I prefer the stars

When we were preparing to leave British Columbia and discussing our thoughts on when to leave Tofino for San Francisco, a friend said that a couple of BCA boats (Bluewater Cruising Association) were planning to leave on a specific date so that they had a full moon for their passage.

This was the first time I had thought about planning a passage around the moon. I don't think that most cruisers plan their passages around the moon because there are too many other variables that are pressing, but the idea of being able to move around the cockpit at night without a light, seeing the control lines, all without turning on a light was appealing. I thought the idea of at least trying for a full moon sounded brilliant.

However, this passage has been filled with blue sky days and clear cloudless moonless nights and in the middle of my night watch, being amazed by the twinkling of Estrellita's namesakes, it occurred to me (bear with me, I'm a little slow it seems) that with a full moon, you lose the stars.

It's a personal thing and on this passage I have realized that I prefer the stars, the milky way, the shooting stars, the rising planets, to the moon. On a clear night, the light of the stars is enough to flood the cockpit if I have turned off the other lights on our boat that ruin night vision.

In fact, last night I stared wide eyed at a huge shooting star only to realize it was a white bird flying across the sky with the top of its body lit up by starlight.