Stowaway discovered in Lyme Bay

[wishbones]

This summer, crossing from Rompot (Netherlands) to Harwich in very calm conditions, we were followed for several minutes by a brownish butterfly (Peacock, I think), also heading west. As we were about 35 miles from the Essex coast, it was either making the same crossing as us (into a 5 knot wind) or it had been out for a day trip and was on its way home! Remarkable that something so delicate can fly so far.

 

[DeeGee]

As well as stowaways and bees - have you ever noticed butterflies? They are quite common over the channel, but the fascinating thing is that they quite merrily go upwind - I think they use the surface effects in the same way as gannets (like albatrosses) which hardly flap their wings going upwind, but sliding up the wave faces....