It had just gone 0420h when I arrived on deck to start my watch and to complete a handover with Alessandra. After our handover was completed I took the helm, falling into a rhythm with Sea Dragon’s dance with the wind and sea. The clouds had cleared giving way to bright stars and a waning moon that looked like it has been painted on a black canvas. The seas had finally started to behave after the previous few days of large rolling waves resulted in restless sleep and punishment to those that let their guard down by not holding on while moving about the boat.
My mind wandered into thought, as I guided Sea Dragon northwards, I could only help but realize how different our world was aboard her, compared to those on land. A message from my friend Sydir still vivid in my mind from the night before, which I had received on my satellite transceiver read, Hi Trevor! Thank you for your care! They are constantly bombing Kyiv and other major cities, so us and the kids escaped to western Ukraine….I had met Sydir and his family in Greece eight months previously and had been their charter skipper on a nine day sailing holiday.
Nine moths later, here I was, on the helm of Sea Dragon in the North Pacific under the same skies where our only problems were trying not to fall over or avoiding the need to be on deck when Scott was on the helm as he was likely to give any of the crew an involuntary shower of the North Pacific. This only made us smile and laugh. Anna would later fall to the fate of Scott´s hands.
This life at sea made me think of the first sailors that had gone before us and what changes they must have witnessed when they returned home years later from long voyages and how untouched and vibrant the various Atolls in the Pacific must have been back then.
As we near the end of this voyage from Palmyra back to Ó Ahu it is clear that the adventure has offered different perspectives on both the world and life at sea, along with the different challenges the crew found on both the downwind and upwind legs.
One thing is apparent, the crew that came aboard Sea Dragon is not the same as they were when they arrived. They have discovered more about themselves and the world around them along with learning about life on the open Ocean.
The three weeks on board Sea Dragon has shown the far reaching effects of mankind, the pristine coral of Palmyra, the power of Mother Nature and the respite from being connected to the world as we know it! Well some of us at least! We are a lucky few that get to share these moments and to experience the most remote places in the world very few will every get to see in their lifetime.
In closing……¨ The sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home.¨ Christopher Columbus