The inspiration for the concept arose this way: It is early in the second day of an ocean race off the Northern California Coast. The first day was wild, wet, rough, and stormy. I come on watch at dawn, the wind has died down, the sky has cleared. Long swells roll in from the northwest, glass smooth. The sun rises, pushing back the night. The Farallon Islands are aglow with the sun's first rays. The sails barely fill with the day's first zephyr. Long swells lift and heave under us rhythmically. It is supremely quiet and peaceful, in stark contrast to the day before. Time's pendulum seems to stop for a moment to allow us to inscribe the tableau in all it's simplicity and prismatic clarity of light on our minds. I have tried to paint that moment; it cannot be put into words.