Its 3 am, pitch black and not a visible star in the sky. I’m helming this great lump of a boat and trying not to head up, but fortunately, on this tack, she heads to wind a little better although that’s not ideal. If she heads up too much it takes the engine to get her back on course and the engine is only usable for a few minutes as its spitting flames from a leaking manifold.
The boat is a Ferro Cement, based on an Endurance 43, quirky in so many ways and on delivery from Ibiza to Sicily. The Mediterranean wind is light some 10-15 knots, and we are heading towards Sardinia, well, the middle of Sardinia as we can’t make any other direction other than going backwards to Ibiza, the sea state is slight and overcast.
The crew are asleep below as I’ve been on solo watch since 10 pm and helming by hand stood up as the Aries needs a bit more drive to be effective, or she heads up with so little breeze. She’s a heavy weather boat with badly cut sails so it’s a real battle to keep her as close to the wind as able and on course, as close as the wind will allow. Where she really wants to go is North Africa, and she’s putting up a fight, but not tonight boat!
I then see it in the water just as the wind drops to 5 knots or so we are ghosting along now, it’s there about 45 degrees off the port side a great green fluorescent light in the water maybe twelve feet across, what the hell is that? It looks like a glowing green dome underwater, funny I feel nothing but intrigue no feeling of fear, very serene, it’s the way you feel on calms nights helming when you get into a rhythm.
I steer towards it off course to get a better look, but whatever it is, it keeps the same distance away and moves off at the same speed as we are moving. I look around to see if there is anything else to see but no not a star or moon just this great big green light in the water. The only other dim sources of light come from the saloon, compass and switches in the nav station.
My eyes return to the object, not wanting to ruin my night vision. I follow the light for a further 5 minutes, it veers away further onto the beam, and I steer towards it but no luck it keeps the same distance away. I turn away, and it follows the boat at a distance. I don’t wake the crew just make a mental note to mark the chart later. Slowly the green light vanishes into the blackness behind us, and my mind goes through the diagnostics of what it could be. I’ve got the time as we change over watch at first light.
Jellyfish? No too big and it moves against the wind and tide, I’ve seen jellyfish hit the boat or should I say the boat hits them and then they light up and you see green globes of light disappear in the wake, leaving a trail as far as you can see of little green globes. But no, not the same, couldn’t be jellyfish. Then my mind moves to manmade objects and sticks with Submarine as my best guess, and maybe they left the navigation light on…but to this day, I don’t know.
I’ve heard of fishing boats in the Irish Sea being dragged by submarines when they snag nets. Pretty incompetent to leave a light on, eh?... If that’s what it is. But if it were a submarine, why follow a sailboat? I guess part of the training could be to follow shipping but if so, why the bright light? (If anyone out there has had this experience, I would love to share theories).
Just before first light on the horizon, we see the hectic glow of multiple white lights on a fishing boat to starboard, which cause two torpedos, leaving green rings in the water to accelerate under the keel towards them. Dolphins. Going to fetch breakfast and fooled into thinking we were fishing by passing directly under us at full speed. What a sight! As dawn comes in small streaks of red in the sky at first, then golds and deep blues all senses awakening as the smell of coffee wafts up from the galley, night watch over.
