Wednesday, March 9th, 2016. Day Four
At last the arrival of the Dolphins, and the best Night watch experience ever…
Despite all the motion I slept well and woke refreshed, happy to see calm sea’s once again. Bob spent the day working on the water maker, I’m in serious need of a shower and hair wash. I shower two or three times a day when on board, but we need to conserve water in the event that the water maker can’t be fixed.
It was calm enough for me to get the sewing machine out and repair all my deck cushions as well as starting on the new crew covers. lunch was egg salad, with tortilla chips and salsa. Celebration this afternoon as Bob managed to fix the water-maker, yeah, shower tonight, I was happy.
For dinner I made a treat for the guys, Chicken and mozzarella sausages, (Free Range Chicken of course) buttery mash potatoes and sweet and spicy baked beans. Neapolitan Ice cream for desert.
I’m on night watch, it’s 11:54pm and Daisy is surrounded by dolphins, or maybe its just a couple of dolphins, the night is too dark to see how many there are, or see anything actually, other than the bioluminescence in the water and the incredible sky full of stars above. There’s no moon tonight to cast a light, but I can clearly hear the dolphins they’re swimming just a couple of feet away, right next to the cockpit, I hear their gentle splashes and “whoosh” noises as they exhale when leaping from the water. I wonder if they are leaping out to look at me and see who is passing across their ocean. I strain in the dark to see them, I can actually feel them there next to me, and knowing they are there calms me. Daisy is on a gentle tack, we’re doing a steady 4 – 6 knots with only the jib out, the water is calm the winds are light, but enough to move us forward with the current, its a truly amazing night. I can’t ever remember enjoying a night watch so much. I grabbed a couple of hours sleep before my watch started at 10pm, and felt energized and ready to watch over things for the 3 hours I was to be in charge until Louis takes over at 1 am. The dolphins are an invisible, soothing company on such a perfect night. There’s something so incredibly peaceful about being in total darkness, surrounded by nothing but water, wildlife and sky, and trusting completely in “Daisy” to steer me safely and surely through the night.
I wonder whether the red footed Boobie is still sleeping on our pulpit, he/she landed there just before sunset to preen, clean and rest for a while. We’re hundreds of miles from the nearest land, and I love that the ocean wildlife gravitate towards Daisy for rest or maybe even just company, a safe, secure place to spend the night. The dolphins are such great company to me on a lovely night like tonight. I was dreading the night watches on this leg of our trip, and I feel silly now for fearing something thats actually proving to be so special, tonight has been just lovely. I’m surrounded by a blanket of stars and the gentle sound of the waves, from the wake as Daisy ploughs steadily and surely through the water, it’s so soothing. I smile to myself and offer up a silent prayer of thanks and a wish that I will be blessed with many, many more nights like this…