sailing overnight from Spain to Italy!

We started sailing at 6:00 in the morning from Mohon, Menorca in the Balearics across the Mediterranean Sea to the island of Sardina, Italy. It was so early that the water was like glass and the the fresh air was crisp and cold whipping against my face. My Dad and I were the first ones awake as we started motoring out to sea. A couple of hours later the wind picked up and we were sailing in 10-knot winds and pretty soon there was no land in sight. We were already hot and tired but focused on our activities to pass the time. I was drawing in the hot sun which made me gasp for water. The cats were both tucked away in their cubbies and slept most of the way. A couple of hours later Ezra and I watched a movie while drinking the refreshing Fantas we had saved for a treat. When the sun started to set we had dinner in our cockpit while underway. The world started to go silent again as night crept up on us.

My mom took the first night watch from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. We were heeling over quite a bit when I had to go to bed so I decided to sleep up top with my mom. When her shift was done she woke me up and asked if I wanted to sleep downstairs so I slept the rest of the night in my mom’s bed. When I woke up, I thought we were almost there but still had 50 nautical miles to go, I could just make out land on the horizon. Ezra and I continued to read and draw followed by more Simpsons. This made the rest of the time pass quickly and soon we arrived in Sardinia. We decided to sail on an extra 8 hours through a bit of rough seas to get to a more sheltered anchorage to weather the incoming storm with our friends. When we got there we had dinner and then my mom and dad went over and had a drink with our friends to celebrate the successful passage. When they got back to the boat we watched a storm pass with lightning in the cloud and a long bang of thunder and went to sleep dreaming about the stars. All in all, we sailed 300 nautical miles in 38 hours, sailing the entire way except for a couple hours here and there of motoring. Highlights included spotting a sea turtle, a dolphin fin, and watching the full moon rise and the sun taking it’s place the next day. Arriving to our final destination ahead of the storm hearing the loud cheers from our friends made for a successful first ocean crossing!