The Dream Does Not End
November 29, 2012

Just because we are not aboard is no reason for the dream to end. For instance, I awoke at 0400 this morning in a dream that we were approaching the northwest channel at Key West. It was a great dream that was basically an amalgam of several such early morning times aboard. Unlike the actual approach, my dream was filled with a night of absolute terror and actual joy, not that they are in the same league. There were big seas and high winds. The sea tossed a challenge to us and we won. Bear was off watch and asleep below and so was Scurv. We were trimmed and dry below as the sun finally started to take the night monsters away. We were tired but elated at the thought of being in the Conch Republic, or anywhere for that matter. After all, we were now a sea boat crew and though it did not happen, the early morning fishing boats and day sailors were, at least in my dream, waving at the boat that just came from the night.

Call them what you will: overnighter, all nighters, night passage. They all start with the morning notion that one is about to happen, either by choice or by necessity. Those with far more sea time that we have may no longer even think about it. To those of us that do not do them often, there is an expectation that is filled with doubt. As one sails into the twilight hours, all sorts of contingencies start to form. Will the navigation gear and the navigator be up to the task? Will that new thumping sound from below cause any problems? By the way, what is causing it? Will we take on water through some sea valve? Is that notorious lost shipping container or amorous whale in our path? Is the ditch bag up to date? The list goes on and even though the crew has been through the list time and time again, the nagging questions never go away for the occasional overnighter. At any one time on this mud ball, there are hundreds of blue water passage makers making their ways across vast open oceans. They may be past these questions due to the routine of weeks at sea. Few sailors I know have even actually worn out a sail on a passage. None have hit that whale, but it does happen.

The fewer night passages one makes, the more importance each has. Each one is special. Each one leaves a mark on the soul and the memory. Each one moves us away from the fresh water lake where we learned to sail upwind into the vast limitless realm of fertile dreams. Cruising has become for us, challenges to see what is around the corner and over the horizon. To see the sunrise after a night passage is just like getting down on your hands and knees and crawling up to and peaking over the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time. Well, sort of!