What are the best sights seen from your cockpit ?

Sailing home after a couple of years, up past the Lizard and into Falmouth Bay, seeing the green fields in the English sunshine. Lying anchored off the Custom House Quay on the first evening home and smelling the the new cut grass, when the farmers been hay making in that field over by Trefusis Point. :D
 
Barbados after 1st Atlantic crossing

The stars mid ocean on a moonless night

Dolphins and porpoises

Watching a total eclipse of the moon anchored off St Martin

Sunsets/rises at sea

My children's excitement at catching a first fish, 'all on my own'

Friends and family sitting down to dinner as the boats rocks idly at anchor

So many good memories....
 
After far too many years being a sad old git, the best sight from the cockpit just has to be watching shooting starts in the early hours, motorsailing in the Irish Sea, sharing the moment with my bride of a week! Nothing else within the 360 degree horizon. Bliss.
 
What wonderful lives it sounds like you lot have lead......
Mine has to be the first time I sailed through the needles channel in my own boat single handed after hearing all the horendous stories about it & realized that the world was my oyster.....all the adventure stories I had read so much about over the years were not beyond my grasp.
 
Porto Santo (near Madeira) in the sunset, after about 5 days at sea - my (then) longest passage.

For some reason heading out into the Atlantic, with no better evidence than a chart that there was actually land there, I developed an irrational (or maybe not) fear that I wouldn't find land and keep heading on across the ocean! After all, GPS numbers on the screen are just that - how do you know they are right??
 
no one seen an RAF sea king then? I guess that would top the lot if you needed it.
I've not seen one in anger, only a lifeboat.........

Seriously though, sunsets, sunrises, the night sky, landfalls and dolphins. No matter how many times you see them they are always special on a boat.
 
Well there's this one - St lucia at dawn after a night passage

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Or perhaps landfall on the Bishop rock

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Three years ago sailing up the Scotish East coast between Montrose and Stonehaven about 5 miles out we saw lot's of seagulls about 500 metres to starboard.

Then a couple of killer whales surfaced and one of them jumped vertically clear of the water with his black and white waistcoat fully in view. SWMBO and myself will never forget the sight. It was much longer than the 42ft ketch we were on.

We watched them from a safe distance for a little while then left them in peace and carried on our way.
 
Seeing the the mountains of Corsica emerge out of the morning mist and Calvi appear where it ought to be. My first ever crossing and using only dead reckoning... Euphoria.

Various whales : sperm whale near Corsica emerging just in front of the boat and swimming alongside; and a right (?) whale near the Glénan Islands; a pod of pilot whales.

Sitting at night time in the cockpit with my daughter and watching the stars.

See the Belem emerge out of the fog just in front... France's sail training ship.

Being passed by some of the large multi hulls as if I were stopped in the water.

Seeing seals swim around the boat early on a still sunny summer morning in Strangford Lough.

Arriving in Gibraltar at the same time as a review of the fleet.

etc etc...
 
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Not exactly my cockpit but that of a Sunsail charter yacht in the Aegean.

The flotilla had anchored for the night is an almost enclosed bay on a small island - barbecue ashore in the evening. Now one of our boats had on board a very fit woman of about 30/35, self described as an army brat and inclined towards skinny dipping. It was amazing how much attention she got.

This evening we had not put out the barbecue properly and by the middle of the night we had set the brush alight. The skinny dippers boat had anchored a little way away from us and near the shore so when the fire started nibbling at the end of their shore rope they had to let go. But there was no moonlight so they couldnt see to get out of the mouth of the bay. So with her on the helm they motored round the rest of the fleet for a couple of hours until dawn and escape. She slept in the buff :eek: and clearly came on deck in a hurry.

Against the background of burning vegitation, the sight was transfixing. Porn meets Wagner. And I had to stay on deck along with all the other men to ensure we were safe.
 
A pod of hump back whales cane to check up out when we were on our way to a local dive site and had a chance to snorkel with them.
 
Its always naked girls.

One windsurfing past us whilst anchored in Orient Bay, St. Martin, not a stitch on.

Lots more in various Windies Islands. Must be the weather!
 
Watching the family sleep peacefully below decks on a night passage with calm seas and enough wind to get us along at a fair rate.

Just seems (happened a few times) to be very calming and reassuring.
 
Naked female from the depths!

LONG_KEELER said:
Thames Barges racing on the East Coast is one of my favourites.

Seeing land on my first Channel crossing was a great moment.

Would love to see some Dolphins or an Albatross.
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Laying at anchor at about midnight in Majorca, about 300 metres offshore, we were astonished by the arrival onboard (via sugar scoop) of a topless drunken/drugged Finn female, looking for her boyfriend. Clad only in a pair of wet knickers, looking very Valkerian as she clambered onboard.

Being aware of another yacht with a Finnish flag someway ahead of us, my friend the owner, rolled her into our dinghy & took her to that boat. Needless to say, they were as suprised as we were, she being a stranger to them as well!
 
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