The midnight watch

6 August 2017

One of the members of the guest crew writes:
“August 2nd.
The first shift, midnight to 4 am, really brought its impressions. Before I had only been on deck during daytime, pulling the ropes, setting the sails and looking out towards the sea. But this was the first time I had ever been sailing in the middle of the night and it was truly different.
The horizon I got used to was hidden and only revealed by the lights from an occasional ship crossing our path. Instead of the sun, the moon and the stars brightened the night and now displayed the colourful ship in tones of black and white. It was calm, it was different and I liked it.
As I looked over the side of the ship the sky continued as small phosphorous plankton gave away burst of lights in the calm of the sea. The wind had decreased and we were moving slowly while the sails where flapping back and forth to the rhythm of the waves. The waves and the low speed made steering hard and we zig-zagged across the ocean. Above us an occasional star fell from the sky.
Weathered sailors might wish for wind but I chose to hope instead of simply wish. Hope last longer and we need a long-lasting wind to take us over the ocean.”