgetting that in June in Alaska. . . on the water with no mountains to the west, the sunset lasts for hours.
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Nautical Twilight
Nautical twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening, when the center of the sun is geometrically 12 degrees below the horizon. At the beginning or end of nautical twilight, under good atmospheric conditions and in the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable, but detailed outdoor operations are not possible. During nautical twilight the illumination level is such that the horizon is still visible even on a Moonless night allowing mariners to take reliable star sights for navigational purposes, hence the name.
We sailed east along 61° N. At that high latitude nautical twilight lasts most of the 4 hours between sunset and sunrise. At astronomical noon the sun only reaches 52° above the horizon and after "dark" it is only 5° below the horizon, thus providing the midnight sun and hours and hours of sunset, sunrise and nautical twilight.
This week sunrise is around 3:20 am and sunset is around 10:45 pm. Days don't start getting significantly shorter until late August. See the US Navy's Sun/Moon Rise/Set Page at USNO Data Services sunrise/sunset and twilight hours for your area of the world.
The twilight is sad and cloudy,
The wind blows wild and free,
And like the wings of sea-birds
Flash the white caps of the sea.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Twilight: Before sunrise and again after sunset there are intervals of time, twilight, during which there is natural light provided by the upper atmosphere, which does receive direct sunlight and reflects part of it toward the Earth's surface. Some outdoor activities may be conducted without artificial illumination during these intervals, and it is useful to have some means to set limits beyond which a certain activity should be assisted by artificial lighting. The major determinants of the amount of natural light during twilight are the state of the atmosphere generally and local weather conditions in particular. Atmospheric conditions are best determined at the actual time and place of events. Nevertheless, it is possible to establish useful, though necessarily approximate, limits applicable to large classes of activities by considering only the position of the Sun below the local horizon. Reasonable and convenient definitions have evolved.
Civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities.
Astronomical twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 18 degrees below the horizon. Before the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning and after the end of astronomical twilight in the evening, scattered light from the Sun is less than that from starlight and other natural sources. For a considerable interval after the beginning of morning twilight and before the end of evening twilight, sky illumination is so faint that it is practically imperceptible.
Above and Below, near Yakutat and Kluane National Park
As we sailed into a storm off of Baranof Island (Sitka area) there was brilliant sunset for hours to the west and a continuously changing series of rainbows to the east, in the storm.
Ships Passing in The Night
Commonly said about two people who meet for a short time, share a few words, only to separate and continue on their way, never to see each other again.
We passed several Silver Seas ships in the night and found them again in harbors. This is the Silver Shadow, a 28,000 GT, extreme luxury cruise ship very similar (but smaller) than the Seven Seas Mariner that we sailed.
The ocean is a big place, so what are the odds of two ships sailing directly past each other? I have no idea, but it's probably not very high. But it does occur, and when it happens to be at night, the ships may shine a light on the other in order to acknowledge the other's presence. The shining of the light can be seen as a greeting, as if the ships are talking to one another, that is, until they pass and disappear into the darkness of the night, never to see the other again. Well, who knows, they might cross paths again at some point.
This sort of ship passing situation, at some point, began to be applied to people who meet for the first time, only to part ways shortly after, disappearing into the vastness of the earth. Such people are like two ships passing at night.
The idiom is at least over 150 years old. It is written in Tales of a Wayside Inn, "The Theologian's Tale," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1863):
Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
Below, as we passed Montague Island
Clouds and sun, below
This sunset went on like this for about 3 hours. It was enhanced by the storm we were sailing into. It was windy and cold on top but I had the top 2 decks all to myself for hours. Very nice sailing.
@armano_sacci
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