The feeling of being alone at sea…

It’s a bit early to say anything definite on this subject, so these are just first impressions. Being completely alone and with absolutely nothing in sight certainly feels odd. As far as you can see, all around, just water.
In the English Channel you certainly see more ships – I suppose it’s one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Further south, I was going for hours – 10 or 12 hours – without seeing one.
So far, I haven’t had any profound thoughts about this emptiness. Time will tell. Crossing the North Atlantic might feel more significant, although I’m not sure there’s much of a difference between being one or two hundred, or a thousand, miles from land – your world extends the few miles to the horizon, and if it’s empty, that’s it really.
A couple of times I’ve had a brief glimpse of a dolphin swimming alongside. The funniest thing was when a little swallow suddenly landed on the saloon roof in front of me. It sat there for several moments, watching me steer, with the happiest expression on its little face. And then just as suddenly took off, soaring into the sky, and was gone.