Night Crossing

We needed to make the crossing from Sardinia to Sicily. It is about 150 nautical miles, which we calculated would take about 24 hours if we motored at full speed. We timed our departure from Sardinia at 9 a.m. so that we would arrive in Sicily during the daylight hours the next day. The winds were strong, about 20 knots and the waves were big, about 6’. If the wind and waves were coming directly at us, we would have had to wait for calmer weather. But because the winds were at our back, the sailing was fantastic. And the waves end up pushing the boat forward. When the waves are that big and coming from behind, the boat actually surfs the waves and accelerates the boat as it slides down the wave. Queue Beach Boys music, and it makes for a great time. We averaged close to 9 knots under sail and even got up to 14 knots at one point, which is actually twice as fast as the engine speed. The sailing was so good that when we finally did put on the motor as night fell, we had to slow down the engine speed so that we wouldn’t arrive in Sicily before daylight. Just when we were leaving Sardinia, we saw a flamingo in flight cutting close to the sea. Their long necks and dangly feet stretch out like a baseball player sliding into home plate. For some reason there are big flocks of flamingos in Sardinia. We had seen them before. This was to be the beginning of a very magical 24 hours. As if to escort our boat on its passage, a pod of dolphins came over to play. They played right between the pontoons, swimming and jumping in unison like a well-rehearsed act at Marineworld. I think we have seen more dolphins this summer than ever before. Each time it is a memorable experience. These gentle mammals love interacting with humans. I always feel a spiritual connection to them. I have heard of whales in the Mediterranean, but in the 8 years of sailing the Mediterranean, it seemed more like a mythical promise right up there with unicorns. I don’t even think I have met someone who has actually seen a whale. But it happened. It was in the early afternoon. Right off our portside bow, about 100 feet from the boat, we saw a waterspout. Then another one and we could make out the back of the whale just breaking the surface. It was so close, as thrilled as I was, I have to admit that I had thoughts of this whale coming up underneath the boat and having a very bad ending to our crossing. Then the whale rose up, exposing his huge gray body, turned slightly on his side and plunged back into the sea with his massive tail slapping the water as if it was waiving a final good bye. We hoped that we would get one more good look at it, as I ran down to get my camera, but that was the end of the show. Wow. One of the most amazing things I have ever seen while sailing. This wasn’t to be the last of our amazing encounters while making the crossing. We knew that we would have to take turns during the night keeping watch. So I decided to lie down for a little nap. While I was sleeping, Steve spotted a huge sea turtle. We have seen them before over here, but he was surprised to see one so far out to sea. They are huge, about 3 feet across. While we were half way across, a hawk circled the boat and landed on top of the mast. This bird was exhausted, and we were the only option he had. The natural shifting of the boat in the wind made it difficult for this poor hawk to find a comfortable place to rest. He would try a spot for a few minutes, on top of the jib, on top of the radar, on the jib line, even in the jay sling, but each time it would knock him around just a little too much and he would circle around looking for a more stable position. It seemed like the most stable places were also the ones closes to us. He finally settled on the cross brace supporting the radar, took a break and then was off hoping to complete the rest of his journey. At this point we were probably 12 hours from any land in all directions. Hope he made it. An exciting day as darkness spread across the sky. One by one, the pinpoint stars pricked the black skies until we could see more stars than can be imagined. The sliver of the moon set early, at about 11pm, which made the night sky even darker. The Milky Way extended from horizon to horizon and truly was milky as billions of stars appeared. What we also saw is luminescent sparkles lighting up a trail of water behind the boat. We have seen this before in the Med. Plankton that when disturbed light up briefly creating a look of fairy dust as the water is swished around. I think one of the most enchanting things I have ever done here in the Med is swim at night when these plankton are present. Each stroke of the hand lights up a trail of glitter. Each kick of the feet sends a trail of sparkle. While it is a bit creepy swimming at night with no light, you are soon overwhelmed by the beauty of this natural light show. Then an even more mystical phenomenon. Big glowing balls started to appear at the back of the boat as well. They would pop out in groups and sometimes individually. It was like a nerf gun was blasting these spheres of light. Some were small, about 4 inches across, and some were rather large, about 10 inches across. Turns out, they were jellyfish that also are luminescent when disturbed by turbulence. The combination of the fairy dust plankton and round balls of glowing jellyfish really was something so unexpected and something that you could only have seen at night time. I tried to photograph them, but only got a black screen. Ok if that wasn’t magical enough, later in the night we saw long streaks of light coming up next to the boat. It was two more dolphins swimming next to us. Because of the luminescent plankton they were completely lit up like they were encrusted with twinkling diamonds. A trail of light made by their tails slapping in the water followed them. How much better could this night crossing have been. As morning broke, we saw first a glow fading the night sky that evolved into a spectacular sunrise. In the distance, we could see the islands that are right off the coast of Sicily near Trapani. A thin haze hid the mainland for an hour until it too dissolved and the shores of our destination appeared. This crossing ended up being one of the highlights of summer. I will never forget it.