The sound of sailing
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Tue 21 Oct 2008 01:03
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32:39.407S 170:22.606E
We continued to motor happily throughout the day
and most of the night yesterday, eating pork meat products along the
way. This morning at about 5:30, the wind shifted to the northeast
and picked up speed. At the same time we entered into an area with an
extremely favorable current and we were soon sailing beautifully on a flat sea
directly toward our destination at over nine knots. No weather complaints
from the sailors today - optimists or otherwise.
I was on watch when the wind shifted and increased
early this morning. At the time, the night sky was clear and washed with a
touch of white light from the half moon overhead The reflection of the
moonlight in the nearly flat water was just as you might imagine, silvery white
and sparkling in a shadowy way, a narrow beam near the horizon
spreading wider as it approached us. Certainly a very pretty
scene, but one that became something else entirely after the sails
came out and the engine was shut down. The sound of silence after the
engine is turned off is at first overwhelming. After a moment or two,
however, the sound of sailing burbles through the silence and all the subtle
noises that can't be heard above the drone of the engine suddenly become
clear. The wind washing over the sails, softly whistling when a gust
passes through. The woodwork in the cabin creaking with each gentle
bounce. The water sloshing around the hull as we slide through it.
The sound of sailing is not just what is heard, but also what is felt.
It's impossible to separate the motion from the sounds and the two rolled
together make up what I like to think of as the full 'sound of sailing
experience'. There really is nothing like it - especially at night, alone,
with only the ocean and the wind for company. It's hard to explain, but
the experience brings a clarity to your thoughts that is almost impossible to
achieve when surrounded by the clutter of everyday life. Of course when
the sea is rough and the wind ferocious, the sound of sailing is not quite as
relaxing as described above. It becomes more the roar of sailing rather
than the sound - but the same clarity of thought and the same peaceful feeling
can be achieved (once you get over the initial panic, of course).
This is our last night sailing trip of the
season. Although we'll both be happy to give up our three-hour sleep
shifts and sometimes very uncomfortable, bumpy sailing through thick darkness, I
think we will miss those nights when the sound of sailing is at its
best.
More tomorrow as we approach the north coast of New
Zealand.
Anne
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