Memories of offshore sailing

If I can't go offshore sailing then at least I've a lot of great memories including:

• learning to sail in the Solent during the America's Cup 150th anniversary, Cowes packed with legendary yachts
• sailing the Atlantic on the ARC
• the first night of the ARC, with phosphorescence in the water, the stars above and a ring of yacht lights around the horizon
• the night's sky offshore, particularly on the ARC, with Orion leading the way and the flash of shooting stars
• swimming around the yacht mid-Atlantic, with a thousand miles to any land and 4 km of water beneath me.
• flying the spinnaker by moonlight across the Atlantic
• arriving at St Lucia and that all important first beer
• competing in the RORC series of races, dashing around the Channel at night
• rounding the Fastnet Rock (above) during that race
• sailing from Lisbon to Gibraltar, stopping at Cadiz and seeing Tall Ships and fine sunsets
• sailing around the Greek Islands, finding Nemo and some lovely tavernas
• sailing double handed from Scotland to Iceland via the Arctic Circle
• spotting the Faeroe Islands appear out of the clouds
• navigating through the Faero Islands in the early hours of the morning (below)
• seeing the sun above the horizon at midnight, sign we were truly in the Arctic Circle
• that good watch as we sailed south out of the Arctic Circle round the north-west of Iceland
• sailing into uncharted waters in the north-west fjords of Iceland
• entering Reykjavik harbour, successfully completing our Scotland to Iceland voyage
• leaving Ísafjörður, heading for Greenland
• seeing icebergs appear out of the mist as we crossed the Denmark strait
• watching a polar bear tear chunks from a narwhal
• visit the hot springs of Greenland
• kayaking amongst the icebergs of Greenland's amazing Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord
• departing out of Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord under sail, dodging icebergs on the way
• sailing down the coast of East Greenland
• entering Tasiilaq in the early hours after seeing both noctilucent clouds and the northern lights
• sailing round Scorsby Sound in a tall ship seeing a polar bear and northern lights most nights
• sailing round Spitzsbergen, seeing many polar bears and the remains of many expeditions
• ....

Many of these I've posted about, but I've included no links because these are memories.