Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
A long way from home.

I spent close to 15 years of my life at sea working on many different Super-yachts globally! I have done many crossings of large oceans, sometimes 2 weeks without any land in sight! I have spent a great deal of time over the years, gazing out of windows of yachts at different vast and vacant open seas of the world, enjoying the experience but fully aware of the distance not only to land but friends and family and the awareness of how significantly different life on the high seas is from "normal life". This little winged warrior hitched a ride somewhere along the way and this image always reminds me of my time at sea staring out of windows into what felt like nothingness pondering the grandeur of nature, the raw feelings of solitude, being far away from any chaos of land life and truly appreciating the majesty of the sea.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2014
Date Uploaded: 10.2023
Photo Location: San Diego, None, United States of America
Camera: iPhone 4S
Copyright: © Vanessa Vastag