It was dark for nine hours of the crossing. It’s not like driving a car with headlights on a road with a dividing stripe. It was pitch black. Electronic charts and radar were the only navigation tools used. The VHF was set to 16/68 so we could communicate with Reflection and any other boats we encountered.
Our boat was surrounded by radar bleeps which were waves (we hoped) and a longer bleep that represented Reflection when she was in range. The waves were relentless. The following are comparisons you may relate to:
The wave action was like:
· The last few minutes of touchdown on a red eye flight to Bloomington in high winds
· Overnight travel on old bus, with warn out shocks, on rocky dirt roads in Mexico
· Riding up Pikes Peak in a jeep without seat belts
· The road to Hanna
· Downhill on the Mount Washington Rail Cog
· Riding on the Universal Studio scary movie rides
· Angry sibling cradle rocking
· Tumbling off a sled down a rocky hill
· Rolling a car
Only for 15 hours nonstop.
