Thoughts from the cockpit.

Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Mon 14 May 2018 20:22
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...?!
The author in repose! 
 
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.