Sailing on Sea Dragon from West Palm Beach to Bermuda would be my third time sailing the Big Blue. And each time I have gotten seasick and puked until there was nothing left in my stomach. So now you’re probably wondering, with my “winning” streak of seasickness, why did I still come back to blue water sailing. Call it stupidity. Call it stubbornness. I see it as determination. Something within is driving me to find that awe moment of sailing that I had experienced from my first ever sailing on the Corwith Kramer and the second trip with Sea Dragon around the Dominican Republic. Reaching these moments where I felt high off of life is much more rewarding when I had to work for it. As a practitioner of Chinese Kung Fu (which translates to “hard work” in English), this concept is not foreign to me. The concept that things are much more worth it when you have to work hard for it.
After having fought seasickness to the death for the past few days, I finally reached that moment I was seeking. It came when I was riding the helm of Sea Dragon and watching the sun rise with my watch team, Shanley and Billy. At that exact point, I had felt truly alive and happy to just be. I also realize that before boarding Sea Dragon, lately these moments were far and few in between. If I really care about doing what I love to do, I need to take steps, small or big ones. I’m not in high school or college anymore. I’m 28 years old now. It’s about time that I do less of following other people’s footsteps and do more of making my own.
Like Captain Eric said early on in the trip, “This isn’t band camp anymore, Laura Le.”
– Laura Le, Gulf Stream Exploration, May 29, 2015
