Heading Home...Part II
Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog entry but believe me, there’s not a whole lot to report at this point. Here’s a day by day rundown of the mostly boring events that have transpired since the last time I posted (pictures are pretty much random):
August 8th: I thought my iPod succumbed to the harsh salt water environment as it wasn’t functioning properly. At that time, night watches officially began to suck for me.August 9th: Today I lost two lures while fishing, both of them lost with fish on. One of the fish actually jumped out of the water once it was hooked and it looked like a wahoo (ono) from my vantage point on the stern of the boat.
August 10th: The weather faxes are starting to look grim which means that our return passage may take much more time than we initially anticipated. Richard is now checking for updates twice a day with the hopes that maybe, hopefully, things will change quickly. Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out the best plan for rationing our food and getting anxious that I haven’t hooked into a fish yet.
August 11th: In Lahaina, I picked up a book titled Fornander’s Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I. The book is basically a genealogical history of the chiefs and chiefesses of the Hawaiian Islands beginning after the initial migratory period of Polynesians up to about the mid-nineteenth century. The author, who lived during the latter part of this epic and was married to a Hawaiian chiefess himself, laid out all the important battles in that period that shaped the political boundaries of the individual island kingdoms which eventually were united under Kamehameha I in the mid-nineteenth century. It took me a long time to read this book; I actually started reading it on July 16th but each character’s name became a stumbling block not being fluent in Hawaiian. Given the tone of the book, if Kamehameha had not been successful in uniting all of the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom, it sounds like the chiefs might still be feuding to this day.
A Very Short, One Act Play…
Richard: You stink.
Brian: I’ll bathe at 2:30.
The End.
I had to put long pants on today for the first time since before arriving in Hilo weeks ago.
I started reading Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer; my friend Carol is moaning in disgust because she and I both adamantly believe that friends don’t let friends read Twilight sequels.
August 12th: Richard is now saying that it will definitely take longer to get home than initially planned. The days and nights are getting somewhat cooler, necessitating pants (is this a turning point?).
I have been “going to the gym” every day since we left Hanalei. My routine includes the following exercises (25 repetitions x 2 sets: dips, sit ups, push ups, bicycle sit ups, bicep curls (with resistance band), seated row (with resistance band), and standing pec fly (with resistance band). I am determined to lose all the weight I gained by eating out for the past month while in the islands!It’s been getting light out at about 04:20 each day.
August 13th: Finished Eclipse (CY, only one more to go! HA!). Began reading An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke.
August 14th: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!August 15th: Finished An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England; began reading All Fishermen Are Liars by Linda Greenlaw.
August 16th: Finished All Fishermen Are Liars; began reading The Big Burn by Timothy Eagan.
We have not had any usable wind in the past few days and this has become quite disconcerting. Richard and I have been discussing ways to make food, water and fuel last. I still have yet to hook into a fish on this return passage and that is getting kind of frustrating. Richard fixed (again?) the water pressure issue. I have a persistent low-grade, background headache every day and I think it’s related to the swells and all the rocking the boat is doing…kind of annoying. The days are still warm but by suppertime the temperature is quite chilly and nights are downright cold.
August 18th: Today I had to don my snorkel mask and swim under the boat on the suspicion that there might be something stuck on the propeller (like discarded line or something equally evil). There wasn’t but I did get to see these neat little black and beige fish that have been swimming with the boat for a while now. I think they use the boat as some sort of protection or cover from the larger predatory fish in the area. Not sure if they understand that if they hitchhike all the way with us that they will end up in the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest…their decision.
A cotter pin holding a shackle on the main sheet at the traveler track broke loose today. Took us a while to get that fixed but luckily we had a spare shackle on board.
August 19th: Fish on! I was down below sleeping and Richard got to yell my favorite fishing phrase. This tuna was a bit smaller than the one I caught on the way to Hawai’i but will be enjoyed just the same.August 20th: Today I discovered that my iPod is not toast; it’s just that my earbuds have loose wires…night watches no longer officially suck.
August 21st: Finished The Big Burn. I have completely run out of books to read on board; good thing my iPod is working again!
August 22nd-23rd: We finally got some decent wind and have been able to sail and make head way towards Anacortes…Finally! It is a bumpy ride which makes everything we try to do on board difficult.
There you have it, all the boring details of life aboard Osprey on the homeward passage. I’m hoping that we are only about one more week until pulling into our slip in Anacortes. It will be good to get back on terra firma, see friends and family and sit back and reflect on this amazing journey.
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