[Paddlewise] Night Moves

I tried to get Seakayaker to publish this one but they returned it. Too
etheral and introspective for their tastes. Oh well. Hope you folks enjoy it.

Bob



NIGHT MOVES

Fredrick Sound



I drift upon a sea of darkness under the twinkling light of a thousand,
thousand stars.  The night hides the secrets of the sea. I rise and fall
gently on black waves that reflect the heavens above. The shore line and its
mountains remain as mere dark upon dark shadows barely distinguishable in the
night. Hovering just below freezing the air feels crisp and cold upon my face.
The wind though gentle, joins the cold to make its foreboding presence known.
I lean back and follow the stars of the Big Dipper to find Polaris, the North
Star almost directly over head. Fredrick Sound, Alaska on a dark winters
moonless night, I am more alone than I have ever been upon the sea.

            Why am I here? What has called me out into the midst of wind and
waves on such a dark winters eve? I am here to immerse myself in the darkness,
away from blinding city lights and into the revealing darkness only an Alaskan
winter night can bring. I seek a great wonder and mystery only true dark and
cold can reveal upon the earth. I am here to search the winters heavens for
the great mystery of light, the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.

Humpback Whales call out from the darkness. In the midst of the stillness of
the night I hear whales rise from the depths and sound with explosions of hot
steamy breath. Afterwards they  breath deeply then dive once again beneath the
sea. Though the darkness robs my sight of these great leviathans it offers me
in return the gift of intense and profound hearing. I realize that I have
always relied on sight to experience whales but now with the darkness taking
my eyes from me, I hear their unique voices.

Grrrwhoosh. One whale sounds with a deep rolling growl in its explosion of
breath.

Whoooosh! Another exhales with a long rush of hot breath before taking and
equally long inhale. I guess that both whales must be huge females exchanging
massive volumes of air for their immense lungs.

Shoosh! A third breathes with a short quick breath. A juvenile I imagine,
still with its mother.

Woooo! Finally a forth Humpback sounds with a voice I think I have heard
before. It blows with the high pitched whistle of a distant train. This past
summer my son and I heard such a whale while paddling near Kake. We nicknamed
her Hootie.

I listen as they sound and breathe upon the dark sea. As I linger I begin to
feel as much as hear them. Their ancient voices call out to their kin upon the
waves. Their voices roll across the sea and echo off the mountains. The air,
the land and the sea all fill with their song and respond.

            How far off they surface I cannot tell.  The darkness hides their
tails as the rise and fall within the sea. I try but alas I cannot judge the
distance in the darkness, are they near or far? I can only wonder and fear.

I venture forth in awe and trembling. I head southeast for no other reason
than it is somewhere to head into the darkness.

Suddenly next to me I hear a small splash and a thrill sound flies through the
night. I know the sound well. Wind whistling through the wing feathers of Surf
Scoters. I must have awoken them from their slumber. Again another set hears
my paddle thrash through the water and flees into the night. I cannot see them
and can only guess their flight path by their sound.

            A ghostly shape flies across my bows and slowly circles me. A
solitary sea gull. I hear a flutter upon the water and now a few other gulls
join this ghost gull to circle this strange creature of the night. More
splashes and fluttering break the stillness as more and more gulls join in
flight. Strange they do not call out or squawk as they would during the day,
but instead circle silently until at last disappearing into the night.

            Embraced by the darkness I can only judge my speed by the feel of
the paddle in my hands. I navigate by the stars marking one to follow out to
sea and another to sight to return home.

            Ever the whales rise and submerge in their search for food, their
last feast for many months. Soon they will begin the long trip to Hawaii to
birth and breed.

            In the distance a whale sounds and a solitary loon utters a single
hoot. The whale must have surfaced too close to the loon startling him in the
night. I hope I do not suffer the same fate.

            I hear the sound of the rushing waters of Hobo Creek as it
tumbling into the sea. Small waves find a rock in the shallows and crash upon
it. In the stillness of the night they sound much bigger then they really are.
A sharp sound rushes out of the darkness. Somewhere out there a whale slapped
her fluke upon the water. Twice more then silence. Why I wonder? What is this
whale saying to her sisters upon the sea? What warning might the whale be
saying to me?

            To paddle at night welcomes great risk. The darkness can hide many
dangers and swallow those in peril upon the sea. I have taken every precaution
I can; float plan, radio, flares, flashlights and dry suit. Now as the whales
begin to spread out sounding from different places my feeling of anxiety
grows. They are big and I am small. Can whales see in such darkness or would
one plow into me blindly? I weigh the risk and decide that the mystery and
wonder of paddling under the stars is worth the peril.  I continue paddling
into the night. Still I decide to always keep my right hand on the paddle
shaft lest if I get bumped by a whale my paddle blade will be at the right
angle for a brace or roll. The night air grows steadily colder and my thin
paddling gloves barely hold off the cold. I have little choice but to tolerate
cold fingers rather than putting on my thicker gloves lest I lose the feel of
the oval of my paddle shaft and attempt to brace or roll with the wrong blade
angle.

            I make a long slow arch of a turn to the North and find Polaris
once again. I follow its light like the ancient Magi followed their star. A
soft green glow begins to slowly reveal the contours of the distant mountains.
Like the light of a glorious dawn, the sky brightens with the growing light.
The Aurora Borealis, the blaze of Alaska, once again comes to life in the cold
winter heavens. Born in the violent heart of the sun these fingers of cold
fire now gently touch the sky with splendor, dance and grace.

            Ribbons of wavering light stream from the horizon like a rising
tide filling the sky. Like gossamer wings of angels they span from horizon to
horizon. My heart pounds in my chest as I realize that this night the Northern
Lights will blaze with their full glory. I am in for a glorious show.

            The lights begin to roll and ripple like wind driven waves across
the heavens. Shimmering curtains of ghostly green light flutter in the
invisible wind from the sun. Silvery threads of streaming light vibrate before
my eyes like the string of a fine violin creating heavenly music. Much like
the spouts of the whales around me the lights explode here and there spreading
a symphony of light across the heavens like whale breath in the wind. Soft
green quietly turns to faint red and pink. Flung from depths of the sun this
river of stardust now plays like a gentle child in the heavens.

            The frost swirls of light slowly fade to the north and are quietly
reborn in the East. Soon they once again sweep across the heavens above. Vast
mythical dragons take flight in the night spewing flaming whirlpools of fire
from their ragged throats.  Swirling, billowing veils of soft light ebb and
flow before the stars. Dancing celestial fires waltz gracefully across the
heavens.

            "Who but God could conceive such infinite scenes of glory", wrote
Artic explorer Charles Frances Hall in 1865. I offer a prayer or awe and
thanksgiving not with my head down but with open eyes looking up into the
heavens above.

I peer into the dark water to see if the waves them selves reflect the
glorious fires above. Suddenly a bright orange streak flies through the waves.
I look up in time to see the dying inferno of a meteorite throwing fire before
the stars.  Thrown across unimaginable frozen distances across the universe
this chunk of space now comes to a fiery but awe-inspiring end. Soon another
then another meteorite blaze across the sky adding to the magnificent
spectacle of this holy night.

Mystery and wonder dance overhead. They now bind me to the ancient peoples of
the north who also looked up in awe and wonder. On artic winter nights so long
ago, they wondered about the meaning of these flames that roam across the
heavens above. They answered their questions with the wisdom of story and
myth. Some ancients believed the lights to be the torches of great spirits
guiding the dead through the roof of the sky and into heaven beyond. The Yupik
believed the lights to be the spirit of deceased children who kicked the head
of a walrus around heaven in a joyful game. Some saw the lights as the spirits
of slain warriors continuing their earthly battles in the realm of the stars.
The Tlingit believed the Aurora to be the dancing spirits of their ancestors
ready to welcome more souls to their starry kingdom. For the Sioux they were
the spirits of children yet to be born. The Finns believed the light to be
'fire foxes' that raced across the sky spewing fire from there glistening fur.
The Hebrides thought them to be shining fairies they called 'nimble men'.

The Ottawa people believed that a creator being called Nanahboozho had saved
his people from the Great Flood and then journeyed North to live. As a sign of
his care he promised to build great fires that would blaze into the northern
sky. Not unlike God's rainbow of Bible the aurora arc across the sky as a sign
to assure harmony and grace between the Ottawa and their creator.

Though I know the scientific explanation for the Aurora, tonight I prefer to
dwell in ancient story, mystery, wonder and awe. I choose to see dragons and
angel wings rather than electrons and plasma. Thinking may make us human but
mystery and wonder make us truly alive.

Friends and family wonder why we chose to live in this cold dark land of
Alaska. Why we have stayed here so long and endured the rain and cold. Tonight
the answer billows, swirls and blazes over head. Here alone upon the sea
beneath this celestial ballet all the hard times are forgotten and pure joy
remains.  I would not live any other place.



GRRRWHOOSH! The air in back of me explodes!  I fly up out of my seat! "Jesus!
It's right behind me!" I frantically try to paddle away. Grrrwhoosh! The big
whale swims closer! I don't dare turn to look! "Paddle hard" I yell to myself,
"get the hell out of here"! Grrrwhoosh! The wake of the whale lifts me then
passes by in the night sea. I am going as fast I can move this kayak, waiting
for the impact. I am ready to brace but which side! Will it do any good
anyway? O Lord the whale is so great and my boat is so small!

Shoosh! Another whale sounds directly to my left!  I can see its spout rising
from the sea into the night. Good grief, I am between the mother and her
child!

Grrwhoosh! Shoosh!

My life hangs in the balance. I am truly at the mercy of the whales, the sea
and the night. Rarely have I felt such a wild blend of foreboding fear and
exhilaration at the same time. I can only paddle, pray and await my fate.

Shoosh! The young whale surfaces again and begins to roll. I hear the strange
splashing and vaguely see the white churned up sea around it. What is he doing
I excitedly wonder?

Grrrwhoosh! She spouts again but off to my right. I pray she is turning away!
The younger whale submerges. Now I am directly between them. I can only hope
he goes deep and passes well below me. I stop paddling and pound my fist on
the deck of my kayak. "I am here, I am here, stay away ", I frantically pound.

"Shoosh!" Grrrwhoosh! Both sound off to the right!

"Shoosh!" Grrrwhoosh! Farther away, Thank God!

"Shoosh!" Grrrwhoosh! Still farther and fading away in the night.

I listen for a long time. At first I struggle to hear the whales over my
pounding heart.  The whales sound farther and farther out in the Sound. For
the moment the danger has passed and I am safe as one can be upon the night
seas. I slump forward and feel the adrenaline slowly flow out of my body. I
feel weak from the excitement.

I lean back and once again ponder the mystery of the Aurora. In the South the
stars begin to disappear, the lights fade, and then blacken. Like a leopard on
the hunt a storm moves silently in with stealth and power. By morning the seas
will rage and the wind will howl.

Even now the wind begins to pick up and it is time to paddle home. I turn and
find my star in the West and follow its light. The waves begin to grow beneath
me as I reach the shallows. I drift trying to hold on to the moment. The
aurora stretches out in long fingers offering me one final show before the
gathering clouds closes the celestial curtain.

Why did I go out upon the sea in the night risking so much? My answer sings
out from the sea and echoes from the mountains. In the night the whales
continue to call out. Breathing, diving, feeding, and living out their lives
in the midst of the sea. Wonder and fear were wed out there tonight leaving me
with great joy and peace in my soul.
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