A better day

For 36 hours we got our butts kicked and then the sea and wind settled into something we could manage. It was still blowing and big but much more comfortable. We kept in the 3rd reef and a scrap of genoa- wishing that we had rigged the cutter before we left TB and could use our staysail-but it was too rough on the foredeck to hassle with that now. We still flew along at about 6.5 knots and despite the wanderings of our course the night before as we tried in vain to find a steady swell, we were ahead of schedule. Evening rolled around and the stars came out. Kai had successfully lobbied for night watch with Jon, so Hunter and I climbed into bed. Three hours later Kai touched my shoulder. " your watch, mummy". Even in the dark cabin, I could see his eyes shining. He loves night watch with his dad. Jon says he talks the whole time, free associating on every subject; books he's reading, the minutiae of bat rays and some rare kind of owl that lives in a jungle in New Guinea, what GIJoe and Snake Eyes favorite weapons might be and anything else that pops into his head.
I climb out of my warm bunk and leave Hunter to sleep , since she finally is. On deck, it is beautiful. The moonless night glows with an unimaginable number of stars. The middle of the ocean is unaffected by light pollution and it's heart stopping how jamm packed it is. The milky way arc over me, from horizon to horizon. Jon gives me my orders for the watch and points out a few ships and then heads below. I hope he will sleep for this watch, with the relatively even motion of the boat. I cross my fingers that it doesn't change for the next three hours.
I clip in, noticing that it's warmer now. We are getting South.
I smell them first. A distinct waft of fish. Like someone burped sushi in your face. Then I hear the gasp of their blowholes. I move my harness clip to an outside cleat and lean out of the cockpit. Brilliant green trials zigzag next to the boat, leaving psychedelic patterns in the water. I can make out the shape of the dolphin's heads and snouts, illuminated by the green glow of microscopic animals but the rest of their bodies are smooth green blurs. They look like dolphin-headed comets streaking along beside the boat. The waves are crested in brilliant green cascades as well. The whole ocean looks like a reflection of the twinkling above me, a mirror image of shooting stars and galaxies.
When I go below to wake Jon, Kai is already dressing for watch. " are you sure you don't want to sleep with mommy and Hunter?" I ask him. " no thanks", he says in his impossibly soft voice. " it's my watch". I look at Jon, who's smiling at me as he pulls on his gear. As much work as it is, I know these crossings are his favorite part. This is adventure. It demands the best of everybody- most of all him- and he's the happiest I've ever seen him.
I crawl in with Hunter and look at the clock. Six hours and we should be in Mag bay.

the milk run