Dawn is a beautiful thing that I honestly try to avoid. I like to wake up early in the morning, but I like to be woken up by the early sunlight. This means I like to still be asleep when the sun comes up over the horizon!
When we were crossing the Atlantic, someone has to be at the helm at all times. Maddie would always do the first watch of the night, from 5pm to 1am, and then I would do the second watch of the night, from 1am to 9am.
This meant that every morning, as the night sky would begin to glow with the dawn early lights, and the first rays of the sunlight would peer over the horizon, I would be there watching.
Watch from 1am to dawn is anything but enjoyable. These are my peak sleeping hours! But when you are out at sea, the night world around you is filled with wonder and mystery, and watching the sky change from black to purple to red to blue to light blue is a beautiful experience! Looking off into the distance, listening to unknown and unseen sounds can spark your imagination into a whirlwind of fanciful ideas about what is out there. This keeps my mind working to keep me awake during the night, but all that dreaming comes to an end with a blazing display from the sun.
Dawn!
