The Big Left Turn


We've got a lot to talk about today, so let's get started.

First off, we've got the big left turn. If you aren't a sailor from the Seattle area, you might not know what that is. Well, it's simple. It's when you go out the Strait of Juan de Fuca and turn left. It's the first big step for a cruising sailor leaving our area and heading out to take on the world and her mighty oceans. It's what symbolizes leaving. That left turn puts us on a collision course to Mexico. It's the holy grail of left turns, and if you haven't guessed, yes, it's a big deal.

Even though we left over two years ago on our big adventure, the big left turn is really what it boils down to. And even though in the last two years we have been to 6 countries, we've hiked over 4,000 miles, we've scaled high peaks, and we've sailed thousands of miles, the past couple of years were really child's play. The big left turn is what it's all about. And once we make that big left turn, it means we are really gone and off to see the world. And what do you know, tomorrow is the day that it's going to happen.

The most common question we've gotten lately from our family and friends is, “aren't you so excited?” As you might guess, it's pretty exciting...sort of. The travel and adventure part of course is exciting, the goal achieving big left turn is overly exciting, and the collision course to Mexico is also exciting, mostly because I love tacos and churros (if you haven't tried churros, try them, they are DELICIOUS!). But there is the other side of all of that which isn't super exciting.

The only way I can describe it is like this. We have a good friend who spends his days preparing for and competing in Ironman competitions. All of his days are spent working out, sweating, training, spending money on gear, and crying continuously about how much time and money he spends doing all of this, only to get severely beat up during the competitions. During the training times and even more so during the day of the big event, he will always tell you, “This is my last race. I'm not going through this again.” Then what do you know, after the race is over, after he is collapsed on the floor crying in agony, and after he cries some more because he like to cry a lot, he says “there is a race in England in 6 months and I just signed up. Tomorrow I have to get back on the bike and start training.”

Offshore sailing is sort of like an Ironman race. We don't have a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26 mile run all in the same day, but it is totally an endurance event. We train, we prepare, we sweat, we cry, we bleed, and we spend way too much money in order to get beat up in the open ocean while searching out freedom and adventure in far off lands. And sailing offshore is as much of a mental game as it is physical.

There are the obvious torture tests of the big ocean, like seasickness and being out of sight of land for days on end. With no visual reference, your mind likes to ask over and over again, “are we going the right direction?” Everything is constantly moving. Try sleeping when your bed is moving up and down over huge rolling waves, or when you know that you only have 3 hours until it's your turn on watch again, or when there is some tiny rattling noise on the boat that is coming from God knows where, and you can't find it...but it's keeping you awake trying to figure it out. Eating isn't any easier, because of course there is seasickness, but more than that, try cooking a nice meal when everything is moving...always moving. The motion is constantly moving. Motion. Always.

But of course there is the other side of all of that. There are days at sea that are incredible. There are times when you can't imagine why you wouldn't be doing this. The sunrises, sunsets, and stars at night are the most glorious that you will ever see (and of course you will be awake for all of those things because you never sleep...never...ever). The sound of the boat gliding through the ocean swell is mesmerizing, there are whales and dolphins and sea birds that you get up close and personal with (it's way better in real life than seeing these things on a screen), and there is a major sense of accomplishment when your feet touch land again. I would guess that it is pretty similar to completing an Ironman competition. You almost can't wait to do it again. You forget about the agony and torture of it all and think about the next destination you can visit with nothing but the power of the wind. It's pretty amazing really.

So, tomorrow is the big day for the big left turn. We are currently anchored in Neah Bay on the very tip of Washington State, waiting for some weather off of the California Coast. We are doing our best to time our departure to get us to California just as a gale is dying down and before the next gale springs to life. According to our math and available weather forecasts, if we leave here on Monday morning around 6 AM, we should just skate through the dying and forming gales in northern California.

We aren't exactly sure where we will land yet in California, but are thinking somewhere either in San Francisco or in Monterey Bay. We'll decide based on weather and how much we want to get off of the boat. We will be at sea for roughly 7 days, and after those 7 days, we'll be pretty happy to set foot on land again. I'm pretty sure that by the end of those 7 days, a huge greasy burger will be in my immediate future, and a cold beer will be in Brenda's.

If you aren't aware, you can now follow us and our progress in real time. We have included a link on our “links” tab in the upper right hand corner of this website titled “where are we now?” (it doesn't work on all devices so I'll put a link down below). It should pull up a map in a separate window that plots us and our track on that handy little map. You may have to click on the “+” symbol next to my name to get the track to show up. If you click on the “+” symbol next to my name, it will also allow you to send us a message via our satellite communications system by clicking on the “message” button. We would love to hear from you while we are bobbing around in the middle of the ocean, especially if you can't sleep and we are on our 3 AM watch.

The map link is:


Also, our newest episode of our intensely riveting video series is now up on Youtube. That link is down below.

This definitely doesn't feel like summer.

Where the ocean meets the sky.  Getting close to Neah Bay.

Load number 1 of 6.  Thanks Costco.  It's never easy taking groceries to the boat via the dinghy.

We got to hang out with my Mom for a few days in Sequim, and as we were leaving, I was trying to get a good picture with her.  She was too busy crying.  Don't worry Mom, we'll be fine.  Remember, this is a good thing.
Here is the link to our newest Youtube video.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbGM7IiCPJ0

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