New Year, New Username, New Adventure, Old Friends
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New Year, New Username, New Adventure, Old Friends
I haven’t posted that much here, but my old username was RIPSteve. I requested a change because I’ve moved on from that mindset.
There’s no good acronym for what he really was: an alcoholic friend who was my boyfriend 40+ years ago. He re-entered my life almost 5 years ago, and for a little while, we both engaged in some magical thinking. Ultimately, he was just a problematic friend for whom I had a lot of misplaced compassion. I still cared about him, though, and his passing last April 17th is what brought me here.
The advice I got allowed me to get out of my own head and start to move forward. Engaging in my favorite hobbies and activities was difficult, however, because almost all of them were affected by COVID.
All of that said, I was able to travel over the Thanksgiving holidays, and now I’m embarking on what will be the most challenging adventure I’ve ever tackled: Sailing across the Pacific to help some Australian friends reposition their sailboat from being hauled up (stored) in California just as the pandemic hit, and bringing it home.
There’s really no way to tell how long it will take, because even typical estimates will be affected by the fact that Omicron will likely affect our ability to enter the usual ports along the way. Fortunately, the boat is large enough to be provisioned for six weeks, and this really will be a straight “Coconut Milk Run”. No cruising around the Marquesas, Tahiti, Cook Islands, etc.
What I’m most excited about is that I’ve never crossed the equator under sail, and although I’ve been in the Southern Hemisphere several times, I’ve never seen the southern cross. I’ve done several Atlantic crossings, though, and night watches are magical. I’ve never felt so small.
It will be busy, boring, and everything in between. I’ll be with old friends I haven’t seen in years. We’ll hate each other for a while at the end, as is tradition.
The irony is that the song “Southern Cross” was one of Steve’s favorite songs, but doing this trip has nothing to do with him. Not doing it, on the other hand, would. Even more ironic is that an Alden Schooner owned by David Crosby, a legendary addict, is where the song was adapted by Stephen Stills. The boat we’re sailing is an Alden Yacht design. My username isn’t an ode to David Crosby or the song, but simply a reflection of the route I’m taking. “CoconutMilkRun” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
I don’t leave for a couple of months, but it’s all I can think about. The universe has gifted me something amazing.
There’s no good acronym for what he really was: an alcoholic friend who was my boyfriend 40+ years ago. He re-entered my life almost 5 years ago, and for a little while, we both engaged in some magical thinking. Ultimately, he was just a problematic friend for whom I had a lot of misplaced compassion. I still cared about him, though, and his passing last April 17th is what brought me here.
The advice I got allowed me to get out of my own head and start to move forward. Engaging in my favorite hobbies and activities was difficult, however, because almost all of them were affected by COVID.
All of that said, I was able to travel over the Thanksgiving holidays, and now I’m embarking on what will be the most challenging adventure I’ve ever tackled: Sailing across the Pacific to help some Australian friends reposition their sailboat from being hauled up (stored) in California just as the pandemic hit, and bringing it home.
There’s really no way to tell how long it will take, because even typical estimates will be affected by the fact that Omicron will likely affect our ability to enter the usual ports along the way. Fortunately, the boat is large enough to be provisioned for six weeks, and this really will be a straight “Coconut Milk Run”. No cruising around the Marquesas, Tahiti, Cook Islands, etc.
What I’m most excited about is that I’ve never crossed the equator under sail, and although I’ve been in the Southern Hemisphere several times, I’ve never seen the southern cross. I’ve done several Atlantic crossings, though, and night watches are magical. I’ve never felt so small.
It will be busy, boring, and everything in between. I’ll be with old friends I haven’t seen in years. We’ll hate each other for a while at the end, as is tradition.
The irony is that the song “Southern Cross” was one of Steve’s favorite songs, but doing this trip has nothing to do with him. Not doing it, on the other hand, would. Even more ironic is that an Alden Schooner owned by David Crosby, a legendary addict, is where the song was adapted by Stephen Stills. The boat we’re sailing is an Alden Yacht design. My username isn’t an ode to David Crosby or the song, but simply a reflection of the route I’m taking. “CoconutMilkRun” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
I don’t leave for a couple of months, but it’s all I can think about. The universe has gifted me something amazing.
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Originally Posted by dandylion 
Quite adventuresome, I say!! lol...I get scared when the water in the bathtub is over 5 inches.
It’s a well-traveled route, and we’ll be in radio contact with other vessels if we get in trouble. But that’s SUPER embarrassing.
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Originally Posted by Spiderweb
What an adventure! I’m excited for you. Happy and safe travels!
But the ocean is a really great place to get out of your head, because there’s nothing you can do about anything. For weeks/months.
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Congrats to you!
To be very clear, I am crew. I can skipper a smaller sailboat (34’ or less) in coastal waters, but trans-oceanic crossings? I’ve only done them as crew, and it was always with a shipbuilder as the captain. It will be the same for this crossing. There’s something very comforting knowing that if something in the rigging breaks, someone can actually fix it, instead of white-knuckling it to a port.
All of us (4) are competent sailors and know about systems, and I’m looking forward to taking the helm during watches, but I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that the minute things get scary, I don’t run for help.
You should do a milk run! The Canary Islands to St. Lucia is only three weeks! Don’t waste that work you’ve done.
To be very clear, I am crew. I can skipper a smaller sailboat (34’ or less) in coastal waters, but trans-oceanic crossings? I’ve only done them as crew, and it was always with a shipbuilder as the captain. It will be the same for this crossing. There’s something very comforting knowing that if something in the rigging breaks, someone can actually fix it, instead of white-knuckling it to a port.
All of us (4) are competent sailors and know about systems, and I’m looking forward to taking the helm during watches, but I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that the minute things get scary, I don’t run for help.
You should do a milk run! The Canary Islands to St. Lucia is only three weeks! Don’t waste that work you’ve done.
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