We are on the high seas! The seas change and come at us from many different directions. The most comfortable for our boat is right on our butt, surfing us down them. Mother Nature rarely cooperates for any state of comfort. Take the seasickness meds and have a very healthy respect for her. 

We are on a six-hour shift watch, then you rest for six hours. This is a good schedule for us because six hours of rest is essential to a stress-free watch. We are in 16,000 feet of water and cannot see anything on the horizon. Always be alert, especially when the other captain is resting. One never knows what could come floating your way…a ghost ship, a lost overboard container, a tree, or a whale. 

 It can be slow sailing with some tacking to go forward. When you look at our tracking, it seems we may have had a few drinks. Have no fear, though; there is no drinking while sailing. Blue water sailing is slow because we only carry 4 days worth of fuel. A trip across an ocean will take more than 4 days. So bobbing around is what we do. 

With only Ford and Izzy to talk to, I get very excited when another vessel comes within radio range. It doesn’t happen much, and in most cases, they don’t speak the same language. Back to my book, it is. Then as we get close to land…the race is on! Will our catamaran be first in or their monohull? It never gets old when the dolphins guide the way for us by swimming off our bow. 

What is it like to be in the middle of the ocean? More coffee spilled than drank, eating out of a shared pot, nothing is in its place, and a few projects are added to the list for when you arrive in port. Peaceful one minute and holy hell the next. Sails up then down, reefed and unreefed. Dark skies mean a squall is a-comin’ with a big breeze, sails are down to a minimum till the winds pass. Are you exhausted yet? 

There is fishing on most of our trips. Ever caught a seagull? I have. Line in the water, and the clicker goes off…zzzzzzzzzz. Six seagulls are flying over my lure, and I yell for them to get away from my fish. They just keep coming in with the line, and WTH is that? I have hooked a seagull that was trying to steal my fish! The fish got away, or the gull ate him. Now what? That seagull is a much bigger close-up, and he is not happy. How to get him free without hurting him more. Jump right in and grab him to pull out the hook. Poor guy then rested in our cockpit till we got to port. He seemed fine and flew off.

In our case, when we see land, it’s time for some Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s Southern Cross. That is “Land HO!”; we have made it.