Jan's Painting By Words:

Lucky me! I had the first full watch! It was Monday, departure day, and my watch was from 6 pm to 9 pm. Chuck stayed with me until after sunset, then he went below. I was all by myself!
Currus was clipping along at about 7 knots. The wind was 22-25 knots off starboard bow. The swells were, gee, it was hard to know, about 5-6 feet? A few were above the horizon line as seen from the princess seat (stern rail seat). We were heeled over so far, the port toe rail consistently dipped in the water. Every so often a wave would break over the bow, sending a splash of water directly at my face. SOME of these, I managed to avoid. Mmm, salty!
Our first sunset was beautiful. The sun slowly played peek-a-boo between the little puffy clouds as it lowered in the sky until it sizzled into the ocean, and then it was gone.
But, the sun's job wasn't done yet. Its colorful rays gave life to the little clouds and they became my friends, as they marched across the sky, morphing into animal and fish shapes. I took their pictures so I could always remember them. Too soon it was dark, and my new friends faded into the night.
Now I had new friends! The stars twinkled on, one by one, until there were thousands! The Big Dipper was right above us and the Southern Cross was (duh) on the Southern horizon.
My 3 hour watch came to an end. I was tired, but Cirrus was still going strong and steady at 6.5 to 7 knots, using the constant 20 to 22 knot wind.
It was a perfect first watch!