Volume: 1

Insomnia

Elusive sleep, at home or on the water.

At home, in bed, there was no chance for sleep at 3:30. I went downstairs to thumb through the morning infomercials and make hot chocolate. Too refreshed to sleep, a lot of unresolved computing issues invaded my head.

The discomfort paid for glory. Moving south brought the trade winds and warmth. The boat flattened out and the wind came from behind. Breaks appeared in the clouds. The moon started a favorable cycle backlighting the cumulus. Two nights later exhaustion won. Four hours of sleep took forty-five seconds. I slept in a t-shirt and shorts, the same ones I sailed in. Someone woke me at 2. It was warm, tropical with a friendly breeze. Chocolate covered espresso beans and a sip of hooch.

Not even the TV put me to sleep. The ceiling lights were too harsh in my computer room so I turned them off and used the screen's radiation. My brain glowed from coffee. I dialed up the machines at work.

I want those first moments of dawn. I want to see what we've sailed through. They'll want my prediction for the day's weather, as if I can tell. With the sun still below the horizon there is no sparkle but there is purpose in the wind with the swells big and thick. Swap out the halyards and afterguys, bring that pole back a touch, ease the sheet. We're in for a ride.