18
18
S
o, if this is “fair winds and a following sea” —
pitching like a drunk college kid as we surf
down dark, frothy waves — what would it
feel like in rough winds, with waves on our beam?
Terrifying, I suspect.
I have the dawn watch on this passage from Bora
Bora to Rangiroa, the shift from 0300 to when-
ever my husband wakes up. As I stretch and yawn,
I try to switch gears to the less comfortable reality
of night sailing. I check the heading and make sure
the sail plan is still the same: wing-on-wing with
the wind dead behind us, careening down 10-foot
swells as we sail due west. Even though our 43-foot
monohull was on this same tack all day, something
about the dense, moonless dark makes it feel as
though the boat is going faster. And as though I’m
less in control.
I check our speed: 4.5 knots. Maybe we aren’t
going as fast as I thought. Next I mess with the
genoa to see if I can sheet it in to ease the vicious
side-to-side swings. No luck. I settle into a corner of
the cockpit to brace against the rocking and focus
on the stars overhead.
This watch is my favorite. You know the dark will
end. You get to stare at Orion as he ushers in the ris-
ing sun. You can watch the water change from black
to charcoal to gray to silver to blue as the sun peeps
over the horizon. And best of all, you can drink cof-
fee without worrying about whether you’ll be able
to get back to sleep after your shift is over. I love
cof ee, and brewing a perfect little cup to savor iswhat I look forward to most during my watch.
I plot our position and calculate how long it will
be until we reach our destination at the current
speed: three days, 12 hours. I ignore the rattling in
the lazarette, the dishes slamming to and fro below,
and the occasional fl ap of the main when it back-
winds. Instead, I turn on my favorite songs and sing
along, write in my journal using the red light on my
headlamp, and practice fi nding southern constella-
tions. I read a bit on my Kindle.
At 0415, I notice we’re drifting of course. The
autopilot is giving up, tired after trying to keep the
heavy rudder in place through pushy water. It’s a
common occurrence for the 20-year-old device.
I hand-steer the boat for an hour, pretending I’m
Capt. Cook guiding a tall ship through unknown
waters. It’s fun to be in control of the boat, to feel
her surf the swells, and to use stars as my navigation.
But hand-steering is only romantic in small doses
— my shoulders tire quickly. I’m grateful when the
autopilot sputters back to life.
Around 0530, with dawn’s glow adding a rosy
hue to the bottom of the black sky, I head below
to put our scuf ed espresso kettle on the gimbaled
stove. As I add honey and boxed milk to my
mug, a particularly jarring swell tilts the boat,
sweeping the cup and the kettle across the galley.
Wet grounds coat my hair, eyes, teeth, sleeves —
casualties of the squirrelly sea. I go with easier
instant cof ee for round two, raising my cup in a
toast to the rising sun. — Brianna RandallDAWN WATCH
First light is a
welcome sight after
a night at sea.COURTESY OF MAINE CAT CATAMARANS (LEFT); JEN BRETTNew Boats and
Products Debut
in NewportAt this fall’s Newport
International Boat
Show, dozens of
new products and
boats were unveiled
to the North
American market
and entered into
the annual Newport
for New Products
competition. A panel
of judges and show-
goers named fi ve
winners. The Maine
Cat 38, an American-
made performancecruiser (above) with
a hull that weighs
less than 500 pounds,
took Best Sailboat
honors. Best Product
went to Forespar’s
PureWater+, a
water-fi ltration unit
with a sleek design
and easy-to-replace
fi lter, and Garmin’s
GPSMap 7600
chart-plotter series
won Best Electronic.
For more about the
program and winners,
visit cruisingworld
.com/1611nfnp.Virtual Boat
ShowsDidn’t make it to
Annapolis or Newport
this year? Walk the
docks from your desk
with our galleries at
cruisingworld.com/
1611shows.UNDERWAYnovember/december 2016cruisingworld.com