Swell
The wind was 15-20 knots hard on the nose as I beat my way 10 miles across the atoll. Sure enough, at a few miles out, I spotted masts sticking up through the coconut trees!?!
“It’s true! There really is a haul-out yard out here in the middle of nowhere!?!”… Read the rest
I evaded the second lunch with Jacques the following day when a customs boat circled outside the quay around midday…
They launched their tender, and a group of uniformed men came speeding toward the quay. The captain scrambled out of the dinghy, then stormed over to Swell.
“What are you… Read the rest
When the door to the propeller plane closed, I was alone again… but not for long. I sat under the shaded airport waiting area for less than a minute before an old man teetered over to greet me. I was used to being approached by the locals here; it was… Read the rest
After rising to our great challenge, the sea rewarded us with smooth sailing through the afternoon until the wind dropped off entirely and we motored on into the calmest, starriest night I could ever remember in this wind-worn belt of the Pacific.
Rotating on 3-hour watches, I relieved Crystal just… Read the rest
We’d both hardly taken a breath upon setting the sails, when… POP!!!! The headsail let go at the mast head and tumbled down into the sea?!!
What!?
I scrambled to the bow, followed by Crystal, and we heaved the wet mess aboard. Swell proceeded to drift quietly in the light… Read the rest
Swell was ready–dinghy on deck, gear stashed and stowed. My leafy companions—basil, aloe, mint, lemongrass, and sage plants were wedged securely around the cabin. The night was almost eerily calm. The Milky Way exploded across the sky from behind the silhouette of the island. Swell heaved slightly against… Read the rest
A human being is part of a whole called by us “the universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us … Read the rest
Somewhere in my subconscious, I know it’s dawn. Force my eyes open, I roll out of bed for a peek… What? It’s pumping, again?! So much for sleeping in… Part of me hoped it would be flat after the week or more of non-stop swell… I wonder if my arms… Read the rest
“You know what the first rule of sailing is? … Love. You can learn all the math in the ‘verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don’t love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she … Read the rest
After far too much deliberation, I decided that one thing was certain: I didn’t want to start the next leg of my voyage in a hurry. Instead of rushing off in search of a safe place to leave Swell in the unfamiliar islands to the west, I arranged to once… Read the rest
