We are getting ready to start our 17th day at sea. The first 14 or so days seemed to fly by, but not so now. It feels like we have come so far, yet it also feels like we still have a long way to go. Our dtw (distance to waypoint) reads 541nm as I type this, and it in fact feels like we will never get there.
The reality, of course, is that we have come 5/6 of our journey and have a mere 1/6 left. I’m sure at some point, time will once again start ticking, the clock will start moving, and we will all at once spot land in the distance. In the meantime, I sit on my watch and well, watch the ocean roll by as we meander our way west.
The Pacific Ocean is amazing. I remember so vividly the first time I was struck by the awesomeness, power, and beauty of this, the largest ocean on the earth. We had spent many summers visiting relatives on the East Coast and were very familiar with the Atlantic Ocean, particularly from the Chesapeake on south. But the first time I really saw the Pacific, we were on a family roadtrip from Nebraska to see all the wonders of the western US. I must have been in my early teens. The Grand Canyon was incredible, Las Vegas was exciting, Knotsberry Farm was fun, and Solvang was interesting……But I’ll never forget waking up at the Presidio in San Francisco, and stepping out to see the incredible vista that was the Pacific Ocean, the mist gently rising on the cliffs, the air soft with wispy fog and salt. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It would be another 15 years before I would see the Pacific again, but I never forgot it. And, when John and I finally did move to the Bay Area, it felt oddly like coming home…..
And now, after all these years, I’m still watching the Pacific with wonder and awe. Several days ago, when the motion of the boat was probably at its worst, I sat here in the pilothouse feeling huge waves lift Mystic’s stern like an elevator, and then slide up under her and exit up under her bow. Just as they cleared her bow and she started her descent down the back of the wave, the tops of them would start to curl and I could see light through the deep blue water as it crested and rolled away. It was incredibly, heart-stoppingly beautiful…..
Even today, we still have plenty of motion, the sea is a bit confused and the tops of the waves are covered in whitecaps. But, the water is back to being the deep, dark indigo blue, and I bet if it calmed even a little, you could see all the way down to the bottom, some 14,000+ feet below us. Gorgeous, with the baby-blue sky and white cotton-candy clouds as its backdrop!
What has been striking to us, though, is the lack of sea life we’ve encountered. We have seen not one dolphin, no whales, and but one lonely turtle. Seriously, we stopped to release a skipjack on our line, and there he was….a solitary hawksbill turtle, floating quietly on the surface of the water, watching us curiously. I decided he probably was on his way to Mexico, got lost, and refused to stop to ask for directions….definitely a male. John was not amused….
Interestingly, we have seen quite a few birds. All of the ones we have spotted have been pelagic in nature, i.e. the storm petrels, boobies, terns, and skuas, so they do belong out here; it’s just so mind boggling that they spend most of their time so far from land. Early in our journey, we had several Nazca boobies that would come to our boat during the night, attracted by the fish in our running lights. They would come in and swoop around the boat, their white feathers reflecting the lights in graceful and ghostly movements. It was really quite magical…..
But, I ramble and digress……As beautiful and mesmerizing as all of this is, I think we are all ready to get “there”. As Les said, it’s not so much being done with what we have here, it’s all the stuff we can’t have out here that we long for. He said he personally couldn’t wait for a cheeseburger with crispy Pommes Frites and an ice cold beer. That sounds good to me, but I’ll trade that beer for a nice cold bottle of Pinot Grigio. Rose started waxing poetic about missing green and the earth, but then slipped into hedonism with the rest of us and added that a fresh baguette, good French cheese, and oh yeah, a nice bottle of red wine with that green and earth would be good! Oh yes! That sounds good, too!! My captain said he’s also longing for a drink or two, but is really looking forward to an uninterrupted night’s sleep without worries! (Yeah, I’ve seen his job and I don’t want it! But that sounds really wonderful too!) And, of course, we all agree it would be very nice if we could just stay still for a minute or two with no motion in our world…..
In the meantime, life on board goes on…..Meals get prepared, engine room gets checked, watches are changed, books get read, French gets practiced (well, sort of) and bonitos or skipjacks get landed. ;). We long for a whale, another boat, even a piece of flotsam to pique our interest. Instead, the never-ending Pacific Ocean surrounds us in every direction, continuing its constant and endless movement to wherever it must go.
But why time doesn’t move along with us, is beyond me……
Kathy, your writing is magnificent. Yoiu bring your life aboard alive for those of us locked ashore. Thank you for the experience of sharing your experience. Oh, and tell John, “Thanks” for his notes, too. Between the two of you, you have both sides of the brain satisfied.
When you get somewhere that you have time and broadband, check out this link about a 19 year-old who has ddeveloped plans to eliminate 7,250,000 tons of plastic and trash from the oceans.
http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html
Best to all aboard,
Dave
This is great writing Kathy. Seriously consider publishing a book.
Beautiful narration of your sojourn Kathy. The “awe” in your words reflects the the images in your mind and off your bow! Do keep it up girl. The classic 1952 Old Man and the Sea won Hemingway a Puliter prize and future recognition. They say his writing style of short terse prose helped him to earn that but he has nothing over your imaginative writing Kath. Only one thing….that comment about the lost turtle who refused to ask directions on his way to Mexico……..(poor John being associated with that kind of behavior), careful or I will resurrect some stories about “Days of our Lives on Bradshaw” and post on the blog ha, ha.
Safe journey, Happy Times and Perpetual Good Health to you all.
Blessings………R & V
You, dear girl are a poet! Your descriptions put me there, with you aboard MM. Thank you for the rich experience you are sharing – not just the physical, but the emotional and spiritual journey as well. Loved your “not in the brochure” post. I can just see your face as you are relating it and hear you say, “Yep – Pretty Much…” It sounds like you are keeping things tidy (how many towels did you pack?) and like you managed to really put out a lovely Easter meal – put me to shame, I had a dozen guests and only offered breakfast meats and eggs – what a slouch…and my galley wasn’t rocking. Kisses and Hugs all around…we are on countdown with you and hope that Rose with her first to arrive guess wins the bet. Now that you have your deep blue seas back, I am sure the dolphins will hear you coming and will be out to greet you soon. Will continue to carry my iPhone and compulsively check it every hour for your news. xoxoxo
Ditto to what everyone else has said! Just LOVE reading your posts and can’t wait until we hear you YELL out “Land-HO”! Not many people do the things on their bucket lists especially the life changing ones, but I think you have done just that!
Thanks for keeping us all in the loop! Love to the whole awesome crew of Mystic Moon!!!
Wonderfully done, Kathy!! If it’s any consolation (it won’t be) rest assured that time is continuing to fly by out here in the land-based world and you don’t have long to go. In fact from our perspective we have so much to get done in so little time that we wish we could borrow a little of your time warp in order to chill the heck out. I’m just guessing that you four are in for one of those odd, bumpy land-rides once you sit your butts down in that cafe for the burgers/beers/pinot grigio after the weeks underway. But I can’t wait to read your blog entry describing how it all tasted!
Please keep up the rambling and continue to digress! They are the best parts!
Has the Spot Tracker stopped working?
Missing green must be a Mid-western thing because I said if I ever did off-shoring ever again I would have posters of Ireland onboard. Really- I love blue, but enough is enough. Give me GREEN when I’ve had enough of the blue!!!!
While reading this post, Up On Stage was in the background… I took the liberty to re-word.
If you catch John singing something similar during his watch you can blame me.
On a long and lonesome rhumb line
West of our San Franciscan home
You can listen to the engine
Moanin’ out its one note song
You can think about the views
Or the meal you enjoyed the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When you’re ridin’ four-hour watches
And there’s nothin’ much to do
And you don’t feel much like ridin’,
You just wish the trip was through
Here I am
On the sea again
There I am
Up on the bridge
Here I go
A shooting star again
There I go
Turn the page
When all talk revolves around what you crave
Strung out from the past twenty-some-odd days
Satisfying your need of terra-firma
Sound sleep without waves
You pretend it doesn’t bother you
But you just want to explode
Oh to hear another seaman talk
You adjust the squawk
On the marvelous-ship Mystic Moon
Two strong women, two humble men
Recording lat-long numbers
Handholds, the only way one can stand
Chorus…
Updates with spot-track
3000 miles away
Every ounce of energy
There’s a ship, give way
As the sweat pours out your body
Tending the diesel so she may
Later in the evening
As you lie awake in bed
With the echoes of machinery
Ringin’ in your head
You long for a cabernet
Rememberin’ what the guidebooks said
Chorus…