Night Watch
Greg wakes me up. I see a red haze as he is wearing his night light (headlamp that has white, red and blue light settings - the red is so that you don't lose your night adapted eyes). I stumble awake and grab my gear.
I get topside with my jacket and life vest. I buckle in to the tethers (all night watches are tethered in). Greg tells me he has had a great watch - a great lightning storm off to the east is now gone but was spectacular as flashes danced and exploded on the horizon; the night sky is wondrous - millions of stars uncompromised by city lights; there is a fluorescent glow off the stern as we churn up luminous algae. I see shooting stars.
By 4:30 I am exhausted and so badly want to sleep. I stand up. I eat chocolate. I listen to my iPod. I philosophize.
At 6 AM I wake Yves. We drop sails. Greg is up with 3 hours sleep and looks exhausted but ready for duty. Sails up and I go to bed.
I wake around 9:30 and the engine is on I think we are charging batteries and don't think much about it and fall back to sleep. I wake about 15 minutes as i think I hear stuff going on. Yves and Greg have just taken down the sails as we were not making any speed.
We cruise most of the day. We have tuna sals sandwiches and for dinner we eat topside and devour Greg's sweet and sour meatballs on rice.
I have the 9 PM shift. I have slept a bit on and off during the day and feel pretty good. I use my iPod and watch the stars and contemplate life. What this must have been like for the first sailors that did not know what was out there or even those that did and did not have the technology we have on the boat. It is humbling and I am in awe of their courage and at how big and powerful the ocean is.