Lessons and a Gift

Greetings from the nav station of the good ship Falken! 

Our journey is coming to an end and i still wonder how I ended up here, sailing across the wide Pacific. Oh yeah. Funny story. I have friends who have sailed all over the world and one night a blog post popped up as they made their way from the Galapagos to New Zealand. It spoke of sitting at the helm on night watch, hot beverage in hand, Van Morrisons Into the Mystic playing in the background. The sky was clear and full of stars,  the phosphorescent ocean trailing behind. And I thought to myself, “Self, wouldn’t it be cool to have that experience?” Well as it turns out, this experience is certainly not that one. This is pretty much the opposite of that.

Lesson reinforced: if it sounds too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.

I find that my head is full of timers that reset constantly. The day is 9 hours long, 3 hours on watch, 6 hours off. 30 minutes before watch starts the timer goes off. The first challenge, getting out of the bunk while the ship is determined to either launch me out or pitch me back in. Sometimes I’m trapped half in and half out, unable to move either way. Next bathroom and brush teeth. Not as easy as it sounds. Struggle into every layer of clothing I brought with me (being a master of light packing did not serve me well this time), topped off by heavy foul weather gear. Yes, we are all puffed marshmallow men. Fill water bottle and battle my way onto the deck to start watch - 3hours on the clock. Take the helm and the 30 minute timer starts. Relieved at helm and it’s an hour till next helm shift. When the watch is over the 6 hour clock starts. And so it goes.

The lesson here is that even if you don’t think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done.

The biggest lesson is the helm. I am by far the most novice of the whole crew, so I try to watch and learn what I can from the rest of the team. 

First watch is lead by the dream team of Corey and Joe. They’re married and looks like they can tackle anything together. 

Coreys enthusiasm and newly discovered love of speed is inspiring. 

Joe is the master of deadpan. He takes the helm and there is no expression on his face. The Kraken itself could rear up ahead and Joe would roll right over him without batting an eye. 

Second watch is myself and my watch brothers Kurt and Michael.

Kurt is a kind soul who will - Get. The. Job. Done. He try’s to explain wind angles and sails to me but I remain baffled. 

Michael has the lightest touch on the wheel, he makes it look effortless and when a big wave lifts us up, his inner 13 year old boy shines through bright and clear as he surfs down the other side.

Third watch has Jim, Daniel and Nickolai.

Jim gets on the helm and you a literally see the salt water in his veins activate, he’s born for this.

Daniel is our spotter, always looking ahead to the horizon, never behind. If he could pull the Titanic move on the bow, he would. 

Nikolai thinks “squalls are fun!!” “Big waves are fun!” Okay…

I try to take some wisdom from each of them but if you look closely at our GPS route, when the ship starts weaving like a drunken sailor, well, that’s me.

Then there is the real crew. 

Zoe the apprentice. We celebrated her 25th birthday on board and she’s everything a 25 year old woman should aspire to be. Adventurous, calmly confident with an easy smile but seriously planning for the future. 

Adam is the man with the solutions to problems. I suspect he’s a bit of a nomad at heart and I picture him as a hedge knight in the olden days. Traveling around, righting wrongs. 

Captain Alex is somehow psychically connected to the ship. He’ll be cooking dinner and the next thing you know his head will pop out of the hatch like a gopher and we all know he’s’ sensed something and Kurt will have to get on the grinder and adjust the sail minutely. It will make a difference. 

Other small lessons?

There are endless ways to tangle yourself in the tether. Or maybe that’s just me. Turns out you can get the tether clip stuck between the wheel and deck wall which makes it impossible to turn the wheel. Cue momentary panic. 

It is remarkably easy to stuff up the head. I am now traumatized. 

There are birds a thousand miles from any land! This is somewhat shocking as we all thought the sight of a bird would mean we’re close to shore. Nope. 

Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. The word majestic doesn’t even begin to describe them. 

The water of the gulf of Alaska is cold and dark and grey. As different from Hawaii as you can get. But even here there is beauty. The water curling in our wake is the most remarkable shade of minty blue!

You can prepare all you like to try to avoid seasickness but if it’s going to get you it will. Sleeping with a bucket is a new experience that I never thought I’d have.

Everything is wet all the time. The bunk is damp. Clothes are damp. There is no safe place to sit because your bum will get damp. I dream of dry socks….

You can apply all the lip balm in the world but chapped lips are going to be a thing. 

And the gift?

Going forward I know that whenever life throws a challenge at me that looks overwhelming I will hear the following voices in my head:

Corey: “Bundle up”

Joe: “Less is more”

Michael: “small subtle movements”

Kurt: “try to anticipate, not react”

And most of all Alex:  “Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it”. 

He means the helm but it applies to life as well. 

Thats all for today, signing off from the nav station of the Falken.