Night Thoughts

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Thoughts while on a night passage – April 2011
Lately we have been doing a number of overnight passages. Recently we were both up when Bob asked for a pad of paper and pen to write down some thoughts. Here is what he wrote:
As a species we have always been afraid of the dark because it holds so many unknowns. We have worked tirelessly to eliminate it from our world and we have succeeded admirably. Rarely in our urbanized life are we ever in darkness and with the flip of a switch or push of a button it disappears. One of the things we have discovered on our travels is the sheer beauty of a dark night. Just when you think it is dark you look up and see the stars. The stars are magnificent, there are so many of them and in amazing configurations. We find ourselves standing in the cockpit starring at them for hours. Then as you look down in to the water you see the bioluminescent creatures flashing their existence in small twinkles of green light that appear in your wake. Don’t get me wrong as it is still scary as the demons we worry about are different now – unseen fishing nets and shipping containers are the things that now occupy our fear of the darkness. If you can endure the unknown for just a few moments you get to see the splendor of light that as a society we have lost sight of. The next time you get a chance on a clear night, find some place where you can get away from the light and you will see a small part of the splendid light we see on our night passages.

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Photos

Light on the sails
At night you can look up at the sail and find that it is lit up by the navigational lights. This helps others to see us as well.

On Duty Wardrobe
We had quite a bit of wind with water over the bow on some of our night passages so “suited” up in our foul weather “bibs” and always wear a headlight that has a red light so it doesn’t ruin your night vision. The other rule onboard is that we wear our PFD (personal flotation device) whenever we are in the cockpit.

Dark All Around
The cockpit needs to be kept dark in order to be able to see out and spot the ships that pass in the night. We even have to turn down the brightness on the chartplotter to accomplish this. As you can see anything outside of the cockpit is dark, therefore when a wave comes over the deck it is a surprise! The light you see here is from the flash of the camera.

Looking Ahead
We keep the windows closed when sailing as the waves come over the bow and as you can see cover them with spray. I wonder when they will come up with windshield wipers for these?

Comments

[Mary Louise Church]

night sights
As I read your comments about what you can see in the dark I was reminded of the evening we spent on your boat on Cayuga and saw the northern lights. That's something you won't be seeing for a while on your boat now. Growing up in northern New England, I had often seen them, but they were never more beautiful than when we were nearly surrounded by them. Keep the observations coming. I like to know what you are thinking as well as what you are seeing. Love, Mary