Midnight Watch
When I was 17 years old, I participated in one of many sailboat races on the Chesapeake Bay.
This one was an especially unique experience.
For one, it was a new boat to learn and new crew to meet. Secondly, I was sailing alongside my dad, a seasoned sailor if there ever was one, and I wanted to impress. And lastly, this boat race was held overnight.
Yup. Over Night.
The Governor’s Cup is the oldest and longest-running overnight sailboat race on the Chesapeake. It starts in Maryland’s current capital, Annapolis, and ends in Maryland’s first Capital, St. Mary’s City.
I had been on boats at night, but they were always tied safely up at the slip in the marina. Sailing at night was new territory. The night started off at breakneck speed - we were on a downwind run with choppy seas almost all night. It was dark, it was fast, it was chaotic….. and I was scared.
However, one moment of calm sticks with me to this day. It was around midnight, my dad was at the helm and I felt safe. He was teaching me how to be on ‘night watch’. The sky was ink black with dazzling stars, the Maryland shoreline silhouetted by distant cities, and the water in our wake glowed, thanks to bioluminescent algae.
It was a moment of magic.
Encaustic Wax, India Inks, Oils with Beeswax on 8”x8” cradled Birch Board panel.
When I was 17 years old, I participated in one of many sailboat races on the Chesapeake Bay.
This one was an especially unique experience.
For one, it was a new boat to learn and new crew to meet. Secondly, I was sailing alongside my dad, a seasoned sailor if there ever was one, and I wanted to impress. And lastly, this boat race was held overnight.
Yup. Over Night.
The Governor’s Cup is the oldest and longest-running overnight sailboat race on the Chesapeake. It starts in Maryland’s current capital, Annapolis, and ends in Maryland’s first Capital, St. Mary’s City.
I had been on boats at night, but they were always tied safely up at the slip in the marina. Sailing at night was new territory. The night started off at breakneck speed - we were on a downwind run with choppy seas almost all night. It was dark, it was fast, it was chaotic….. and I was scared.
However, one moment of calm sticks with me to this day. It was around midnight, my dad was at the helm and I felt safe. He was teaching me how to be on ‘night watch’. The sky was ink black with dazzling stars, the Maryland shoreline silhouetted by distant cities, and the water in our wake glowed, thanks to bioluminescent algae.
It was a moment of magic.
Encaustic Wax, India Inks, Oils with Beeswax on 8”x8” cradled Birch Board panel.
When I was 17 years old, I participated in one of many sailboat races on the Chesapeake Bay.
This one was an especially unique experience.
For one, it was a new boat to learn and new crew to meet. Secondly, I was sailing alongside my dad, a seasoned sailor if there ever was one, and I wanted to impress. And lastly, this boat race was held overnight.
Yup. Over Night.
The Governor’s Cup is the oldest and longest-running overnight sailboat race on the Chesapeake. It starts in Maryland’s current capital, Annapolis, and ends in Maryland’s first Capital, St. Mary’s City.
I had been on boats at night, but they were always tied safely up at the slip in the marina. Sailing at night was new territory. The night started off at breakneck speed - we were on a downwind run with choppy seas almost all night. It was dark, it was fast, it was chaotic….. and I was scared.
However, one moment of calm sticks with me to this day. It was around midnight, my dad was at the helm and I felt safe. He was teaching me how to be on ‘night watch’. The sky was ink black with dazzling stars, the Maryland shoreline silhouetted by distant cities, and the water in our wake glowed, thanks to bioluminescent algae.
It was a moment of magic.
Encaustic Wax, India Inks, Oils with Beeswax on 8”x8” cradled Birch Board panel.
