31st March, 2008
Starting our sea-trial with a day of crazy weather simply meant that it could only get better. Today was the better day one can only imagine. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, the seas were calm and the wind was a mellow 15 knots. We had a leisurely morning, leaving Half Moon Bay by half 10 and cruising out into the open waters. After a fair share of man overboard drills, and might I add Maura and I rescued our man on our first attempts, we ate lunch on board and enjoyed the afternoon. Not long after lunch I spotted a spray of water on the horizon only to be followed by a whole pod of whales. When you are the only boat around and the only people watching the whale fins on the horizon you feel truly blessed to be where you are. The rest of the day was spent with the wind at our back and we came into San Francisco Bay right at sunset. We left Sunday at sunrise so it was fitting to return days later at sunset. Instead of returning to the pier we’ve set anchor near Angels Island and now its movie time. That’s right, we have movies on board so Brent’s on popcorn duty and we are about to chill. An epic day if I do say so myself.
30th March, 2008
“Good morning Everyone!” Brent hollers from the deck and Hannah and I wake up, pull our gear on and go on deck to see an orange morning haze behind the Golden Gate bridge. We are heading west and Ini is showing us how to operate our life vests and harnesses. We figured it out just in time, because within the hour we were facing 30-40 knot winds and 15-20 foot swells. All the sea sickness remedies in the world could not have kept me from getting sick today. ‘2041’ likes to get likes to get wet – this much is clear. Every third wave crashes over the bow and travels most of the way to the stern. In the middle of the day, I turn to Hannah and say, “I love this safety harness”. It is wonderful knowing you are attached to the boat at certain moments. We spent the entire day in almost gale force winds, and then pulled into Half Moon Bay at 20:00, when things finally calmed down. Once the motion subsided, we all became normal human beings again, talking and laughing and eating the first bites of real food all day. I couldn’t even hold down 2 tablespoons of water since 08:00, so I was eternally grateful for Hannah’s warm, delicious dinner and the comfort of my bunk.
30th March, 2008
I woke up Sunday morning and Ini and Brent had already departed from the Hyde St. Pier in San Francisco . I walked on deck right as we were cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge and the sun was rising. It was breathtaking….but so were the rolling waves that were gradually getting bigger. Good thing I took my motion sickness medicine the night before because the nausea was setting in quick. I haven’t been sailing in 7 months so getting my sea legs will take a while and Sunday was quite the introduction. We set the sails and turned off the veggie oil engine and the sailing began. 30-40 knot winds and 20 foot swells…what a way to get your sea legs back. The nausea wasn’t going anywhere and neither was I. I found a nice spot on the deck that blew salty sea air in my face yet still protected me from the cold crisp bite of the wind. I was pretty good until I ate a cracker. That didn’t stay down long so I just watched Brent and Ini man the deck. Maura and I were pretty worthless as deckhands at the moment. 4 o’clock rolled around and I hadn’t eaten or drank a thing so I tried another cracker…and another…and they both stayed down! Success! I wasn’t feeling much better but neither was anyone else. We decided to escape the weather and pull into Half Moon Bay harbor. After a couple rounds of setting the anchor we finally were in for the night. It was amazing how fast we all felt better once we got to calm waters. I made a dinner of sun-dried tomato and kidney bean couscous with mixed vegetables and sausage for the meat eaters on board! I put it down considering all I had eaten prior to that was two crackers.
Now it’s early Monday morning, I slept like a log last night, and I am up for another day of sailing. I think the weather is calling for 10-15 knots of wind today. Yay!
29th March, 2008
We got to the boat early Saturday morning with the hopes of getting her shipshape for a sea-trial. We intended on leaving Saturday afternoon and sailing west to look for wind, waves, and weather but when 7pm rolled around we realized an early morning Sunday departure would be better. Brent and Ini finished mounting the solar panels to the aft deck while Maura and I cleaned and organized the cabins. Books, nuts, bolts, tools, food, and safety gear were all over the place and needed to be put in their place….or some place where they wouldn’t fly around when we were heeling over at 30 degrees. In the middle of all the work and cleaning, I made my first meal on board the 2041. Whole wheat pasta with a mushroom red sauce, fresh steamed broccoli, and a sprig of parsley from the farmers market that day. Yummy. It really worked out for the better, getting used to the alcohol stove while we weren’t rolling around the high seas! I had a sneaky suspicion that cooking the following day wasn’t going to be so easy. After dinner, we worked until 1am so that we could leave at sunrise. I think it’s safe to say we were all tuckered out and ready for bed!
28th March, 2008
Download Voyage for Cleaner Energy
