A Taste of Life at Sea

"It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."
-Sir Francis Drake

I think it might have been a thought similar to the words spoken by Drake that prompted me to seriously consider spending a night on my in-laws sailboat.  The idea had been placed in my head and from that moment on I was actively pondering the option.  I'm just like that sometimes and can't let things go.  My thought process was simple: We were going to be on the boat to see the fireworks that night anyway...  we could just bring some blankets, pillows and other necessities (i.e. knitting, camera, iPhones and food) on the launch ride with us.  

After a bit of discussion with Brian we had made our decision.  We would be lulled to sleep by the gentle lapping of the water against the hull of the Resolution.   I headed to CVS for a quick provision run and we then started to pack.  As you can see, CVS is not the ideal place procure things to pack for an overnight, but I made due and got some things we liked.  I will neither confirm nor deny that the entire sleeve of oreos was eaten at 5am.  Please note that the object in the freezer bag is actually my knitting and not food.  Somehow it found its way into the picture.

So, we got everything together, had dinner and the four of us (Brian's folks came too) headed out to the dock to catch the launch out to the boat.  We were there around 8pm so we had a bit of a wait ahead of us before the fireworks began.  It's really amazing just how many people were out in their boats for the show.  The ride out was packed with people prepared for cool weather and with lots of food.  After about an hour the festivities began and we were treated to a nice fireworks show.  I still have problems taking good fireworks pictures, but this year they seemed a little better.  I have to walk a fine line between having the shutter speed to fast or slow.  If it is too fast and I get very little light entering the camera and end up with a dark image with little movement of the explosions.   If the shutter speed is too slow I get too much light movement and things end up getting blurry due to the boat rocking or me accidentally moving the camera.  I'll get better, it will just take a few more years!  Here's a few of the pictures that I'm vaguely happy with.

This last one is just after the last set of fireworks went off and everything was fading into the dark. It was a really great show: I only wish I could do it justice.  Out of 161 photos these four are what I would consider being "ok." 

After the fireworks finished up, we chatted for a bit and then Brian's folks called the launch to be picked up.  I had been contemplating sleeping out in the cockpit under the stars, but after a bit decided I would give one of  the bunks in the cabin a try since Brian had already commandeered the forward berth as his space so he could stretch out.  That worked well for a bit.  Then I got warm.  Then I started feeling somewhat claustrophobic.  Not good.  So, I got up, quietly took the boards out of the doorway to the cabin, grabbed a hoodie and blanket and climbed back out to the cockpit.

When we had gone to bed there were still sounds of people partying or closing up their boats for the night along with the lights from vessels going back to their moorings.  Not now.  The harbor was perfectly quiet with only the sounds of the lapping water and any fish who jumped to the surface.  The sky was clear and bright with a high moon lighting up my surroundings.  It was incredible.  I almost didn't want to go back to sleep, but soon I found myself dozing as I leaned against the cabin.  Not too much later I woke up to Brian coming out of the cabin and a gorgeous sunrise. 

We watched the sun come up, I peacefully worked on the shawl I had brought with me and it was just perfect.  Brian got some nice footage of sunrise that I will post later since this entry it getting a bit long.  After sunrise we munched a bit on our provisions and I decided to try out taking a nap in the forward berth for awhile since I had spend a good portion of the night either unable to sleep or distracted by my surroundings.  The nap was really really good.  So, for those of you who have the opportunity, I highly recommend sleeping at sea.