A calm night at Biscay?

A half hour before 20.00 we were awakened to be able to make ourselves ready for our work shift on the deck. Like all the other nights, when it was cold, rainy, wet and windy, we prepared with at least a hundred layers of clothes.

But when we stepped out on the deck we were met with a different sight. It was almost warm outside. Of course, the underlay was still needed, but not the sailing jacket. The sky was filled with stars and even though it was only halfmoon, it lit up everything and made it easy to see out over the Biscay where the waves were unbelievably small.

There was almost not any wind, which of course comes with some cons when you are on a sailing ship, but it was quite nice at the time. We fixed a little with the sails and did our usual cleaning under deck and then we had a short break with some warm scones and marmalade. The time went by fast and we had a good time. Of course, you cannot do a night shift without a challenge so up we went in the rig to furl the main. Usually, you want to be as many people as you can when you are doing that, preferably six or eight. We were four. It was hard and sometimes it felt like we were in war with the big sail. But after some time and some swear words, we made it and felt pretty proud about it too. In reward we got to see something that I never thought I would see, and definitely not on Biscay. But there it was, red Northern lights. It lit up a quarter of the sky with its, both green and red, beauty. It was some of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. The rest of the time before bed we just sat there, looking at all the stars.

Iris, Styrbord