Dolphins galore , dancing shrimp, turtles aplenty with big barnacles on their backs, crazy panga crews, flying manta rays and of course always sea birds. Three days and three nights of sweet light wind sailing on calm seas. We started out with a good forecast for moderate winds our of the north. We were able to sail off our anchor (no motor involved) in Turtle Bay. After we cleared the harbor, we raised the gennecker and started making good speed southeast. It’s surprising how much east has been in our southerly journey down the coast. I hadn’t realized just how much the west coast goes east once one get’s south of Point Conception.
This passage was a natural wonder tour. First came the huge pods of dolphins, always a crowd pleaser. Next we were surrounded by countless golden colored shrimp who were quite active, then came the turtles, several dozen of them. Most would raise their heads when we got within 20’ to 40’ of them, take one look at us and then disappear beneath the waves. They all did that except for one friendly and or inquisitive one. We were slow sailing in light wind, doing just 2 or 3nmp when we passed that turtle close by. He looked and looked again and then did a curious thing, started swimming to us. Looking right at us. As we passed he turned and tried to followed but Malo, as slow as she was going then, she proved a bit too fast for the inquisitive turtle. Later we saw a big fish splashing, feeding on a school of smaller fish that came close to Malo. That fish turned out to be a kind of a shark that I’ve never seen before with a modest dorsal fin and a long, thin blue tail fin. The next morning as we were again slow sailing in light winds when we heard what sounded like rain on the water. Looking aft we could see what oddly looked like that too, rain. It was odd because the sky was clear. As the surface storm approached and then enveloped Malo we could see it was cause by thousands upon thousands of small, hyper active little fish that soon left us in their wake. Then on the way into Bahia Santa Maria we saw manta rays leaping 3’ to 4’ out of the water and they continued to work their wings even after they left the water as if they sought to fly through the air as well as the water.
The night sailing on this trip was some of the best I’ve ever done. As we’re learning how to sail Malo she’s starting to display some of her strong points. Down wind sailing seems to be one of those. The first night we surfed moderate sized waves with and easy 15 knot breeze pushing us along. Bev took the first off-watch and I was on my own with Malo who was just dancing down wave after wave. She can be so lively and yet so controlled that she’s a joy to sail. I stood up on the aft seats holding Malo’s big wheel and danced with her down each and every wave. With arms alternately waving in the air, feet spread wide and knees flexing up and down further that they have gone in years. First we danced a lively tango, next a rock & roll buggy-woggy, then a waltz followed up by a primordial water-air dance and on and on into the electric blue night we went, longer than I would ever imagine I had the energy for. That’s what a good dance partner will do for you. It was great night for dancing because the waves were just big enough to be lively and fun but not so big that one is in danger of being bucked off. It has been said that there’s on greater joy to be had, than that of a sailor at sea. In the fading light of a beautiful day had, with favorable wind, waves and upon the deck of a great boat I have to wholeheartedly concur.
Night sailing can be such an amazing thing especially in warmer climates such as we find ourselves in now. One doesn’t have to be bundled up from head to toe in mutable layers feeling more like an astronaut than a sailor. Staring up at the sky for hours upon end does something powerful to one’s head and heart. We often get to enjoy the sunset, moon rise, tons of stars, the moon set, followed by sunrise. It’s a lot in one night. The watches can be long events themselves that transport one on into a begoggled head zone where you can easily end-up staring out into space, taking in the constellations, Milky May and the countless stars with a mind that doesn’t seek to analyze or explain but just to accept and commune. And if while you’re doing that the mentors start raining down all around you, well then you’ll know…or you don’t but either way you won’t be the same afterwords, how could you be?
After all the excitement and novelty of night sailing I often settle down into a more sedative and introspective space. For the past several years I’ve been taken to praying whenever I find myself awake in the wee hours of the night. It’s feels like the special either that prayers transit is most assessable then. It’s also when I’m at my calmest, quietest self, which also seems most conducive to praying deeply. So it’s was only natural for me to pass a good amount of my late night watches in prayer. On a dark night, far, far away from land, suspended upon a dark sea and under a sky blazingly full of stars turns out to be a highly charged and powerful cathedral that feels like “The Cathedral of the World” to me a very powerful place to visit in deed. It is in that cathedral and in that state that I feel most humble and useful at the same time. Physics generally concede that one can’t look at an object without affecting it. I believe that to be true and that prayer can be an even more powerful way to affect change. Night prayers, sea prayers, prayers from the heart…
We had traveled 50 miles off shore on this trip in order to avoid longusta traps and hopefully catch a bit of wind for this 235 mile passage. After all that, the miles of gentle waves, after the birds, the shark, all the dolphins, the turtles, golden shrimp, sunsets followed by sunrises, the glorious night skies and the shooting stars we made land fall and soon entered Bahia Santa Maria and were delighted to discover a couple of boats that we knew; Cinderella and Colmena. They were in the mist of organizing a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner that evening. We were invited and accepted. The dinner ended up happening on Malo and what a delicious contrast from the previous three days to have Malo’s so full of happy, alive and vibrant people. We ate like kings, the food was so good; fresh Ahi, pasta and various salads. There was even a fresh baked lemon cake for desert. Libations were shared all around, stories were told and I don’t think Malo has ever been so filled with happy people. We were 4 crews of 2 gathered on a single boat. Afterwards, well after dark we all got in our dinghies and headed to the beach for a bonfire. I’m new to surf landings and this was my first one in the dark. Unnecessary, foolish and reckless it was and that was a part if it too. We built a nice fire on a small beach at the mouth of an arroyo. The walls of the arroyo formed an amphitheater that reflected the firelight back in upon our happy group. More libations were shared around and then later the brothers of Sea Casa who are on the start of a round-the-word trip set off fireworks high into the night sky. Through some miracle granted by the universe we somehow by-and-large, managed to leave that beach better than we landed although it did involve some towing out into the black night headed towards our respective anchor lights and into the god night.
No comments:
Post a Comment