The tranquility of night does not exist at sea. three hour watches result in interrupted sleep and when you're trying to rest as you lay in the cabin all is not quiet. the catamarans twin hull design it makes a cacophony of sounds. The result is banging, crashing and creaking that makes you wonder how this thing is still floating. The banging and crashing is so loud and sudden that it makes sleeping a challenge . That and the accompanying chaotic pitching motion in the pitch black adds to the experience. None of us has had a full night sleep since leaving land. After this interrupted sleep comes watch. The first thing that greets you on night watch is utter darkness. There is no moon and the world in it's blackness is undefinable. Go into a closet, turn out the lights and this is what the bridge is like. The boat is tossing and rolling from unseen but noisy seas. The reassuring dim lights of the navigation system is the only frame of reference and only source of information. Large powerful squalls which appear as ominous towering dark thunderheads in the day appear as quarter inch specks of red on the radar screen at night. That is of course until you hit one. Ask David

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