Race 1 - Day 27
Crew Diary - Race 1 Day 27: Liverpool to Punta del Este
16 September

Night Time Treats by Steve Bailey

I was able to steer the boat last night by the light of the Southern Cross for the first time, which was really special. It was low in the sky because we're not yet far into the Southern Hemisphere, but it was bright and constant and guided us in a nice straight line for more than a few hours. It was great to see it again; my wife and I grew very familiar with it when we lived in Australia in the 90s, but that's now a soberingly long time ago.

One of the things I've really enjoyed on our trip so far is sailing at night. I just love helming by the stars...taking in the full sparkling picture above you and keeping the boat's course constant against that backdrop. It's so calming and therapeutic - it should be offered on the National Health Service.

We've been lucky over the last few weeks to see nearly the whole lunar cycle; from an upright crescent around Biscay, through a full moon during the Doldrums Corridor, to a crescent on its back now in the Southern Hemisphere. Moonlight makes such a difference to life on deck during the overnight hours; no stumbling over lines, winches or each other, no flashes of red or white headtorches as people search for the snack bag (or the sails) and no faceless instructions or curses from the darkness; we're going to miss it over the next week as we head into Punta del Este.

One thing moonless nights do reveal however, almost as magical as the star canopy, is the phosphorescence that we stir up in the ocean as we race across its surface...the luminous green light emitted by millions of tiny water creatures as they're temporarily disturbed by the boat slicing through their neighbourhood - seen either as thousands of stars in the wake at the back of the boat or luminous green pools that light up and fade in the water off our side rails. Many a time now have I stopped to watch the lightshow off our transom, made all the more dramatic and amazing when you think that you're often looking down into more than 5 kilometres of water - not something I was used to before this race as a dingy sailor who rarely ventured more than a few hundred metres from his sunbed.

So night sailing has definitely been one of the many highlights of this journey for me so far. It's also provided me with probably my most memorable moment... sitting quietly on the bow of the boat in a glassy Doldrums sea watching a huge orange moon rise above the horizon to the sound of Flora d'Luna by Santana (if you don't know it, dig it out - it's worth the effort). I look forward to many more night time treats as we work our way around the world.

SB