Thursday, 27 November 2008

SailBlog - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Sailor

Mark A
27/11/2008, North Atlantic Ocean, off Western Sahara

It is 2am, the sky is clear and bright, the occasional shooting star makes its short lived mark and the thinnest crescent of the moon is just beginning to poke its head above the horizon. And so another day begins…

We continue to head South and with about 200 miles now behind us we reckon on between another 400 and 500 to go before changing course. In the early hours of the morning we had seen the lights of 5 other yachts but now the sun is up there is nothing but blue sky and a flat sea - itself a rich, deep blue that you only seem to see in the open ocean. There is absolutely nothing from horizon to horizon and you seem to be able to see the earth's curvature; maybe it's an illusion, I don't know, but it does emphasise that you are a small dot in a big expanse of water. Standing in the cockpit looking out across it all leaves you with a strange mix of agoraphobia - nothing but openness - and claustrophobia, because there is no way you can leave the 41 foot of boat you are on. And so the sail South continues.

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