Night watches and starry nights
A light breeze is stroking against my cheeks, and I listen to the sounds of our Code 1 asking for more air and an occasional “grind!” followed by the clicking noise of the so-called coffee grinder.
While I am writing this it is 03:49 am boat-time and we are slowly cruising past the coast of Mexico. I’m on deck with half of our crew, the Sea Dogs Watch: Jade, Amanda, Nick, Ben, Roberto, Jerry, John Willemijn, and Joss. It isn’t really a surprise that I find the night watches the hardest thing to get used to about this racing life, especially when I am seasick. When you’re just falling into a deep sleep, you get woken up by a familiar face from the other watch in a dark-red world. Half-a-sleep you stumble out of your small but cosy bunk, trying not to bump your head on the knobs above you. My stomach feels a bit weird, but luckily I’m no longer nauseous. After five rough days and nights beating upwind, my. Seasickness finally lost his battle. As I get into my foulies I vaguely remember that I was dreaming again(!) about the training and preparation for this race. Clearly, my brain can’t completely comprehend yet that the 'Race of My Life' has really started, which makes real life and my dreams blur into one. I noticed that more people are having difficulties with keeping the two apart from each other. The crew that jump out of their bunk because they think they have to wake up or almost sleepwalk past you getting ready for the night watch. The moment you sit down on the deck and look up at the endless twinkles from that amazing night sky, your feet land back on earth.