Pacific Crossing Day 3: Finding the Silver Lining

Let’s play a game! Is my headache from lack of sleep, dehydration, too much sun, or caffeine withdrawal? Haha. Day 3 is off to a rough start. I’m sitting at the helm with a splitting headache. The water is smooth and glassy, an engine is on. I’m not the most efficient sleeper. It typically takes me at least an hour to fall asleep. So, our 3-hour on, 3-hour off watch schedule has worn me down. To make it worse, watch shifts are incredibly boring when we’re motoring. I’m trying to ration the podcasts I’ve downloaded, but what else is there to do when there’s zero wind or waves?! 

Ray put our fishing lines out this morning, even though we are probably going too slow to catch anything. I went through our produce, seeing what was ripe and moving things to the refrigerator/freezer as needed. It’s exceptionally warm out, but I made an afternoon cup of coffee. I’m determined to stay up later tonight to lengthen our shifts, giving me a better chance of getting some meaningful rest. I haven’t had coffee since we left the dock. One cup cured my headache, so I guess I have a caffeine dependency I was unaware of. 

Now that I can no longer feel my heart beating behind my eyeballs, it’s been a beautiful day! Sure, it’s hot, the engine masks the relaxing sound of the water and the smell of diesel pollutes the otherwise pristine air, but the beauty of a flat, calm ocean is undeniable. We passed Malpelo, a small rocky island manned by the Colombian Armed Forces. We were too far away to actually see it, but it’s a flora and fauna sanctuary and UNESCO World Heritage Site. I knew we were close because we were surrounded by birds! I spent the rest of the afternoon watching them fly by, nose-diving into the water with incredible force each time they spotted the glimmer of a small fish. A pod of dolphins also visited us, putting on quite the show, leaping into the air around us. Watching wildlife never gets old!

Ray and I ate dinner together in the cockpit. The sun is setting as I’m posting this, and we’re anticipating having to motor through the night again. Silver lining: all this motoring will make the next time we sail even more magical. ⛵️