I have been totally dead set against spending a night at sea. I have worried and ruminated about it. Every time Bill mentioned that it might be the best way to get up the coast I told him that only after we had spent months on the boat would I maybe entertain the thought, but then only maybe and for sure not on this part of the trip up the coast. But then, we headed out on a beautiful morning from Eureka to sail up the coast to Brookings, OR. It was so pretty and smooth and flat that the words flew out of my mouth, “Why don’t we do an overnight?” I figured that sometimes the best way to do something challenging is to do it without thinking and planning – just like ripping a band aid off all at once. Bill had a look of surprise on his face, something like who is this woman and what have you done with my wife.

As night fell I had a few butterflies in my stomach and my mouth was dry. But the sunset was beautiful, the fog lifted and the moon was full. Bill took the first watch from 9-12 while I got a few hours of sleep. I took the second shift from midnight to 4am. I quickly set up a routine of checking the engine gauges every 15 minutes, watching the radar for boat traffic, watching our heading and looking for crab pots (oh yes, those nasty little things). The night wrapped itself around me and the moonlight danced on the water. It was an amazing experience being out on the ocean 12 miles offshore in the middle of the night. I felt the weight of the responsibility, but also the freedom of a new adventure.