It's about 8 in the evening, you're done with dinner, chores and had a chance to read a page or two in the new book you started. Although the boat is rolling a bit, outside it's blowing a pleasant 17 knots and the waves are about 8 feet. You crawl into bed, which is just the settee on the low side of the boat. Three hours later at midnight you get up to trim the sails, check your course and update the charts.

About 1 am you're able to get back to sleep you assume until morning.

At 4 am you awake the noise of that sounds like a freight train outside and the jib is flailing madly.

The wind is now about 30 knots and the high wind alarm is going off continuously! Spray and waves are crashing into the cockpit as you make your way to the helm. After adjusting the autopilot your attention turns to furling the jib, while buckets of water are being thrown at you from the waves that are now 12 feet. 🌊

You spend the next four hours sitting at the helm in case something goes wrong, repeatedly getting soaked.

Finally at 8 am the sun is up and you can go below

, dry off and try to make coffee in a boat that's rolling from 0 to 30 degrees every 10 seconds. So far so good you think as you sip your well deserved coffee.

Coffee finished, the boat is sailing along nicely so you make your way across the pitching cabin, climb up into the cockpit and unfurl the jib. Great you think to yourself 😁

This seems like a good time for a nap, so you lay down for a few minutes when a rain squall hits with 38 knot wind, and gusts over 40 knots. You rush out to furl the jib in the horizontal rain and fight with easing the jib sheet while cranking in the furling line. Five minutes of excitement, the jib is furled, you're soaked and cold so you go below to dry off put on something dry for the third or fourth time. By now the squall has passed so back on deck to unfurl about half the jib. Did I mention that a couple more waves crashed into the cockpit? Damn, you're running out of dry clothes!

Ok you have the sails trimmed and your boat is sailing along in 25 knots of wind and 12 foot waves, still rolling from 0 to 30 degrees every 10 seconds but things seem stable. It's now 3 in the afternoon 🥴!

Maybe this time you can take a nap if you don't get thrown across the cabin.

Sailing: An Enjoyable and Relaxing Activity! 😂