Greetings to the Atlantic from Baba Yaga and the Polite Russians

Greetings to the Atlantic In the depths of the Atlantic, voices can be heard from big ships and small sailing boats. Or perhaps they are otherworldly forces... And it is very nice when those forces sometimes speak Russian without an accent, but with a sense of humour. That certainly brightened up our passage from the Canary Islands to Senegal ) Whenever we meet our own people where there are few of them, the whole family is genuinely delighted. Making sure you are not the only Russian in the Universe is especially pleasing out on the open ocean. 🙂 VHF Channel 16 (the common channel for communication between ports and boats. By default, it must always be switched on aboard every vessel. It is used for transmitting distress signals and the like. For private boat-to-boat or boat-to-port conversations, once contact has been established on Channel 16, the parties then switch to another channel). Day 5 of the passage from the Canaries to Senegal. 200 miles off the coast of West Africa. Not a single ship on the horizon. Over the VHF, a pleasant baritone speaking immaculate Russian politely requested: — Channel 6, please. We all rejoiced as one: Fellow countrymeeeen!!! Meanwhile, our fellow countrymen had gone off the air. 14 March Night enveloped the Atlantic. Thank God, Russians not only never surrender, they do not slumber at night either! Invisible even on AIS, they were nonetheless with us—over the VHF on Channel 16. Kind Russian sailors surrounded the solitary Lady Mary with warmth and the sound of familiar voices :). True, we could hear only one participant in the conversation, and apparently not from the very beginning. But there was enough goodwill and positive energy to last the entire night watch. The voice addressed his unseen compatriot with a flourish: Now f... off Channel 16 .... (we cannot hear the reply) Whaaat!!!??? Are you talking to me??? ... Say that again!!! ... Where did you tell me to go??? .... Go f... yourself, mate! ... A reply. A pause. Static. Then, in a soothing bass: Well then, let’s go together, mate! And the friends, arms around each other, vanished into the ocean gloom. We howled with laughter. The night flew by 🙂 Closer to Africa The rest of the time, as we approached Senegal, someone would periodically play African pop music over VHF Channel 16. And then I remember my childhood, when boys would call our home phone anonymously and play songs by Roma Zhukov (there used to be a singer by that name). On earlier passages near the coast of Morocco, we noticed that off Africa, the common VHF channel clearly becomes more entertaining. More and more often there are songs and strange hissing noises, while fishing vessels display fewer and fewer identification marks. And then there are the nets... And now, in the pauses between the African versions of “Laskovy May,” someone regularly makes an unpleasant rasping noise over the VHF (deliberately messing around, if you ask me): — Aaaaeeeee... — in the voice of a dying dragon. Lada asked in surprise: — Who keeps doing that over the VHF? — Baba Yaga, Nastya replied imperturbably. Lada was satisfied with the answer. But we are still none the wiser :). Later, once in The Gambia, we would finally find Baba Yaga’s terem. May you all have humour!