by July 25, 2018 – Hawaii Yacht Club 21’16.35 N, 156’56.51 W
Tomorrow am we cast off and head to Hanalei Bay for snorkeling before our sail across the Pacific Ocean to home! I am very excited to get out on the Ocean and to see how Turnagain performs with these so-called “monstrous” Hawaiian waves. How rough can they be?
A couple of days before, I had decided to cut out coffee and alcohol. I knew that these stimulants were not going to be good for me on the boat and I didn’t want to push my luck. I have never experienced sea sickness, but I was not naive enough to think that I was immune to it. I had done a lot of reading and research prior to leaving for this trip, so I had an arsenal of meds on me.
And so, today I put a Transderm patch behind one ear just before bed in preparations for our departure tomorrow. That’s when things started getting a little weird…
July 26, 2018 – Hawaii Yacht Club 21’16.35 N, 156’56.51 W
We started off our day heading out for one last breakfast on solid land. We went to our new favourite watering hole, The Harbour Pub, for eggs benedict. We were all excited to get our adventure started.
I am generally not one to use a lot of medications as I tend to be pretty healthy overall. Meds tend to just get me confused and feeling “loopy”. So when we were having breakfast Wren thought it was a little odd that my left pupil was twice the size of my right, but I seemed to be coherent and in good spirits, so there was no mention of my “condition” at that point.
1300 hours – Casting off!
Off we go! We started off under power while Travis went over the safety briefing. Feeling good and the chop did not disappoint. Maybe these islands do refract and reflect the waves after all?
The sailing was awesome! We were easily doing 12 knots reaching on a steady 15-20 knot breeze. The waves were really something. I have never sailed in such chaos and it was really great helming experience. It was also my first time handling Turnagain, so off to the races!
My team was going to be first up on the overnight watch, so Wren, Joe, Geoff and I had some downtime before we needed to be on deck. The waves continued to toss us about, so naps were few and stomachs were starting to turn. However, I was excited to get a glimpse of the super moon on our first night shift. Wren and I were feeling nostalgic about the night sailing (and we discussed my pupils which were now normal again, phew), Geoff was feeding the fish off the stern, and Joe was getting tips from Coach Wren as he got to know Turnagain. Shift 1 under our belts and back below for naps.
July 27, 2018 – Somewhere around 22’27.73 N, 159’36.74 W
Shift 2 started up at 0200 hours and there were millions of stars to greet us. It was short-lived as some clouds rolled in and we were soon getting rained on. This is when I began to feel a little miserable. I was really needing some food, but I didn’t pack anything in my jacket. The last thing I wanted to do was go below to try and dig out some snacks. So, I decided to power through the shift. I made it to 0530 hours to when the next shift was getting up and decided I should have some water and Gravol before bed.
I may have overdone it… I woke up about 6 hours later, famished, thirsty, confused wondering where the hell I was and wondering why people were yelling “Dolphins! Dolphins!” What? We don’t have dolphins in Nelson…
To be continued…
Captain Penny
Up Next: Ocean Adventures: This too shall pass…
Photo Credit: Duncan Cameron & Author’s own
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