Thoughts from the cockpit.
Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Mon 14 May 2018 20:22
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35:58.4N 056:04.8W
This passage making does things to you, both
physically and mentally. Since the normal metronome of life is disturbed by
watches of 3 hours, which rotate from day to day, the rhythm is set by other
factors. Obviously there are the watch changes, but also food and drink. Meals
take on an extra significance in the "family" that is a sailing boat;
a time when you are all awake and sharing in a common enjoyment, which is
eagerly anticipated. That however does still leave the gaps in between, when
there are significant periods with just your own thoughts for company. This has
two effects, the first is that you become obsessed by time distance calculations
in the manner of, "if we are going this fast, and we have this far to
go....we will be there at ...." Not that I there is a burning desire to get
off you understand (when it as pleasant as this, one feels keeping going
sounds great!), just curiosity. The other thing is that we are programmed
in the deep lizard part of our brains, to be wary of the dark, and in
the middle of the sea, at night on your own, with no moon, it is dark...very
dark; like sailing in an encompassing black velvet cloth. It is at these
moments when those prime evil thoughts creep up down your spine "what
is out there" ," is it bigger than us", "friend or foe". If we were cavemen
looking out from the mouth of our hole, these thoughts would be of bears, snakes
etc.; for a person on watch it is more likely to be semi submerged containers,
adverse weather or other shipping which is the focus of these niggling thoughts.
Please do not misread this, there is no place my rational mind would chose to be
instead, but tell that to your primitive brain when there is an unexpected bang
in the middle of the night...just a wave slapping on the
hull, or...?!
What about the horrors that lurk onboard
Ian? The Heavy Breathing Pervert who lives outside the cabin you
bunk in at night? or the bogie man who keeps locking the forward heads
from the inside?
The HBP is suspected of having a penchant for black
bras, since one of the crew has reported said item
missing. |
