Night Sailing
There is a certain magic in night sailing. Starting with dusk and the anticipation of sunset, the senses take on a new perception. The sun, seems less hot. Not the god of war and destruction now but a soothing light enveloped in all the hues of love. The moon will now be visible and eternal lovers will encounter each other in the heavens. Stars light up the evening sky and the world readies itself to start the night shift. Like all creatures, we welcome the change and prepare for it.
Ever since I started sailing the Sunfish back in Puerto Rico, I enjoyed the dusk sail. On the Sunfish it was my custom to sail around the Fajardo waters, arrive at Icacos Key beach for a short lunch and beach time and then lazily sail back in the afternoon hours to enjoy my dusk sailing back to my launch area of Playa Sardinera on Puerto Rico’s East coast. On big boats, the same applies. As dusk approaches, I prepare for the night watch in two ways. Always safety minded, out comes the harness, the life jacket, the extra flashlight, flood lamp, etc. Inside, I also prepare, settle the mind down, contemplate the sunset, ponder the gentle rotation of our planet as we fly through the cosmos, appreciate being alive as the stars light up my soul. And before I get mushy, let us turn to Laser sailing.
My laser’s name is CHEESECAKE, ‘cause she is so sweet to sail. Lately her name has acquired a very appropriate and fashionable “aka”. CHEESECAKE is aka Jolene. And like a biker trash friend of mine would say, “if I have to explain, you would not understand”. I try to race as many Thursday nights as I can on the laser. As the season progresses, the last Thursday nights have us finishing in darkness. This make finding rounding marks tricky, especially since we do not carry GPS or chart plotters on the lasers. We all manage one way or another and there are always big boats around so you can pick up marks by following the parade of running lights.
These last Thursday night races provide me with wonderful sunsets on the water and my beloved dusk sailing. Racing aside, there is certain awareness that only happens at night.
Perhaps not being able to see the puffs or the waves, incoming wind lines or lulls in our path, we automatically augment all the senses. The heaving water has a pattern that needs to be felt, the sheet in your hand, taught as it is transmits the gentlest information about the wind’s behavior. Suddenly, you instinctively feel the pressure on the tiller and even if the tiller extension is not yet crowned with a jade knob, you come know the ways of the sea. Alone as you may be on that cathedral of creation, dimly lit by the night lanterns of stars, moon and other heavenly bodies reflecting the sun’s light beams, there is peace to be found. “You ARE a child of the universe, no less than the trees or the stars, you have the right to be here and whether or not it is clear to you, the universe is unfolding as it should”….quoted from DESIDERATA.
Solace is found.
If you have never sailed at night, I invite you to try it. Just go sailing on a regular day and refuse to come in until the sun has set and dusk is upon you. Then, enjoy the moment.
Dry notes department: for night sailing on a little boat as the laser or sunfish, the Coast Guard Minimum Safety Requirements call for having a flashlight on board. I have found that one of those that you charge up by shaking, serve well and being sealed, they hold up fairly decent against the water environment; also not having to deal with trashed batteries is good. I also tie a glow stick to the webbing on the top of my sail. At that height, I am showing a light all around that reaches well above the water to be seem by passing boats in the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment