A Surprise Visitor

September 20, 2022 

Jason and I were not rigid about our watch shifts during the day.  For the most part we were both up in the cockpit and who was “on watch” would depend on how we were feeling, who was more tired, and we pretty much just shared responsibilities.    

During the night, however, someone had to remain on watch so we essentially split the night in two. The original plan had been four-hour watches, I would go to bed around 22:00 and get up at 02:00, and then Jason would go to bed until 06:00.  By the end, however, it worked out that I would go to bed when I was tired, so usually before 22:00 and then get up to switch out with Jason at 02:00, and he would then sleep as long as he could, which usually wasn’t past 07:30.  I would then often lie back down after breakfast to catch a few extra hours of sleep, and Jason would try, usually unsuccessfully, to nap a bit in the afternoon.  Overall, it worked out well for us, but the nights were dark and long, and only the dolphins kept us company.    

One afternoon, when we were about 150 nautical miles off the coast of Washington, I was sitting with my arm out the open cockpit window and I felt a tickle on my hand.  Slightly startled, I brushed it away before looking, and then realized that it had been a little bird. 

This little land bird remained with our boat for several hours.  It hopped all over the outside of our enclosure, and ended up settling down in the shelter from the wind behind our overturned tender on the foredeck.  After some rest, it started flying up, doing a full circle around the top of our mast, and then coming back down.  I think it was trying to figure out which way to fly. 

Eventually, a large cargo ship passed in front of us heading towards land, and shortly afterwards our little friend flew away.  I hope that it flew to the cargo ship and caught a ride to shore, as it was a long long way from land.