Day 2 – I survived! 24 hours at sea and I didn’t lose my mind. It was strange, really. After the whole fish thing, I just sort of sat there staring at the ocean. It’s really impressive. So beautiful and powerful at the same time. I didn’t sleep very well, and for no good reason. Nerves maybe. Too many hot flashes, no air conditioning, who knows?
I was having a dream about carrying my sleeping grandson through some town, and I kept falling down. The motion of the ocean does weird things to your psyche. At 4:30am Jeff can’t keep his eyes open anymore. I relieve him, put on my life vest and clip in. The moon was once covered by clouds, and the fog was thick on the starboard side. Now the stars in the sky are incredible. Pleiades is right in front of me. Orion shows me his belt when the waves nudge us the right direction. I can no longer see the lights of Puerto Rico, but I can see the glow. I can also see the glow from the Dominican Republic.
I look at the AIS and see a ship about 17 miles away heading our direction. As it gets closer, I spot its light on the horizon and use the binoculars to get a closer look. Wait, do I see two lights? I check the AIS. Sure enough, two ships headed our direction. A quick calculation tells me that the first cargo vessel, Wellington Star, should cross our stern by about two miles. Sredna Gora doesn’t seem to pose any problem. An hour later Wellington Star crosses our stern at just under two miles away. (I’m glad I’m good at math.) It’s funny how close she looks in the dark.
The sun is beginning to light the sky behind me. I can see the clouds now. I think we’ll make up the saloon bed tonight. Might be cooler. Red skies and night, sailors delight. Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning. I’ll try to remember that.
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December 2019