Archive for July, 2015

Leg 2, Day 3 – here we go again…

As I had no real expectations the first time we headed out in Doris for leg 1, similarly I had no idea what to expect from leg 2. Luckily, I have a huge desire to get to Samoa and so this made getting back on the boat in Hawaii relatively easy. There is something about Western Samoa that draws me. I have a fascination with the culture and this is the one destination out of all of them that I have never visited before. So, it is with this deep motivation that I find myself on Day 3 of the second part of the adventure across Oceania! Woohooooo!!

It has been interesting to see how easily I’ve managed to slip back into the unique daily lifestyle but partnering Lizanne has also opened my eyes to how much of the routine we already automatically take for granted. We mustn’t underestimate the effectiveness of these routines that we took so much time to cultivate and this leg will give us all an opportunity to fine tune what we have already put in place.

The one thing I will never take for granted, however, is the power of the almighty Pacific. Her ever changing nature makes it impossible to do so anyway, and I have no doubt that she will throw us curve balls every step of this journey.

I’m fascinated to learn about Lizanne’s thoughts and emotions right now. We have discussed it briefly, but I think once her seasickness passes, she will have the opportunity to share her observations more clearly. It must be strange to experience the basic things for the first time alone knowing that we’ve all already been through them before.

So…here we go again. We set off on this voyage with a new energy, new boat dynamics, new route, books, music (we’ve all updated our iPods and the amazing Carroll Cox incredibly generously donated to us his own fully loaded iPod to take with us).

Update
– We were surrounded by a huge flock of varied birds diving and gliding around Doris.

– It’s so unbelievably hot that during our team change overs, everything on the deck is too hot to touch.

– I do believe we’ve got another gobbledegook speaker on the boat!!!

Leg 2, Day 2 – The return of the sea sickness

After a hectic 8 days back on land we are back aboard our 29ft home Doris. You would think that after 68 consecutive days at sea it would take more than a week for my body to forget how to live on the waves. But no, i am seasick again along with Lizanne. The best way I can describe it is like being horribly hungover but without the fun night before. We are headed South towards Samoa which is currently 2225nm away on a straight line so we are settled in for another couple of months afloat. Our first night was a beautiful one with calm waters and a really bright moon. The mahi mahi fish are back with us and the sun is cooking us gently both on and off the oars. Our newly installed cabin fans are working a treat though. We also had a couple of friends who had departed the Hawaii Yacht Club this morning pop over to say hello on their way past in their sailing boat. Next stop Samoa!

Leg 2 Day 1: Aloha Hawaii, next stop Samoa!

Wow what a whirlwind, i cant believe a week has gone and we’re back on Doris! I’m sitting back in the cabin after Ems and I have just rowed our first shift, leaving the dockside of Hawaii Yacht Club and the shores of the surf, such a surreal experience.We’d always anticipated that this would beone of the hardest parts to the row, getting straight back into the row after the first leg. In true honesty it’s actually really surprised me how comfortable we all feel aboard. I’ve been hugely surprised that we all share similar feelings to the start of this leg.

It was as ever an emotional cheerio to the folks, both my parents and Emma’s mum were there to see us off, alongside all the amazing Hawaii Yacht club members. They greeted us well, hosted us amazingly and then saw us off in style! Our parents thought they’d join in the celebration by wearing hawaii t shirts with !’you can do it’!

Our host families too were so accommodating and lovely and all I can say, is that at the ripe age of 85+, i can only wish I have half the energy, spirit and positivity as those ladies do, they’re amazing! (note that whilst in America i may turn into an American and so when everyone says ‘its amazing’ so will I!)

So, for the next 60 days we’ll be out rowing, eating, sleeping as a usual etc. ,and as ever we will continue with our blogs

Wow, this week has both dragged on a bit and passed by ridiculously quickly.
The sun has now set on our last day on land and we are busy trying to wrap up our lives on shore and store it away nicely for the next few months.

Our delicious packs of freeze-dried food finally arrived today so we spent most of the day playing Tetris with Doris, trying to fit everything we need for 2 month survival out at sea. Doris is a little magical. It is rather phenomenal what can fit into that tiny gorgeous little boat.

Liz had a go at testing out the hatches… “See, loads of space!”

We promised ourselves a “last swim” in the Hawaiian waves before heading off, but in true fashion we only got home from a day of packing Doris at 10pm. So tomorrow morning first thing Liz and Laura will be putting goggles on for a proper stroke count.

Wrapping up our lives and trying to end it by tying on a bow, here are some things we’d like included in our “ideal last night”:

Natalia: A bubble bath and 8 hours sleep
Emma: Dinner with her gorgeous mum and enough sleep to be less tired when she departs Hawaii than when she arrived
Laura: Dinner with family
Lizanne: Watermelon and a long shower

Hawaii has treated us exceptionally well, and we are sad to say goodbye.
If anyone plans to row across the Pacific I highly recommend popping this place on the list!

We aim to leave tomorrow 28th July 11-12:00 midday Hawaiian time (22-23:00 UK time)

Tonight we will all spare a thought for our near-future selves and appreciate the comfort of a solid foundation.

Cheers Hawaii

Aloha xx

It’s all about team bonding!

We had Skype chats with the utterly wonderful Ella in the morning and tried to thank her for all her incredible efforts with our social media while we were out on the ocean…but words really can’t express how grateful we are. Ella is a super star and we would not be able to share our story without her.

Next was a catch up with Andrew from New Level Results. It was great to reconnect and have the opportunity to introduce Lizanne to our Best Year Yet programme that we will all review during our journey from Hawaii to Samoa.

No team bonding is complete without the obligatory ‘jump’ photo, so we headed to the local park to spend some time watching the surf rolling in, laughing and doing some jumping!!

The evening was spent by doing some reflections over dinner and sharing each other’s hopes and fears for the row ahead.

The plan is to leave for Samoa on Tuesday morning, so tomorrow will be an exceptionally busy last day in Hawaii.

Time has flown and once again we will need to savour our last taste of fresh food, monophasic sleep and regular showers…! As difficult as it will be to leave the comfort and stability of land, we are ready and excited to begin our next adventure.

Let’s see what the almighty Pacific has instore for us… x

Today we spent the morning packing our snack packs. With the help of the Coxless Crew parents who worked like troopers we packed 264 bags of goodies to sustain us on our way to Samoa. Entertainment was provided by the arrival of a couple of the Transpac yachts finishing the race and arriving at the Yacht club to celebrate. When the Hawaiians host somebody they certainly do it in style providing freshly barbequed food, drinks and music for their crews. Fortunately the sailors couldn’t eat it all and we were invited to enjoy the leftovers.

In the afternoon we ran through some of the routines on the boat with Lizanne and ran through the process for deploying the para anchor. We also packed up some of the hatches on Doris so she is slowly getting ready to head back to the open ocean. Our freeze dried food delivery has been delayed until Monday by customs and the FDA so we will now be leaving early doors on Tuesday.

This evening we had a well earning date night with the amazing Sarah Moshman. Food, a hilariously funny rom com film at the cinema rounded off by frozen yoghurt. It was fab to spend some time with her not behind a camera and reinforces how perfect a fit she is into our little team helping us tell our story.

Finally our evening was completed with a Skype with the lovely Kirsten who keeps us connected with the real world while we are out at sea. Over and out for another day!

For those of you that may recall, we had an awesome moment when out at sea, when we got contacted on VHF by a nearby container ship the Mokihana. Finally today, we got to meet them in person. Katie (2nd Mate), Tom (Captain) & Ethan came to meet us, to see Doris up close and to kindly give to us a gift from the Mokihana. Captain Tom was also shown the Echomax that Tony had fitted, so he can sleep soundly that his advice was heeded and we now have a Radar transmitter aboard.

This evening we had the pleasure of being invited to the Hawaii Yacht Club’s notorius Friday night dinner, live music and dance. It was an opportunity for us to present to the room a message of huge thank you to the Hawaii Yacht Club, along with a special thanks to our wonderful host families, Donna and John (seen here having a wonderful dance together) and Loretta who got accosted by my dad!

….. I think it was my dad that got whisked off his feet and in the process got out danced by an 85 year old who’s still got it!

Steve (Vice Commodore) and Steve (General Manager) seen here with the signed shirt we gave them as a thank you.

However, slight hiccup as the evening drew to a close and I handed over the keys of the hire car to Tony as we left. 5 mins later he was back and couldn’t find the car. My initial thoughts were that he’d left his glasses at home and then I realised the car was definitely not where I’d parked it. Of course it was then that I noticed I’d parked in the only 2 ‘permit holder only’ spaces – doh! The car had been towed! So after tony had thought he’d get an early night, I put a stop to that and we were off to the pound to pick up the car. Ooopsie daisy! x

Current temperature: 27 *C

Today was another productive day ticking things off the list of things to do.

Shopping, photo downloading, oar trimming, fan installing (!!!), snack pack prepping amongst other things and most of the day spent down at the Hawaii Yacht Club again.

We all went for a wonderful dinner with our utterly fabulous host families (Donna and John and Loretta) and ate until we couldn’t eat no more…

The meal was in fact a last supper, as today was the day we had to say a sad farewell to Izz. It was very bizarre seeing her off at the airport and knowing that she would be flying home and not getting back on the boat. This will be the first time in 3 months that we have not spent 24 hours together and to be honest the enormity of that fact will probably not sink in until we get back on the boat and she is not physically there. Without a doubt, however, Izz will be everywhere in spirit. She’ll pop up in the wet weather hatch (her favourite) or on a dark, slow moving night shift when one of her stories comes into our mind. She’ll be there whenever we eat her favourite foods or when one of ‘her’ songs gets played.

There was no need for this to be a sad farewell really….as Izz is still travelling with us.

The end of one era…only means the beginning of a new one. Although it will be strange to see Izz leave, we are so excited to have Lizanne continue the adventure. The transition has been a quick and wonderful one as it feels as if she has already been hanging out with us for months.

The change in team dynamic will be interesting and ‘a change is as good as a rest’…as they say…so bring on Leg 2, with another great combination of varied personalities and character strengths x