Sailing Through the Night

We left Naples Friday and made a short sail down the coast to Marco Island. On Saturday we left port at 7am and sailed all day and through the night until we arrived in Key West Sunday around 11am. It was wonderful!

I have always imagined what it would be like to be so far out, no land in sight for hours and then what it would feel like to sail through the night with darkness all around. But you can only imagine, then your there in it...and you think I could never imagine the feeling that I am having right now, because your imagination doesn't do it justice.

We took shifts through the night and I could barely sleep because I was so absorbed in the beauty of the night. As I lay tucked in my sleeping bag watching the top of the sails and mast track along side Orion, I kept having to remind myself where I was....in the middle of the ocean, all alone and nothing but occasional dolphins who ran along side us, the stars, clouds and moon. I dosed in and out of sleep until I took the helm at 230am for my shift. Steering the boat feels like a form of meditation because you find a point in the horizon if their is one to line up with and focus on it. Luckily, we were close enough to land by that time that I could line the bow spirit(pointy thing on front of boat) up with the a little flashing red beacon. Its a bit hypontizing cause you are constantly dipping over the waves and focusing on just that light. The coolest was how it seems like the night will never end and all of a sudden day breaks and the darkness fades....just nature reminding us once again that there must be darkness to have light and vice versa.

We celebrated my birthday here in Key West...that is whole other post in itself with pictures and everything. Right now the winds are not in our favor to head to our next destination, so we are hanging in Key West and doing day sails and diving. I went down today for the first time in 4 years...it felt great to be under the water again.