Well, that was short lived…It’s with great regret that I
have to announce that my sailing circumnavigation trip has come to an abrupt
end. Since this is a public forum, I think the easiest way to explain my
departure from the trip is a personality conflict.If you want more details shoot me a message
on facebook or something.I knew this
was a risk when finding something on the internet, but it was a risk I was willing
to take for the opportunity of a life time, so it’s a bummer that it didn’t
work out.I am wishing the best of luck
to Joe and Mike in finding a replacement crew and making it around the
world.
So what does this mean exactly.... I loved the sailing parts
of the trip, and I learned a ton. In 2 weeks at sea I actually had the
opportunity to experience most sailing conditions out there, from windless
doldrums to 30 knot winds with huge swells, with water crashing over the boat
(it was pretty awesome). I got to see pods of dolphins, whales, and a shark; I
am reminded to be grateful for what I did get to experience. I would love to
try again at some point, but the deal I made with Christine is that if this
didn’t work out, I wouldn’t try again, at least until after we have had kids
and they are all grown up.
I am not done with my adventure yet that’s for sure.Currently Christine and I are enjoying our
time in Zihuatanejo, and then in January we are headed back to Korea
together.From there I will hang out in
Korea for a few weeks until the next break from school (Lunar New Year), then
Christine and I (and anyone who wants to join us???) will take a trip to either
Bali or Phuket, we’re still trying to decide.After the break Christine will head back to Korea for the school year,
and I will stay behind for a few months and begin my training to become a scuba
dive instructor.It will cost about the
same as sailing around the world, and this way, a lot of the money on gear and
insurance that I’ve already spent won’t be wasted. And now once I am done, I’ll
have a skill that I can use wherever we end up next. Also, it means regular
contact with Christine, instead of 2-3 weeks at a time with out her hearing
anything from me.I should be back to
Korea by the end of May, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch some of my old
students graduating.So really it’s a
win-win situation for us. (I am trying to be optimistic about everything).
There is some good that came out of this though, while on
the boat I had a revelation that I was actually really excited about the
prospect of having kids with Christine.For those of you that know me, you realize that is a HUGE deal.Never before have I wanted A kid, let alone,
multiple kids and a family, and all that stuff.So maybe I needed to have this experience in order to get this
point.And if you’re wondering about my
tattoo, and what I am going to do about filling in the anchor, I have decided
to fill it in with the names or something symbolic of our children.
For those of you faithful readers following along at home,
first I want to say thanks, and secondly I am sorry I won’t be able to complete
this adventure.Try not to judge too
harshly.I will continue to update a
long the way, but probably not as frequently, it will probably be much more
scuba oriented.Thanks for all of the
support I have received over the last few months.
So after my last post we had a series of small delays,
waiting for stuff to come in the mail, then the weather, and something I else I
just can’t remember at the time of writing this.So that week (which feels like forever ago),
I decided to rent a car and drive up to see my brother for the night. On the
way up I was able to have lunch with my friend that use to work in Korea,
Dan.He’s living north of LA and kind of
doing a lot of various things.
.
From there I drove to central California, and spent the
night with my little brother, Jas, and his girlfriend, Lexi.It was a Thursday night in SLO so we went to
the downtown farmers market, and had some good food, and heard good music.
So after that this happened….
Our first day was actually pretty crazy; we woke up at 2am
and set off for a local town.We were
going to weather, which means we were sailing into the wind, which also means
that it was rough waves, and our boat was heeling.There would be surf splashing over the front
of the boat from time to time, and we had to have the motor running most of the
way. The worst part was the cold; it was bitter cold.At one point Mike had me go below deck to
sleep, later he told me he did that to not freak me out with rough sailing on
the first day. We arrived in Ensenada, Mexico late afternoon, so we went to dinner,
and then went to sleep.I fell asleep at
7:30pm and didn’t wake up until 6:30am,
so we were all pretty exhausted after the first day.
The next day the first thing we did was head over to the
marina office where we filled out some paper work
And then we went to Immigration for more paper work.
So after about half a day we were on our way.We started out sailing in perfect conditions.
Wind was blowing across the middle of the boat and at a good speed, and not too
many waves, so we had both our sails up.
It wasn’t too long into things until on only our second day
out we see a dolphin, and just when I think things can’t get any better …
It started out with a bunch of dolphins off in the distance
jumping out of the water, and then they came over to us and were just swimming
all around us for awhile, there were about 20 dolphins, just playing around our
boat.(check out the video below)
That night we enjoyed an incredible sunset.
So from 3am-6am is my nightly watch, my first night I was
pretty nervous about it, but the wind had dropped and we were motoring again.
Although it was chilly out, it was really peaceful, and I just listened to some
podcasts and watched for other boats and to make sure we were holding course. I
saw 5 shootings stars my first night as well, I forgot to make wishes, so
there’s five free wishes out there for anyone who wants them.
So when I woke up from my after watch nap, I come up to us
motoring the boat and some pretty calm seas.
12-12-13
Today we finally got some pretty good wind coming from
behind.So we were able to turn the
motor off and do some actual sailing.This is important because we can go faster sailing than motoring, and
it’s cheaper, and we won’t need to make a stop to refuel, which will ensure we
get to Zihuatanejo (sp?), in time to meet with Christine.
Today we did a couple of different types of sailing, the
first thing we did was take out something called an asymmetrical spinnaker, and
let that fly instead of the jib sail, which is the sail at the front of the
boat.The second cool thing we did was
something called sailing wing-to-wing.Basically it involves taking a long pole called a spinnaker pole, and
attaching it to the mast of the ship.Then,
you attach the jib to it so that it sticks way out.Essentially, when sitting in the cockpit one
sail goes out to left while the other sail goes out to the right. Below is a picture of the asym spinnaker.
Ok I realize that I am telling a lot of sailing stuff and
not as much travel stuff, well for now I am busy doing a lot of learning, and
so that’s what’s on my mind.Once I have
that stuff down, I’ll write more about some of my thoughts and the other cool
things we are doing as they happen.
12-15-13
So the last couple of days I haven’t really been able to
write due to craziness.2 days ago I was
in bed all day with sea seasickness.I
haven’t been able to really eat for the past few days so I’ve been feeling
pretty drained.So then yesterday right
when I was I getting ready to write we get some pretty crazy weather.It was my first time experiencing the crazy
weather.We were getting 25-30 knot
winds sailing at a close reach.What
that essentially means is we had some pretty big waves.Just when Joe and I thought we were going to
put the sails away, Mike pulls out a storm sail and puts up another sail. So at
that point we were at the mercy of the wind, and so we were going to stop at
Cabo to refuel, but we were pulled out to sea over night, and so by the time
the wind had calmed there was no going to Cabo.
So far a typical day for me looks like this-
12am-3am: Try to sleep
3am-6am: Watch duty
6am-9am: Try to sleep
9am-5pm: Hang out on deck, either reading, or helping change
sails or whatever.
5pm-6pm: go below deck to journal and blog
6pm-9pm: Watch duty
9pm-12am: Try to sleep
12-16-13
So today was a pretty relaxed day. No sea sickness at all,
and I ate a decent dinner. We are ahead of schedule, about 3 days away from
Zihua, so we didn’t worry about motoring, we just sailed all day.. There were
times we were moving pretty slow, and just chilling out. We found a flying fish
on the deck that was dried out, so it must have been from the heavy winds day.
At this point the days are starting to move slower, I am
looking forward to getting to our destination.We’ve been underway, just over a week now. Also, yesterday I saw a whale. So that was
pretty cool, although it was brief so I wasn’t able to get any pictures.
12-17-13
So we’ve reached the 48 hours until Zihua mark.The forecast for the next couple of days is that
the wind is going to be difficult with us, so we will probably be doing a lot
of motoring.
So one thing that is kind of hilarious is that the guys keep
a flare gun with flares from the 70’s on deck. Not for emergencies, but to
shoot at birds so that they don’t land on the deck and poop on it.Don’t worry they never come close to actually
hitting the birds, they’re just trying to scare them off.
I thought I would also leave you with a picture of the moon
from last night on my watch…
12-18-13
Today has been pretty low key.There has been no wind, so the water has been
like glass, barely a ripple, and so we’ve had to have the motor running all the
time, and as it is now it looks like we will be motoring all the way into
Mexico.So we should arrive around 3pm
tomorrow.I am looking forward to some
dry land and possibly even a shower.Yeah, I haven’t showered or even put deodorant on in almost 2 weeks, so
that’s kind of awesome.
One cool thing that did happen today as we were watching the
glassy water is that we totally saw a shark fin just poking up above the water!
12-19-13
So last night on watch I was checking out our radar
screen, and was looking at a boat crossing our path, check out the name of the
boat! I bet they’re scurvy free. (This will only be funny to people from Ship,
but they will think it’s hilarious)
So today we finally arrived in Zihua in the late afternoon,
so we didn’t get into the shore, so I have yet to contact my lovely wife and let
her know my whereabouts, but I took some sweet video of the area.Here’s a picture of us arriving, and you can’t
tell by the picture but the dudes in the boat are fishing and are being swarmed
by nearly 100 birds.It’s hilarious.
12-21-13
So now I am here and at my hotel. I'll try to post another blog in a week or so telling you about Zihua, and the adventures that Christine and I are having here. She gets here in 2 days and I am super excited to see her! So I will leave you with a video of our trip from Ensenada to Zihua...
So right now we are at the mercy of the sea, or more so the weather, but the current plan is to depart sometime early this coming week, so either Monday or Tuesday. After this, obviously my posts will probably be a bit less frequent. My goal is about once a week, but that also depends on internet availability. Also, there will probably be less videos posted, but I will make them and then maybe post when I have really good internet.
So this past week has been pretty low key for the most part. I have been doing my best to study up on sailing...
Joe's wife, and Mike's daughter both came out to visit over the past weekend before we headed off, so it was cool to meet their families. After we finished our haul out and painting from the last post we all went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant to celebrate. So I wanted Leslie (Mike's wife) and Mary (Joe's wife) to have a chance to meet Teeny...
I took a few pictures but Mary informed me that this is the only one that I was allowed to use. Mary spends most of her year in Baja, Mexico, and is a talented artist. She does a lot of cool pottery. Leslie is a CPA, and lives in Coronado. Leslie is also techy, and is really good at the latest smart phone technology.
So then this past Tuesday I walked to the local theatre and watching the latest Hunger Games movie, so now I know what to do if I get stranded on an island. I just need to [mild spoiler alert] stick a straw into a tree, and I should be fine. Then on Wednesday I went to visit the Gurleys out in the desert...
What an awesome family! It was so good getting to spend Thanksgiving with them. Sarah (Headgear) is a great cook, so I am pretty sure I am 5 lbs. fatter coming back from it. It was also awesome to visit with Gurley for a few days as well. Their kids are a riot. I got back to Coronado last night, and so today has spent organizing and inventorying everything so that I will be ready to go in a couple of days.
On the drive through the desert back yesterday I had about 5 hours to think about things. So obviously that gets my mind wandering, and the metaphor of the desert is not lost on me either. I think one of the biggest challenges I will be facing over next 18 months is the lack of community. There isn't anybody here that knows me. Granted, in time Joe and Mike will get to know me, and they are great guys so it will be fun; but we are all still in the "feeling things out" stage. Here's a good example, I am awkward, if I am not saying something ridiculous or awkward, something ridiculous or awkward is happening to me. Those of you that know me, know this about me, and granted it's not like it's something I can hide, so I am sure these guys know this about me. But what they don't realize is that I am also aware of it, and it's ok to laugh about it.
I think there is something to be said for these trials, even this time where I will feel a lack of community. It's through hardships that we grow. I spent 8 years somewhere very comfortable, and it's time to get out of my comfort zone. I am more nervous and awkward than I have been in a long time, and that will be a big part of this adventure. I need to remember who I am or at least the person I wanted to be. There was an idealistic adventurer out to change the world that I vaguely remember, and that I want to be. There was a period in my life when every few months I would look back at myself and cringe, and think, "I am so glad I am not that guy anymore, I was such an idiot." I remember telling this to a friend, and then saying, "If every couple of months I think I am glad I am not an idiot anymore, I must always be an idiot." He was kind enough to correct me and tell me the value of growing (Thank Uncle Roy!). But now I look back on my life and think, "Man, I wish I was that guy again, whatever happened to him?" Huh, I wonder if that means I actually am an idiot now, haha.
It's so easy for goals, dreams, ideals, values, passions, shoot everything worth holding onto; to get convoluted when we surround ourselves with comfort. It becomes harder and harder to let go of the metaphorical xbox controller the longer we hold onto it.
“Nothing's ever the same," she said. "Be it a second later or a hundred years. It's always churning and roiling. And people change as much as oceans.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
And these are just the ramblings of a guy who hasn't even set sail yet, I can't wait to see what I come up with after a few weeks at sea!
So this past weekend we hauled the boat out, which means we took the boat out of the water. This meant that we had to take the boat across the bay to a different pier where they used cranes to pull the boat out. From there they power washed the boat and cleaned off the bottom, and then the 3 of us painted 4 coats of paint on the boat. It was hard work, but it was a good learning experience as well. Also I got to take the helm for part of the time and learned about navigating channels, and some other stuff like that. It was pretty cool. Here's a video of the experience. The music is by Odd Us, you should check them out. (It's a former Survivor winner, Aras)
So the current plan is to set sail next Monday or Tuesday, so I am hoping to post one more time, before these posts become less frequent. My goal will be to post once a week, but I am at the mercy of the sea (I love the way that sounds- mercy of the sea, I am going to try to say that more).
So due to weather, we had a delay in our departure. We were unable to haul the boat out to clean it, so it looks like we have a couple of weeks to kill. There's been a decent amount of down time the past few days, so I thought I would introduce you to the crew.
Mike:
This is Captain Mike with Teeny. Mike is 65 years old and is a retired accounting professor. It's his boat that we are taking, and he used to live on it with his family in the 80s. He is a veteran and former Navy Seal. I like to think of him as Captain Superman, because he seriously can do anything. The boat we are on was actually hollow when he bought it and he built everything inside it. He has a doctorate degree in business, scuba instructor certification, installs his own solar panels, and can even sew, as seen above. He's always prepared; the first mate (Joe) always jokes about how Mike never gets rid of anything, and it's true, Mike has anything we might need, "just in case". He also has a quiet generosity about him, like his "just in case" isn't just in case he needs it, but in case anybody needs help.
Joe:
This is Joe, the first mate. He's 72 years old, and a retired 3 star admiral in the Navy. For those not familiar military rankings, he was literally 1 star away from being the highest possible position in the Navy. He was also a POW and spent 5 years in a prison in Vietnam. His whole story is like something out of a movie. Joe is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, just really genuine and good natured. He also a very humble guy, after being an admiral and respected leader, he has no problem deferring to Mike. He has been chasing this dream of sailing around the world for the past 25+ years, and was on his way in 2011, when an accident prevented the journey from going on. So now I am determined that we complete this circumnavigation for the both us!
Then there is me:
I know what you're thinking, ridiculously good looking and charming. I am 32 years old, and have VERY little sailing experience. I have been spending time studying a lot and asking tons of questions, and I have actually already learned a ton, but on the job experience is what I am really needing. I lived in South Korea for the last 8 years as a Resident Assistant at a boarding school. Unlike my shipmates, I am not retired, I am just on hiatus, and trying to figure out what I am going to do after I finish with the trip. Any suggestions? (keep in mind Christine need to be able to join me)
Both of the guys are really fun, and we're having a good time so far, even though we haven't set sail yet. At least I think we are all getting on well. I think it's going to be a good time!
First I want to give you an update on some the awesome stuff I have been doing over the past. First, let me just say the guys have great taste in food, and by that I mean, I have been eating deliciously unhealthily. They insure me that once we are at sea I will lose weight, but my current concern is adult on-set diabetes. So one night we went out for Chinese food and I got this fortune...
So this seems like a good sign...
So there were a couple of things I wanted to film, but either I forgot to or it just didn't turn out well, or I am just an idiot- any one of those three things. So one thing we did was take down the mainsail and switched it out with a new mainsail. The mainsail is the sail that is attached to the mast which is the big pole sticking out of the middle of the boat. And although it sounds pretty simple, it's actually a pretty involved project. I did start out filming this project but it took us about 6 hours to do the whole thing, and there was a lot of time in there with me just standing there, and you guys don't need to see that, it's embarrassing. Also at one point the battery died and all the interesting stuff wasn't even filmed unbeknownst to me.
Another exciting thing we did was clean the boat! I know what you're thinking, it's not as glamorous as it sounds. Life here isn't all just jumping into 60 degree water and scrubbing muck of the bottom of boat, sometimes we have to work on our tans! Seriously though, it was actually pretty fun for the experience of it. Basically we just got into wetsuits and jumped into the water right next to the boat and Joe and I snorkeled around cleaning off the sides of the boat. Mike then got an air compressor and regulator and swam below the boat to clean it off. There were times when it was kind of gross, but it was one of those experiences that's cool because I am learning a new skill.
In the evenings we will occasionally go for walks around Coronado, which is a beautiful place. Here's a picture of the San Diego skyline at night from Coronado...
Beautiful eh?
So yesterday we ordered some equipment for the trip, and I ordered some foul weather gear, and it arrived so here's a picture of me, as a sailor, now I just need to learn to sail...
And lastly the moment you've all been waiting for, this is a video tour of the boat I am sailing on, hopefully this will give you and idea of my living situation for the next 18 months.
Tomorrow we are hauling out, or taking the boat out of the water, to get it power washed, and then we will repaint the bottom with a special type of paint. That's our plans for the next few days, so it should be a pretty busy weekend.
Day 5- So today we got out a small zodiac motor boat, and went in search of the Star of India, a HUGE tall ship. When we found it, we were pleasantly surprised to find that 2 other tall ships were out! I think my favorite part of the day was hearing to seasoned sailors critique the sailing techniques of the tall ships, and also admire the majesty and usage of different sails. I am learning tons about sailing already, but I am also realizing there is TONS to learn. Also it was my first time out on the water with the Captain and First Mate, so that was really exciting for me too. At one point our little boat go rammed by a much larger boat, it was pretty crazy! The whole thing was one of those once in a lifetime experiences.
Sorry about the video, it was my first time using the head strap for my gopro camera, and it turns out all my video was facing a little too high. Enjoy!
Ok, so it's 5pm on my first day as a crew member, and I think it's best to start with a story... After arriving late the night before my jet lag has been pretty rough, and so I got about 3 hours of sleep last and was up around 4am, so at 7am, we got together to head off to breakfast. So there's Mike, the captain, and Joe the retired naval officer as the other 2 on the boat (I'll probably do a "meet the crew" post down the road). So this is literally the very first real conversation I have had with these guys:
Me: So have you guys been to Korea before?
Joe: Ya a couple of times...[he proceeds to tell me a few stories]...and then back in the 60s I was on a DMZ tour on the South side and the officer that was showing us around found a soldier that was suppose to be guarding the line sound asleep. The officer then pulled out his gun and shot the guard in the head on the spot.
Me: Oh wow!?!? For real?!? I am pretty sure Korea has changed their policies since then.
Mike: Well, we are old school. Joe told you this story so you know what happens if you ever fall asleep while you're on watch.
So, yeah, this trip is going to be pretty awesome. Even though I am pretty sure he was joking, I am NOT going to sleep at watch. From there we went to breakfast at a Mexican restaurant, and then we ran some errands, and stopped by the boat.
So, thanks to Kevin Midkiff for the suggestion, my Christine action figure will be named Teeny, as in Teeny Steeny (Steeny being a pet name I have for Christine). So Teeny had a chance to visit the boat too...
Teeny sees the Whistle Wing V for the first time!
Teeny decides to take a nap in my bunk
Eventually I'll do a video tour of the whole boat, but right now you can see a little better my set up. Where the green blanket is, on the right side of the metal pole is my sleeping area. Where Teeny is hanging out is my storage space.
Teeny is getting into our food storage! Typical.
Well, now it's time to head off to dinner with Joe. Coronado is a beautiful area, and the weather is amazing here.
I feel like the above song was written for Christine and I...listen to the lyrics, the guy even talks about leaving his girl to sail around the world, awesome.
So anyways this post is dedicated to those wondering about Christine and I being apart for the trip. In the future I will probably try to get her to write a post talking about her experiences and how she's holding up, and even how she feels about her travels. For now I'll address a few things: some people are concerned about us being apart for 18 months, so I think one thing that may help is for people to understand that we will actually only be apart for about 2 months at a time. We currently have plans to see each other about 4 times a year. We are fortunate that Christine works a teaching schedule, so this Christmas she will meet up with us in Mexico, and then for spring break she will meet us somewhere near Tahiti. I think it also helps for people to realize that this is not uncommon practice, military couples do this kind of thing all the time for longer periods of time, and still have amazing relationships. We are both excited for what we will learn from this experience, but also nervous about being apart. I am not excited about being apart this much, and I totally wish that we were doing this together, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
To help ease the pain Christine had an action figure of herself made to keep me company on my trip, which is totally awesome, so this is the start of a series. I plan on taking pictures of her everywhere I go, so that she can experience the trip too. As it has been pointed out, it's probably only a matter of time before I go all "Castaway" on it and call the doll Wilson, and have complete conversations with it, etc.
Christine and my Dad out for lunch
So the above is the first in the series, it's a picture of Christine and my dad as we had a farewell lunch together. See ya in 18 months Pops! As I type this I realize Christine is a weird name for the doll, so what are some suggestions for a name for the action figure that looks like Christine?
So at this point I've been back in the US for a couple of days. I'm sitting at a counter a stereotypical American diner, like something you would see out of a movie, and I'm writing this post on my iPhone.
It's been an awesome few days visiting with some kindred spirits out here. I don't like using the term kindred spirits as it's cliched and makes me sound like a tool, but it really is the best way to describe it. Thanks to all of those out here that I was able to see before I head off, you really have been a blessing to me.
I'm flying to San Diego in a couple of days for the real start of my trip, and I got an email this morning from one of the guys and just got me really excited. They are out there preparing and they are getting excited about heading out soon too. It looks like our departure date will probably be sometime during the week of the 24th.
Thanks for reading, I'll have another update soon!
Well, it's a sad day but it had to come. This past week was Christine's birthday, so I shaved off my beard for her. Don't worry though, this will be my last shave for the trip. Now I will probably shave my neck initially, and whenever I need to use my mask, I'll shave my mustache. I leave Korea in 4 days now, and the journey begins! I hope to see some of you while I am in the states!
So this latest video is kind of long one, and so you can
totally skip and just read the below list if you want.A lot of it is just me practicing my video
editing, which apparently I am still awful at.Also I realize some of my shots are awful too, but I didn’t care enough
to go back and do reshoots.
Anyways, this is my packing list.What to bring when you’re away for 18 months
and have a limited amount of space… somethings aren’t in the video
-1 Northface base camp duffelbag
-1 Boreas repack 15- daypack with camelbak and
Nalgene bottle
-1 40 Liter waterproof backpack
-1 Gopro camera with accessories
-sea sickness medicines
-1 solar charger
-ACR aqualink personal locator
-Sailing gloves, and foul weather gear
-1 macbook air 11” with DVD player
-Keens hiking sandals
-Teva water/ hiking shoe
-2 pairs of sandals
-EMS travel duffel
-1 beach towel and 1 pack towel
-1 ball cap/1 bucket hat
-1 laundry bag
-2 webbing belts
-1 leather man multitool, and 1 sailing knife
-a bandana and a buff
-3 pairs of glasses and 2 pairs of sunglasses
with glasses strap.
-1 alarm clock
-6 pairs of socks and 6 pairs of underwear
-1 headlamp
-1 bathroom bag with toiletries
-1 silk sleeping bag liner
-aqualung sling shot fins and tusa booties and
dive gloves
-Dive mask and snorkel with extra strap.
-1 sleeping bag
-2 dress shirts
-1 windbreaker jacket and 1 pair of rain pants
-3 fleece jackets and one cotton hoodie
-1 pair of travel pants, 1 pair of dress pants, 1
pair of jeans
