My Favorite Night Sailing!

"Day: 9

Date: August 12 2016

Time: seriously early

Thing: Night Watch

That wondrous feeling of singing sea shanties on the open ocean lasted until the singing was over. Then as the crew went to work out the night watch schedule, the ocean began to roll noticeably more. Nighttime was definitely upon us, and people began to head below to prepare for night running (ie, motor sailing through the night, rather than anchoring).

More people were getting seasick at this point. The crew members told us a few times, “Just get down into your bunks, you’ll be fine.” So it became a matter of seeing how quickly you could get ready and get into your bunk, and if you would, in fact, be fine there. I waited on deck for a while, but knew that I had to try to get some sleep, since I would be on duty from 1:20 am – 2:40 am. So below I went! (And let me tell you, if you’ve never tried to sleep in the bow of a boat on the rolling ocean, it is quite an experience. Two words: air time.)

But the real fun began at 1:20: I took over the wheel. I steered a 111’ wooden schooner under motor and sails through the swells of the north Pacific at 1:30 in the morning. The moon had just gone down and it was a clear night, stars speckling the sky like you wouldn’t believe, and the Pacific Swift cleaving a trail of bioluminescence through the waves. This was the first highlight of the night. (And yes, my watch officer and I were both singing snippets of “Wave Over Wave” during that time.)

We were nearing Triangle Island while I was on watch, so we then had to take down the sails. At that point there were three sails up (fore staysail, foresail, trysail) and five of us on deck (skipper, first mate, two of my watch mates, and myself). It was hard work! Skipper and I had to corral the trysail as it was hauled down, but the sail kept wanting to catch the wind, and it was a fight. We did eventually get it down, though, and then moved onto the foresail.

And then the ship’s alarm went off.

I looked around to the nearest crew member (another watch officer had joined us at that point), but she didn’t seem too concerned. I thought, “It’s a good thing I’m already up on deck and not in bed.” And I just kept on pulling the sail. Then five or six of the guys appeared on deck, having heard the alarm, which ended up being great because they helped us tie down the sail (the foresail is one of the biggest sails on the ship). The alarm had stopped by then, and as it turns out, it was the bilge alarm. By taking down the sails we had upset the balance of the ship, so the bilge water (nasty water that gathers in the very bottom of the ship) sloshed and triggered the bilge alarm. In the end, it was all okay.

Then the guys went back down below, and one of the watch officers and I went to tie down the fore staysail. We had hauled it down earlier, but it wasn’t tied very well and it was flapping obnoxiously. So there I was, at the bow of the boat, straddling the bowsprit, holding down the sail and untangling the line while the watch officer tied it more securely. And I looked up at the unbelievable array of stars overhead, with the pitching of the ship beneath me, feeling integral to getting the sails down, and I had one of those rare moments where you really appreciate exactly what’s going on, and how wonderful it is. Taking down the sails was the second highlight of the night. 

And then we arrived at the lee of Triangle Island, about 3:00 am. Our least calm anchorage yet, but quite nice after the open ocean. We lowered the anchor until it was just sitting beneath the surface as we manoeuvered into the right spot, and what a sight that was, to see the bioluminescence trailing off the anchor. And then again from the anchor chain as we lowered the anchor. And then—a lightning bolt of green slashed through the water: a sea lion. And there it was, the third highlight of my night. Bioluminescence is cool."

~Nicole E.

Off to Triangle Island!

"Day 8. August 11 2016 (still).

After our morning romp on Calvert Island, we weighed anchor and set sail for the long-anticipated Triangle Island. Some background: When we boarded the Pacific Swift in Prince Rupert, the crew basically told us, “Well, we’re in Prince Rupert, and in 10 days we need to be in Port Hardy, but between now and then, we don’t really need to be anywhere.” Yes! So we planned our route as we went, deciding where to go based on what we thought we might find. (How about Grenville Channel? It’s really cool. How about Princess Royal Island? That’s where Spirit Bears are most often sighted. How about Calvert Island? White, sandy beaches.  And how about Triangle Island?)

This may have been helpful earlier, but here is a map of our route: https://my.yb.tl/PacificSwift/3359/ 

Triangle Island is the western-most island in a chain of islands off the north point of Vancouver Island (island island island). It’s the south-western most point on that map. 

It was always a possibility that we would visit Triangle Island, but since it required a long stretch of open ocean sailing (10 hours), it was always a weather-dependant destination. But the weather was great (for the entire trip, including the one morning of light rain) and so we decided, yup, it’s off to Triangle Island!

Those were 10 very enjoyable hours. We ended up motor sailing (ie, moving under both motor power and sail power, as each seems to stabilize the other), and it wasn’t the greatest ride for everyone on board (“Barf Fest 2016,” as one of my watch mates called it). But it is definitely something, to be standing at the bow of a rolling ship as it crests each wave and sinks in each trough in a rather unpredictable manner. Trying to balance on the deck became the game of the afternoon.

This is all great, and it all leads up to one of the amazing moments on the trip. Each evening we would gather in the hold and sing sea shanties and other well-loved, more modern songs, but this night some wise soul thought it would probably be disastrous to cram a bunch of sea-sick people into the hold, so we sang up on deck. (Exhibit 1: This picture. Not the greatest quality, but the ship was rolling and I was enjoying myself too much to bothered with pictures.)

So here is the indescribable moment. Imagine being up on the afterdeck of an old, wooden schooner, motor sailing across the open, rolling ocean to a remote destination as the sun is setting on a clear evening. You’re surrounded by a group of your fellow sailors, all belting out sea shanties and well-loved songs with guitars and a cajon, grinning like lunatics (some of us, anyway) and thoroughly appreciating the rarer moments of life.

We were singing sea shanties! On the open ocean! Miles away from shore!

“Wave Over Wave” was an entirely appropriate hit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk9xIw6-aUg). 

“Twist and Shout” was fantastic. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, as only SALTS does it, “Don’t Stop Believing”, “Brown-Eyed Girl”…

Even as I was experiencing this, I knew it was a fantastic, unlooked-for and spontaneous blessing."

~Nicole E.

 

A Beautiful Beach

"Nearing the end! There are still many, many stories from this sailing trip, but only a few more that I’m going to share. This one is significant, though, because it is the first of three amazing things that happened within about 17 hours, making for the clear highlight of my trip.

Day 8. August 11 2016. Part I. After an open-ocean sailing the day before, we had anchored in Pruth Bay off Calvert Island, home to the Hakai Reseach Centre (more remote than Bamfield!). We rowed ashore and tied up at the docks, then took a nice 5-minute walk across the island to the highly-anticipated white sandy beaches. Oh yes, an expansive, surprisingly white, and wonderfully sandy beach on BC’s west coast, warm and perfect for swimming. An isolated beach in the grand scheme of things, yet clearly popular with anyone on Calvert Island. It was incredible to come out of the forest to this. I just wanted to run! It was beautiful. We played a massive game of soccer and Ultimate Frisbee on the hard-packed sand, port sleeping side vs starboard sleeping side. It started out as a large game of soccer, and then after a while we added a Frisbee, so you had to decide what you wanted to chase. It brought back long-forgotten memories of PE class (only this was clearly more epic). Our team got crushed, but I had a blast (my journal says, “Ran a lot. It was glorious!”). And then we went swimming! So great to relax and float on the waves, or try to swim with the waves to get some good speed.

Overall, it was most lovely, and a great beginning to the day. I do love the BC coast."

~Nicole E.

 

Canada Sailing Pt2

"Here is it: the story of Klemtu.
On Day 6 of the trip, August 9 2016, we made our way to the tiny seaside town of Klemtu. Located on Swindle Island, the only way in or out of town is by boat or float plane. We loitered just offshore while our intrepid First Mate went ashore to inquire about docking… and came back to tell us we were all invited for a tour of their bighouse! So we were ferried ashore in the zodiac, and were greeted by some greatly appreciated drumming and singing by George Taylor (https://www.aboriginalbc.com/corporate/profiles/directors/george-taylor).
After everyone was ashore, we went up the hill and into the bighouse, a most impressive building that smelled beautifully and unforgettably of cedar (!). Wooden benches lined two of the walls, and the floor in the middle of the building was sand (one of my first thoughts when I saw it was, “It would be so cool to dance here.”). There were four large totem poles inside the building, two at each end (deliberately made to be asymmetrical to see if anyone was paying attention… my kind of craftsmanship!). The summer worker there gave us a history of the area, and showed us some handheld drums, handmade woven hats, and an amazing group drum made of a hollowed-out cedar log (in the picture, the log drum is between the two totem poles, just behind the bench).
And if that weren’t exciting enough, we were invited back that night for a canoe-blessing ceremony. They had a canoe that the Klemtu youth were going to take on a historical pilgrimage, and the day we were there was the day they were giving it its name. So we came back that night and got to witness the canoe-naming/canoe-blessing ceremony. It was great! I don’t recall the name they gave the canoe, but translated into English it means ‘Peace Maker’. And then after that… we got to watch a song and story performance in the bighouse by the Klemtu youth! How fortuitous is that? This was one of my highlights of the trip.
The youth performed a number of different songs and dances, and told a few of their traditional stories. Two of the youth, a boy and a girl, also received their traditional names that night, so we got to be part of that as well. And then (it just keeps going!) there was a Friendship Dance. It was the last dance of the night, and it was introduced as being “a dance for everybody… That means that we won’t stop dancing until everyone in the audience is dancing with us!” So cool! I wanted to be part of a dance since I first walked into the building, and here was the invitation! It was a whole lot of fun. Lots of laughter and mistakes and most surely some embarrassment, but such a great experience.
And then.
Remember the boy and the girl who received their traditional names? Well, since it was their celebration, they both got to pick a song for the night… and they jointly decided to do a Challenge Song (if you can see where I’m going with this, oh yes, it was magnificent). This was a competition between all the women and all the men in the room. That’s right, all of them. More audience participation! We all gathered around the hollow cedar drum, the men sitting around it drumming, and the women standing. And we would sing a line to them, then they would sing a line back to us, then we would row back with another line, then they would come out with their line again (the women’s lines varied, but the men repeated the same mantra the whole time…). We varied the speed, and whether or not the drum accompanied us. This was amazing! I can’t explain how enjoyable and satisfying and inclusive this was.  It went on for quite some time! (In the end I think it was considered a draw.)
Such a good night. And one of the most special things about it was that it was unplanned. We just happened to stop in Klemtu that day, and they happened to be having a canoe-blessing ceremony and a performance night, which they invited us to. This is what I appreciate about life."

~Nicole E.

My Canada Adventures ~ SALTS

This summer was filled with excitement as I traveled around Canada for 18 days! 10 of those days were on a sailboat, over my birthday, which was a dream come true. I wanted to share some of my adventures, and my fellow trainee in my watch, has written about our trip perfectly. She has given me permission to post them here. I hope you all enjoy reading them! Mahalo, Nicole!!!! 

"This is the Pacific Swift! She is anchored here at Klemtu, a small town where we stopped for a night (and that is another fantastic and slightly surreal story… I’ll get there!).

 If you want to see her under sail, check out the SALTS website: http://salts.ca/media2/images/850/pacific_swift/james-maya-swift3.jpg. 

She’s a topsail schooner (the Pacific Grace is a gaff-rigged schooner, like the Bluenose on the back of the dime). Her sparred length is 111’ (that’s the length from the tip of the jib boom at the bow to the tip of the main boom at the stern) and deck length is 81’. Her beam is 20’ 6”, her draught 10’ 6”, and she displaces 98 tons. She has 3316 sq ft of sails (and the trysail was stowed beneath my bunk…). 

We had 35 souls aboard (oh, what a splendid sight)—5 crew, 4 volunteer crew, 26 trainees. The trainees ranged in age from 13 to 25 and the oldest crew members were 28 (we celebrated 4 birthdays during the trip… lots of cake and spontaneous singing!). We sailed a total of 543 nautical miles through inland waters and on the open ocean, with 2 nights at sea (another great story there).

Here’s a plug for the program: If you have kids between 13 – 25, or you’re between 13 – 25 yourself, I will unreservedly recommend SALTS. If you want to hear more, just ask me! Their website is here: www.salts.ca."

~Nicole

 

Journal Entry #1

A Journal Entry of My Life
February 3, 2016

Today I spent time with a youth group leader of mine. We talked for hours. I let things out. She encouraged, she gave insight, she prayed, and she listened. I was relieved. I had never talked to a friend like I did with her before today. It was encouraging to know that I have a friend like her. Someone I can trust and someone who can help me in times that I don't know what to do. I cried as I let out things that I have been holding in for so long. I was able to let things out that have been hurtful in the past year. We laughed and had fun together in between the serious conversations. I also had times of disappointment on looking back on choices I have made, but I learned. And I continue to learn. I have been learning that my relationship with Christ is the most important relationship to focus on in my life right now. I know it will be hard because I can't see Him, hear Him, or feel Him all the time. I know that I have friends to help me through the tough times in creating this relationship with Christ though. I know that I will have better relationships here on earth if I have one with Him. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Today I made some tough choices. I made choices to focus just on God and me. I'll go on dates with God. I will find fulfillment in Him. 

To sum it all up...


Today I was encouraged. 

Today I cried. 

Today I laughed. 
Today I was disappointed. 

Today I learned.

Today I made choices.

But most importantly...

Today I am me. 

And I am content with today.

Join me as I start building a close and long term relationship with Christ. I know it will not be easy, but I know it will be worth it.

In His Hands, 

Riely Marie W. 

Revived

My ears are being filled with the worlds words.

I easily fall into the thoughts of the world when it is so subtly put in my ears.

I become a lost person and lose sight of who I am and why I am over a long period of time.

I always wonder when I will find myself and find my happiness again.

It is when I am put in the healthy and active setting when I find my happiness. When I keep myself busy with things to do, and when I fellowship with other Christians, my spirits lift up again.

It is the beginning to finding me again.

It is not long after I start the activity of life when I start to care about what is going in my ears and into my mind.

With the help of friends, they suggest good Christian music that I start to listen to again even though it has been a long time since I entered that genre. 

They may not know how they are helping me by suggesting Christian music, but I have been learning that music can affect my mind without knowing it.  And once I start to listen to Christian music again, I realize why I once, a long time ago, only listened to that genre. It keeps me focused on who I am, why I am, what my purpose is, and the faith I have deep down.

I feel like I may be on journey to happiness in this point in my life. I may not understand why certain things are happening or why I am where I am, but I have learned that I need to focus on where I am right now. To be a friend to others, to not worry about my future but have faith and hope in Christ, and to always continue to learn.

From this moment on, I will make the best of where I am in life and live each moment as my last.

With Progress,
Riely Marie W.