How Many Have Seen St Elmo's Fire

[AfterHoursNLCT]

Originally Posted by savoir

There was this one time, on Sesame Street, when Oscar was playing with matches and . . . . . . . . nah, that's probably not it.

This is the only site that makes me laugh out loud...

[DDabs]

[Andrew Troup]

true sailors do it in their seaboots

[sardinebreath]

Have seen it a number of times while flying small planes but never in a boat.

[hpeer]

I've seen a moon bow!

That should count for something!

[Andrew Troup]

A moon bow! That's pretty impressive.

I've seen lots of Japanese people bow, but nary a moon

Perhaps it saw the cow coming, and flinched?

[Viking Sailor]

You can tell that someone is a sailor if he begins a story with: "This is no sh$t...."

[hpeer]

Your only showing your own lack of experience.

Approaching St. Pierre, after dark, a squall line had passed and the light was falling on the back side. Moon was about half phase and ahead.

It was a complete arc, surface to surface. A wonderful reward for a tough passage.

Moonbow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[savoir]

Well I've seen the green flash twice.

Less prestigious I know.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Viking Sailor

You can tell that someone is a sailor if he begins a story with: "This is no sh$t...."

Or a redneck...

Originally Posted by savoir

Well I've seen the green flash twice.

Less prestigious I know.

My exact post... no fire... two greenies...

[Delancey]

I've never seen a green flash. Or a moon bow. I have seen a complete moon halo on a delivery during and early frost and I have seen St Elmo's Fire as a teenager keeping watch with my dad.

We had been rolled a couple times that night by a series of squall lines and were about 30 miles offshore. In a bit of a lull between squalls that air got stuffy. What I actually noticed first was the sound which prompted me to look up.

The sound was sort of like crumpling up of cellophane and seemed like it was coming from the sails themselves although I am not sure. The St Elmo's Fire looked a lot like it does in the picture I posted. Sort of shooting out from the spreader tips and the masthead and faintly running up the shrouds.

Also there was sort of a ball of it on the tip of a LORAN antenna mounted to the pushpit. Lasted maybe 15 minutes before the sound and the light show faded away and we got rolled by another squall. It was a magical moment. Love you Dad!

I've also been hit by lightning which is another story all together.

[Andrew Troup]

I don't think I knew about moonbows.

(My apparent dig at hpeer was actually a feeble attempt at continuing the comic momentum, my target being the vagaries of written vs spoken English)

That would be quite something to see.

[hpeer]

Thanks.

Feeling a bit tender these days, what with the engine on the ground, and the tanks in the mail, and the engine beds cut out, and..........

[Andrew Troup]

I checked with a family member who has also done a lot of ocean miles; she had only ever seen a moonbow, once, and that was in the mountains: (Mt Cook National Park) she said it was truly amazing.

I do recall being in moonlight so bright, on a high altitude plateau with a big snowclad peak opposite, that colours of the alpine plants could be clearly discerned at midnight...

The mountains, as it happens, are also the only place I've ever seen a green flash, despite spending many sunsets at sea gazing expectantly at the horizon.

The neat thing about where I was (Fox Glacier, Pioneer hut ridge) was that by walking slowly up the ridge, I was able to keep re-entering the green room. Cosmic!