It was a dark and windy night

The cold north wind on our port quarter had been blowing 20 plus all day, helping us on our sleigh-ride toward the Abacos. It was our first night at sea and we had just entered the Gulf Stream.

DIMITRI, Thanos’ Omega 36 was enjoying herself immensely, surfing the steep, breaking waves.
Her crew, not so much. It was early December, 2002 when Thanos, Bill and I left the quiet confines of the ICW at Beaufort, North Carolina, and went to sea just after major storm passed us on its way north and after a major refit of DIMITRI – new sails, new standing and running rigging, plus lots of new gear. Who knew if everything was all going to work and if the forecast strong northerlies were going to hold. We had checked everything as best we could and it all looked fine. It worked OK in the ICW, but still…

As DIMITRI zoomed down the face of a wave I sneaked a glance astern. The flattened wake was ablaze with phosphorescence, little stars twinkling into the depths of the black ocean. As I turned back to see the abyss into which we were certainly plunging, the breaking crest lit up in a blaze of white light far off to port. When my eyes finally focused on the bow again, DIMITRI had found the bottom of the wave and had smashed her bow into the back of the wave ahead. Glistening sheets of spray flew skyward as she struggled to climb the back of the wave ahead. The running lights reflected off the bow wave on either side of the racing boat with an eerie red and green glow. The cold wind tumbled around the new main and genoa, throwing off big billowing clouds of white steam ahead, rising from the warm water, illuminated by the blinking sea creatures all around us. A glance upward to check the sail trim revealed a star-filled sky that only a few get to see.

The night went on like this, a spectacular light show, wave after wave after wave.

The luminous sea and sky showed DIMITRI and her anxious crew the way south that night. By morning we knew that we were going to be fine and that DIMITRI was sound. We sailed into the Abaco Sound a few days later.