Voyage Journal

Today was my first real sailing experience. What better way to take the adventure head-on then to take your first sailing ride on boat 2041, a 67 foot yacht traveling the world on a“Voyage for Cleaner Energy.” After seeing Robert Swan tell his crazy and enthusiastic stories at my school, San Diego City College, of walking to both poles, sailing around Africa and speaking to students and country leaders on the affects of human actions on the environment, the only way I wanted to spend my twenty-second birthday last Wednesday, May 7, was touring the boat that carried such an amazing message. With a little persistence, and a return visit the following day for a second tour (where I also was able to take a bay tour and meet the full crew) I annoyed Maura enough to allow me to come with the crew for a sail up to Newport Beach. This was an amazing opportunity, there’s no way I was going to pass it up! I was invited alongside my Anthropology professor Steve Boucaren, a student from San Diego State,and a couple of fellow City College students, Beau and Marsha.

The morning started off. . . interesting. I awoke later than expected and got to the Harbor as fast as I could after picking up Beau. We boarded the yacht a little after 7:15 AM. Being that this was going to be my first real sailing experience, I was a little nervous as to how my Ohio-born, land-locked body would react with the motion of the ocean. To take extra steps, I bought some Dramamine the night before. We got on and got all settled in by running through a quick intro of ourselves to each other. The eclectic collection of different individuals aboard was the element that excited me most for the day ahead! As we departed the harbor, we put on our harnesses and became familiar with the boat. Hannah, the crew chef on board, brought up some muffins as a muncher for breakfast. This was the only thing I ate so far. The morning was actually a lot colder than I thought it would be with gray skies and cool winds. I think it was the first morning in San Diego since I have moved here where I wore jeans, two shirts, a fleece sweater and winter hat! The ride was smooth at first as we passed beautiful San Diegan cliffs and departed from the harbor. I was feeling great, until about twenty minutes later. . . .I most likely tripped my mind out and could not ease it as I kept thinking of the possibility of sea sickness. For precaution purposes, I took a couple of Dramamine, but it was too late. Within an hour after taking them, I could feel my mind swimming in nausea and all of the blood was sucked out of my face. I went to the bathroom and looked in a mirror - even my lips were white! It didn’t take long for others to catch on as I sat their quietly in the doghouse, hands folded in front of my turning stomach with a grim, green face. After multiple remedies from ginger, to fresh air, to simply taking deep breaths, I proudly puked my guts up onto the beautiful and great yacht that is 2041! I left my mark! I felt terribly embarrassed and even worse when the deckhand, Jake, had to help me clean it up.

I knew if I just started over,I could get myself together. I napped in one of the bunks for almost 2 hours and it was awesome. I never thought sleeping on a boat (especially after puking all over one) that it would be that peaceful. I slept like a baby in a rocking cradle that was the ocean. I awoke a million times better and was stoked to enjoy the rest of the day with my new friends and the sea. Today, there was never a dull moment. I got my sailing experience as I tugged a few ropes and manned the jib (I have no idea what that means or if that is what I really did, but it’s a learning process, right?!) From great conversations with educated, aware, interesting and passionate people, to catching fish, to great meals, to the relaxation that only floating upon the sea can bring you, to even the pukers (I was so happy to hear I was not the only one who had barfed up their pride). When I woke, Hannah prepared us hummus and pita chips for a snack, and a delicious pita-turkey-swiss-possibly Italian dressing-sandwich with a perfect pink lady apple. I chatted up with Brent, the laid-back handy man and first mate on board, on Aussie politics and the open sea. Maura, the paparazzi and group coordinator, had so much to say about her passionate biology-related knowledge and cool hiking stories. (I was excited to hear that she was a Berkeley Alumni and even more excited to go!) The Captain did a great job at explaining the workings of all the technicalities on board, from the bio-diesel engine to the solar panels overhead, and was knowledgeable in sailing, the environment, and sea related topics. Hannah had so many great experiences from her past to relate to, especially from her time with the Peace Corps and being stationed in Malawi. Jake, the deckhand, was a quiet student that was chosen as a student to go to Antarctica. He said he had to just get up and go the day after they called! Pretty amazing people.

I spent alot of time on the front deck of the boat. It was so amazing to look out and just see open sea, and only the horizon. At the very front, I just sat there, with no other view of the ship in front of me, and it felt like I was floating alone along the sea. It was an ecstatic and very blissful moment. I was eventually joined by the rest of the crew and guests and we just got to know each other more and laid out in the sunshine. Later, as if they day could not get any better - we started to see at a distance what looked like fish jumping up out the water, all over around the boat. We turned around and we didn’t have to go far to find a massive pod of dolphins swimming all around us. There had to be way more than a hundred in the pod, as they surrounded the area around the boat. They playfully rode next to us, getting so close that they were actually hitting the bottom of the boat. Gliding back and fourth and cutting rapidly through the water, they jumped up out of the water and cut across each other, showing us tricks and turning over on their bellies. We were just as interesting to them as they were to us.

I am so happy to have experienced today on this boat. It symbolizes action and hard work of those that are fighting to make a difference in this world and live through earth, not just in it. At the same time, Maura put it perfectly today: “See, working for a cause and living the right way can be fun!” Indeed it can be, as today I participated in learning how to live a sustainable lifestyle and act respectively toward the environment, and it was all a blast! Thank you to the crew of 2041 for this amazing experience. I hope I can join the cause even further in Antarctica one day.

• Ryan Ballard, San Diego City College Student

I must say today was my favorite day of all so far on the voyage. We had our first official boat tour in San Diego , and I wish I had a microphone running below deck all day and night. We had tons of amazing students, researchers and boaters on board non-stop and the conversations ran the gamut from awesome new solar technologies to farmers markets and San Diego book clubs. We had groups from San Diego State University, Scripps Institute, San Diego City College , and fellow sailors. At one moment today, I looked around the boat and saw Robert Swan speaking to students in the cockpit, Mark the Captain speaking to a group in the doghouse, and students chatting away on deck about their ideas and dreams. I could feel the energy zipping around between us and it felt great to be involved in such a melting pot of ideas and inspiration. I want to say “Thanks!” to all of you amazing people who came to see the boat and share your ideas and stories. I was truly inspired to hear about how many cool things you are all doing in your lives. It gives me a lot of hope for our future to know that your spirits are at the helm. A special shout out to Scott and Matthew from SDSU ClubE3 (www.clube3.org) for your enthusiasm and input (love the donate a book idea!) and also to Cyrus for the pep talk after your 4-year voyage. Y’all are amazing and it was a pleasure meeting you. Now get back to work doing all that cool stuff we talked about ;-)!

Maura Fallon-McKnight

Waking up at 2 am for my night watch is becoming a regular routine. Brent is usually at the navigation station and Jake is sitting across from him but when I woke up they were both missing. I came up on deck where I found them standing under star filled skies watching the underwater lightning streak of dolphins swimming along side us. Lit up by phosphorescence, their bodies were glowing bright against the darkness of the seas. As they raced each other against the speed of our boat, they left lightning streaks in their wake. It’s 2 a.m. and the night was silent. It was a moment that was for us. You can’t capture the awe we felt or the magic we saw on a camera.

The next morning, as we made our way into San Diego , we tried to share our enchanting moment with everyone else but I think it is most vividly held in our memories. Arriving in San Diego after a fantastic sail down from Morro Bay- sunny days, sightings of dolphins, whales, and sea lions and a cinco de mayo fiesta- we didn’t want to let the passengers go. It’s always a relief to have students on board who are motivated, active, committed and, most importantly, who are dreamers of a healthier mother earth. Smile.

Hannah Huntley

After a night of phosphorescent waters causing the trail behind our motor to glow blue and sharing stories aside our Cinco De Mayo decorations, I woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I walked outside to greet good ‘ol California ’s May Gray. The waters here about 30 miles off the coast of San Diego were a little choppier than those through the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands . I am originally from San Diego and am getting excited as we near my hometown with a perspective from which I have rarely seen her. I spent some of my morning reading and greeting dolphins and birds as we neared the shore. I have a particular interest in Native American culture and had recently just before this trip picked up an Ethnobotany book about Southern California ’s Chumash Indians. It was exciting for me to sail through the Channel Islands where many of the Chumash had navigated many years before. I am interested in their culture because they were true masters of living off the land and in a completely sustainable manner. I try to look to our country’s history and culture to serve as a guide for life, so no time is wasted in making the same mistakes that those in our past made. And so I can use the good ideas and systems of life to build upon for today’s modern society.

I am a fourth year Environmental Management student at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo . I am with the Cal Poly Surfrider Foundation Club, Empower Poly Coalition, and work at the Cal Poly Organic Farm. Through the club and coalition I am involved in I was given the privilege to host Robert Swan’s Voyage for Cleaner Energy at Cal Poly’s Earth Day. Since being on the vessel ‘2041’, Robert’s word and teachings have become even further engraved in my mind. I have taken advantage of all of Robert’s literature and the wonderful crew’s plethora of knowledge regarding pressing issues in our world today. Everything I have taken in has beyond inspired me, and I cannot wait to get back to my community at Cal Poly share my experiences to inspire others to help make change. I am also going to take advantage of Mr. Swan’s Antarctica program and hopefully make the voyage set for next March 2009. Signing off…..

Drew Gaffney
Cal Poly Surfrider Foundation Club
Empower Poly Coalition
Cal Poly Organic Farm
Environmental Management Student
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

We finally got some sailing in this morning, just before pulling into San Diego . It’s a bit chilly but everyone on board is in good spirits. The crew is ready for a short break in port and we passengers still can’t get over the fact that four days ago we were worried about what schoolwork we had to finish for the week. Not even knowing we would have had the opportunity to sail 400 miles around the Channel Islands and meet new people whom we will say in contact with throughout their inspiring journey, and hopefully for the rest of my life. The last two and a half days I have been inspired to change the overall course of life. Time at sea has made me realize it might be the lifestyle that is suited for me and how being one with the ocean can be fully sustainable and fulfilling at the same time.

I am a fourth year construction management major at Cal Poly SLO about to graduate and go out into the corporate world. But I am not really sure if that is for me. I am focusing on sustainable building practices as a concentration in my major and am currently studying for the LEED exam. I hope that once getting into industry this will allow me to further progress the green movement that has already begun in the construction industry. The experience of the last three days came at the perfect time and was exactly what I needed to kick my butt into high gear and figure out what I can change in my life to better myself and the world.

Just wanted to thank the 2041 crew for everything: great food, great stories and good times, all you need for an epic trip.

Nick Harvey, Cal Poly student

To start off, FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO BABY! This has definitely been the most eventful and amazing Cinco de Mayo of my eighteen years. Last night we had a great couscous stir fry dinner with naan (beats campus food any day). My portion ended up in the Pacific after several rounds of sea sickness. Drew beat me to it though and lost the bet he had started in the first place (who’d get sick first). This morning was really laid back and we’ve been chasing clouds all day with little spurts of blue skies. Sea lions have been poking their heads up every once in a while. But nothing compares to the humpbacks and dolphins. Within a ten minute period Drew, James, and Jake jumped in the water to salvage old helium balloons that sea turtles would probably otherwise try to eat or get caught in; We decorated the boat with these recycled balloons. The next minute we saw dolphins playing and swimming with the boat. Hannah then brought out the chips and Mexican music and we had a fiesta! Hooray!

My name’s Stacy Shutts and I’m a first year Forestry major at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. I found out about 2041 through Empower Poly, the Grand Poo Bah of all environmental clubs. I’m here and there with different groups, doing beach clean-ups with Environmental Council. I occasionally work on the organic farm which is a blast. Learning about organic farming techniques and which fruits and veggies are in season is pretty intriguing. It’s great to listen in on the sustainable conversation on the boat because a lot of these people know what they’re talking about a lot more than I do. I’m trying to pick up on some of the boating terminology as well. Maura had some sort of concentration in Natural Resources when she was in school and it’s great to see someone out on a mission like this with a similar major. All of this is pretty inspiring. It’s awesome to see people actually doing what they love. Thanks to the crew for their hospitality and letting us invade their boat for these two days. This is a great trip and definitely beats 9 a.m. math class!

Stacy Shutts,

Student at Cal Poly