Back on the Sea Dragon

I'm lying on my bunk, hoping that we don't have to close the hatches anytime soon because it's roasting down here. Jess has to sleep under the hatch so she gets none of the benefits of the trickle of fresh air breezing through our cabin. But we'll sleep two feet apart from each other, and on the bunk above Jeff for the next 20/- days hatch open or not.

Garen and I are back on board getting to know a new crew. I imagine that it must be hard for Dale and Clive to have a constant turnover of friends leaving the boat. Getting to know one another is accelerated here and most of the time there is a working respect for your fellow crew mates regardless of whether or not full fledged friendship results from your time together.

We're in good hands with these two. Dale is from New Zealand, has been with the Sea Dragon for all of its cruises over the last year, and is a dive master. Clive raced a boat identical to the Sea Dragon around the world against the winds. He's from England and was made to live at sea.

If we keep following the path of the setting sun, we will get to Tahiti. I know it is only the first day back, but part of me feels like the stereotypical little kid saying to myself, "Are we there yet?" I remember what 20 nights on the boat feels like. A lot can, and does happen in three short weeks out on the water.

But Toby is right to take a moment and shoot a photo of this first night's sunset. This is the time of day when I would like to freeze time, or at least burn this memory into my head as we all wait to see if tonight will be the night that we see the elusive green flash shoot across the Pacific just as the sun slips behind the horizon for the day.