US East Coast to the Caribbean - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 176

day three was the visit of an American drug-enforcement plane that circled Namani . I
tried to demonstrate our innocent intentions by waving a friendly hello together with
young Nicky. Otherwise, our attention turned to a series of mild squalls and passing
freighters (about five each day) shuttling between Panama and the Windward Passage.
Bill enjoying a broad reach under the Parasailor
Namani ticked off the miles, slowly rolling along. Compared to the featureless horizon,
the night sky was the most memorable part of this passage. As Namani headed ever
farther south, familiar constellations hung at angles like paintings gone askew with time.
At this latitude, the waxing gibbous moon bulged at the bottom rather than from the side,
casting a pale light that turned everything grayscale, like a black and white film classic.
Sometimes I tackle night watches with a good read or a travel guide, anticipating the land-
fall ahead; at others, I'm content to simply sit and think. Occasionally, I play host to my
anxieties, as was the case on the third night out, when the wind and swell were expected
to increase significantly. Was the lightning on the eastern horizon a harbinger of worse to
come? Would the increasingly agitated seas intensify? As usual, I feared the worst and
was ultimately relieved when nothing more drastic than an eight-foot swell with a bear-
able eight-second interval materialized. As it turned out, our timing was just right: an