Jib Notes

I have had some wonderful experiences recently. Experiences that make all the hard work and excessive spending worthwhile. The best of these experiences have occurred during our recent "night watches". The three of us, after much discussion, agreed to do a straight shot to Key West from Sarasota. That meant sailing through the night. We split the night into 3 shifts with me taking the the first shift(9pm-1am), Jeremy taking the second shift(1am-5am), and Bill taking the early morning shift(5am-9am). The first night we sailed all 3 sails in order to make use of the light wind. I guided the boat using the GPS and the amazing, almost full moon as a reference. I saw phosphorescent plankton for the first time and spent my most of my 4 hours admiring the way the moon lit the water. We were not in sight of land and there was no other boat traffic. The evening was both a little eerie and completely beautiful.
The next evening there was virtually no wind and we decided to motor through the night. I napped prior to my shift and was better prepared that evening. I sat up in the cockpit with my green tea, Ipod, and one content ball of fur snoozing on a pile of charts. The moon took its time rising that night and I spent the first hour of my shift with an unbelievable sky full of stars. I guided the boat referencing both the GPS and a particularly bright star. When the moon finally rose at 10:20 it was comparable to the starry sky. The moon was a orange, waning gibbous moon that rose straight out the expansive ocean. Bill woke briefly, noting that the moon brought with it wind and choppy seas, but we were too tired to put up sails at that point. It was a beautiful night with a great soundtrack. I only wish that I had taken pictures. I will, however, include this picture of the full moon from Sarasota.