Elisa's Journey - Scary Sights on the Cape Breton Clipper

Under an almost-full moon, some new characters emerged on Cape Breton Island. Dracula, a skeleton, Frankenstein, and a just plain ugly guy showed up to get the boat moving towards Cape Town. They scared off the light wind patch and succeeded in getting the fastest speeds of the night.

Our eagle popped up on deck to see what was going on, and seemed pleased at the newcomers’ performance. That high pressure system would surely not come near us with this crew on deck!

Saraid, our special events coordinator, said, “It’s important to mark these kinds of moments. You never need an excuse to dress up. It was Halloween, and I didn’t want to let the fun slip by even though we’re racing 24/7!”

We stayed on top of our sail trim, and kept on course in the midst of celebrations. The moon was bright, and the shape of our spinnaker was easily spotted. Dracula took the helm, Frankenstein worked the coffee grinder, and the ugly guy called trim. If a ship went by in the night, they would definitely have taken a second glance.

“People seem to race harder and trim faster when yelled at in a deep scary voice,” Elisa noted while calling trim in a ghoulish mask. Unnamed crew thought she looked better in the morning.  They didn’t seem to notice she was wearing a costume, or the big wart on her nose.

Having such a great time, our three-hour watch flew by quickly. When it was time to wake the others, we decided to remain in costume. The sleeping quarters were entered quietly, hoping to give the next watch a sudden fright.

Luke, who was awakened for his midnight watch, commented, “I was surprised and shocked to see ugly teeth bearing down on me. Should I slap the person waking me up?” We sent a backup just in case that happened. Somehow, I don’t think it would be possible to knock out those teeth!

Another crew was greeted with, “Trick or Treat?” Unfortunately, the only treats available were week old laundry and finely seasoned sailing shoes. I think people were too surprised to come up with any tricks on short notice. After all, when is the last time you were woken up by Dracula?

Fair enough, some crew were offshore for the first time, a new experience in itself. Now they had Halloween creatures coming to wake them from their sleep. The whole thing really must seem like a dream, surely not a nightmare, on such a beautiful moonlit night.