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Sunset Rituals

Sunsets are an important time in our life on the boat. Over time, as we have developed our cruising routine, taking time to stop and experience sunset each day has become a part of or ritual. Having this daily touchstone seems necessary to me, in part, because, as we move around to different locations every few days or weeks, our environment is constantly changing.

At sunset, we make ourselves a drink or pour a glass of wine and go out to sit in the cockpit and experience the end of the day. It’s remarkably similar but also remarkably varied each day. Because the weather here is so consistent, most days the sky is clear enough that we can see at least part of the sun as it lowers itself into the sea on the horizon. But each day, the clouds shapes change and the colors mix in their own unique combinations of purple, fuchsia, pale blue and light pink. No two sunsets are ever the same.

Sunset, for us, is a kind of daily Sabbath ritual, when we stop what we’re doing, take the time to be present, and experience the daily work of art that nature has created for us. Sometimes we take the time to sit in the cockpit for as much as an hour, sometimes, it’s just a few minutes, but if we get busy and miss the sunset, I always regret it.

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