​It’s 0945, on Thursday morning.  I was on the 0600 watch, so was treated to a beautiful sunrise.  My second of the trip - the first coming on Tuesday morning.  With so few distractions on the boat, it’s easy to appreciate some of nature’s free gifts.  ​

​​It’s 1030 on Wednesday morning, Halloween.  I’m sitting in the cockpit, tucked under the dodger, looking towards the stern of the boat and the vast sea we’ve crossed in the last 24 hours.  The sky is a light blue and cloudless, sun shining and warm.

​I’m lounging in the “saloon” of Tango, my new home for the next couple weeks.  Despite the name, the only exposure to alcohol is in the DayQuil I’ve been sucking down today, trying to kick a head cold before going to sea in the morning.  Its 1600 (4pm) on Monday - we point the bow into Long Island Sound, our of the town of Westbrook, at 0630.

Since arriving to the boat two days ago, I have learned much about the crew, their idiosyncrasies, and could write several chapters already about their antics.  For now, I’ll share some background on the cast of characters.  Plenty of time at sea to unpack their stories. 

​Perhaps my head cold didn’t crush all my efforts.  Sunday arrived in a slight haze.  

These old guys haven’t learned how to sleep in.  At 7am, the boat was a buzz of activity.  Thankfully, my noise cancelling headphones, which Tara despises at home, came in handy.  We don’t leave for two days, let’s all just relax.  Be cool, Richard.  Be cool.

As yesterday was gloomy, rainy, and aside from running errands, was crammed with a two-hour safety briefing inside, today was spent topsides.  We rigged the boat (attached all the lines connecting sails to tackle and winches) and did a run-through of various sailing and reefing (shortening sail) techniques.  ​