Cosmos!

Oct 7

3:52 am – Ah, but as vast as the ocean is, vaster still is space in all its glory. I’ve been having trouble sleeping, so I stepped up to the bridge this evening, about an hour ago, and I was simply blown away by the clarity of the sky. Stars so bright. There are several pairs of binoculars for use on the bridge, and they keep the lights out at night, so the effect is a beautiful sky, untainted by our unworthy glow from the Earth. There is no light in view in any direction, save for the light glow of the necessary instruments in the bridge itself. So densely populated is our sky. This is like a religious experience for an astronomy student – it was really quite something. After about an hour, clouds started to sweep in, so the perfect view didn’t last forever. Quite all right though. I got what I came for.

4:14 pm – Just had a tour of the engine room. Very loud and fascinating stuff going on down there. I’m generally feeling pretty good today, in terms of appetite and mood, despite a few rough days on the voyage. I don’t know if it’s the diet (which consists mainly of potatoes, as a vegetarian at sea) or the rocking or the sleeping patterns, but my emotions feel funny – all of them. Satellite TV kicked in, and just watching the news really evokes an emotional response from me. Quite strange.