Ever since we left Nassau, we have been suffering the great misfortune of motoring straight into the wind. We got all the way to the Dominican Republic in this manner; motoring steadily but slowly straight into eight foot waves. Even some of our most seaworthy crew members, at one point or another, felt the effects of the constant churning of the ocean; its power was recognized by everyone who got seasick. Even Cedar, who lived on the boat prior to this expedition and has been sailing many times around the whole Caribbean felt his stomach getting upset and threw up after taking only one bite of his lunch— a delicious burger that he unfortunately did not get to enjoy. Due to the fact that he is always full of energy and happiness this did not faze him in the slightest. In fact, afterwards he hopped onto his feet asking “Hey, did anyone get that on camera?”

But this blog post isn’t about seasickness and motoring through powerful waves. This is about how it all turned around for the better. Upon leaving the Dominican Republic, we began our journey to St. Kitts. Because of the “V” shape of the fuel tanks, we miscalculated our fuel usage and began to realize that we were low on fuel. This might sound unfortunate but this actually ended up being a very good thing because finally after three weeks of either motor sailing or just using only the motor we were able to unfurl all the sails, and turn off the main engine.

The feeling that followed was unlike anything I had felt before. The silence of the motor finally being off, and the boat heeling over 20 degrees to the starboard side brought a whole new feeling to the boat. Although some things fell inside the boat and books flew across the room, there was something about the feeling of actually sailing that brought peace to the situation. Everything calmed in an instant, and we were off.

We finally had all of our sails out for the first time (Genoa, staysail, mainsail and Missen). The best part about having all of the sails out is that it makes going through the waves more pleasant for everybody. You can still feel the waves but it’s a lot less noticeable because using the sails makes the boat cut through them more smoothly than the motor does. The one problem we had— we weren’t going the right direction. Because we were being forced to sail so that we could save some fuel for docking, we had to tack. This is the act of sailing in a zigzag pattern to follow the wind since you can’t sail straight into the wind. So, just as we had everything in order on one side of the boat, including books and water bottles and cups, we heard the shouting sounds of Captain Ken from the helm “We’re tacking again!” With those words, the boat hurled violently the other direction, tossing the books and bottles across to the other side of the boat. Some kids shrieked in terror, while others giggled and laughed over the tumultuousness of the situation. So it was for the next 20 hours until we arrived in St. Kitts. Just as you got used to sleeping on one side of your bed, you would be tossed to the other side, and sometimes off your bed.

In St. Kitts we will be visiting and orphanage and exploring the city and learning about a whole new culture, again!

Ever since we left Nassau, we have been suffering the great misfortune of motoring straight into the wind. We got all the way to the Dominican Republic in this manner; motoring steadily but slowly straight into eight foot waves. Even some of our most seaworthy crew members, at one point or another, felt the effects of the constant churning of the ocean; its power was recognized by everyone who got seasick. Even Cedar, who lived on the boat prior to this expedition and has been sailing many times around the whole Caribbean felt his stomach getting upset and threw up after taking only one bite of his lunch— a delicious burger that he unfortunately did not get to enjoy. Due to the fact that he is always full of energy and happiness this did not faze him in the slightest. In fact, afterwards he hopped onto his feet asking “Hey, did anyone get that on camera?”

But this blog post isn’t about seasickness and motoring through powerful waves. This is about how it all turned around for the better. Upon leaving the Dominican Republic, we began our journey to St. Kitts. Because of the “V” shape of the fuel tanks, we miscalculated our fuel usage and began to realize that we were low on fuel. This might sound unfortunate but this actually ended up being a very good thing because finally after three weeks of either motor sailing or just using only the motor we were able to unfurl all the sails, and turn off the main engine.

The feeling that followed was unlike anything I had felt before. The silence of the motor finally being off, and the boat heeling over 20 degrees to the starboard side brought a whole new feeling to the boat. Although some things fell inside the boat and books flew across the room, there was something about the feeling of actually sailing that brought peace to the situation. Everything calmed in an instant, and we were off.

We finally had all of our sails out for the first time (Genoa, staysail, mainsail and Missen). The best part about having all of the sails out is that it makes going through the waves more pleasant for everybody. You can still feel the waves but it’s a lot less noticeable because using the sails makes the boat cut through them more smoothly than the motor does. The one problem we had— we weren’t going the right direction. Because we were being forced to sail so that we could save some fuel for docking, we had to tack. This is the act of sailing in a zigzag pattern to follow the wind since you can’t sail straight into the wind. So, just as we had everything in order on one side of the boat, including books and water bottles and cups, we heard the shouting sounds of Captain Ken from the helm “We’re tacking again!” With those words, the boat hurled violently the other direction, tossing the books and bottles across to the other side of the boat. Some kids shrieked in terror, while others giggled and laughed over the tumultuousness of the situation. So it was for the next 20 hours until we arrived in St. Kitts. Just as you got used to sleeping on one side of your bed, you would be tossed to the other side, and sometimes off your bed.

In St. Kitts we will be visiting and orphanage and exploring the city and learning about a whole new culture, again!