In my last post I mentioned the second night: "No wind, no autopilot, Kevin is doing all the steering, so... no naps! "
At night, a dark night with no moon and no horizon to give you a reference, your mind can mess with you. It's interesting to hear some people's experiences.
With that in mind... Knowing it was a dark, moonless night and I was past exhaustion, fighting to stay awake... I wrote this:
It's 2am and I am on night watch. Since I'm the only person on board, I'm on all watches. But right now... I'm on night watch. I scan the horizon, check the radar, and chart plotter for AIS equipped vessels.
The moon was a bright crescent tonight. However, it set about four hours ago. So, it is dark. I'd say it's dark as a moonless night, but that would be redundant. The fact is, I cannot see the water on the port (left) side of the boat due to the blackness of the night. The water on the starboard (right) side has an eerie green glow. There is no definition to the water. It looks more like a green fog. Is a fog setting? I should get my sound signals prepared... just in case.
The seas are calm. I know this by the motion of the boat. There are no visual clues. Just the simple slow rolling motion.
A look Astern (behind) gets even more surrealistic. I am towing my rowing tender. It's white hull glows in the darkness. The tender is blanketed in a thin white fog; making it look like I am being followed by a ghost ship.
It was a very hot day; a clear sky has allowed it to cool; and no wind. A fog could settle in these conditions...
The sky is crystal clear. An amazing gift of starlight wrapped in a ribbon of fluorescent illumination we all call the Milky Way. Stargazing will have to keep me awake tonight. Oh, wow! two shooting stars just crossed paths going in different directions.
As I scan to port once again, I become suddenly aware of the sound of rushing water; like waves lapping against a shore. There is a dark row of clouds hung low out of the sky. That explains the lack of stars to port. I didn't notice them before. That was a flash... lightning? Is that why I saw the clouds? Where did that come from?
Still, the water lapping along a beach or shore. There are no islands on the charts. Is it a shoal.. a reef? Is this low tide? The angst is building. I have more questions than answers. Now I can see a thin white line. Is that the breakers I hear?
I am intently focussed on the sound of the waves and the white line of breakers in the distance, just below the dark, low hung clouds. My heart starts racing as the boat begins to rise; a wave picks us up from astern. As we settle down gently, I notice the line of breakers also settled down. Oh.. that's the lifeline on my boat.
The lapping water... that's the tender being towed behind me. It's glowing white hull is due to the navigation stern light. The white fog is steam from my exhaust.
...and the green fog on the starboard side, that's just the glow from the navigation sidelight.
Your mind can play tricks on you during these very dark nights. That flash is not a trick, though. It's coming from in-front of us. What are we heading into?
Well, I'm wide awake now!
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