Overnight sail, and a whale of a tale

A few days ago I took a little overnight cruise, just out and back, not to anywhere specific, just to be out over night. Like camping out in the backyard. I have not had much experience with night sailing (1 over-night passage in Baja, and 1 early 3AM start) and it was a blast. I sailed out about 15 miles and then the wind died for the night and I just bobbed. No wind so I could not hove to and it was a very rolly night. I was safe, many miles from the shipping lanes, had my radar reflector and navigation lights on, and keeping watch from the cockpit until the very heavy dew convinced me to settle into the cabin for the duration. I was as wet as if it had rained hard! I set an alarm for every half hour to peek out and check on things. A few times it seemed there was a bit of wind picking up and I would raise the sails and try to make way, only to be disappointed with limp saggy baggy sails. There was a bright moon for a while, then it set to the west and the night was dead dark. A billion stars high overhead, but I couldn’t see the bow of the boat from the cockpit. It was a really good experience learning to rig my sails in total darkness.

The next morning was calm and with a bit of fog over towards the shore, I felt as if I were 5000 miles out to sea. It was a very cool feeling. The chart showed depths to 2500 feet out there. The wind came back about 11 that morning, and I sailed back in. When I was still about 10 miles out I was joined by 2 blue whales who swam with me for about 30 minutes. (or maybe they just happened to be going the way I was going. They didn’t seem to be paying me any mind. They mostly kept about 100 yards off or back, but a few times they came right up and surfaced within 20 yards of me. I happened to be on the phone with Uncle Lloyd when they surfaced the first time nearby. I almost peed my pants I was so startled and excited. He said he could hear on the phone the sound of them spouting out their breath, as they surfaced and prepared to descend again.

When I got back in I anchored out of the harbor and I dove under my boat to wipe the bottom. Just free diving, holding my breath, so it took a while to get it all done. (I am working on a plan to make a hookah pump so that bottom work will be easier, and I could use it to dive on shallow reefs!)

I am reading a book on ways to eat better on the boat in a more sustainable way, and I am trying my hand at sprouting. I have never been too much of a fan of sprouts, but they describe ways to grind them up, add garlic and onions and hot sauce, then a quick grilling for a sprout burger. Standby for results!