Rock’in and Roll’in All Night

That’s what we’ve been doing all night.  Winds have been 20 gusting to 35 since yesterday afternoon.  Waterford is in a relatively sheltered spot in Ireland, so I’m guessing the winds are really howling in the north and west.

During the night, it was like I was sleeping in one of those rocking cribs.  Really nice; made even nicer knowing I am tied to a dock that isn’t going anywhere.  It even made me think about why I don’t miss our beautiful Manhattan apartment with the roof top garden oasis, we built a few years ago.  I did the design and found a carpenter to do all the hard work. The apartment is now rented; we may sell it this summer.  But lying in bed last night, feeling the rocking motion of the water, brought home to me how close I am to nature here and how comforting that is.  So while I miss my NY friends; the apartment Julie and I loved so much for 7 years, less so.

Fundamentally, maybe that’s why in the middle of the Atlantic, thousands of miles from anywhere, we were at peace.  In fact, the lure of the blue ocean, to just jump in, was unbelievably strong.  Never something to fear, we embraced it. The ocean was also noticeably saltier than near the coast.

Back to now, these winds would have been much more stressful if we were on anchor.  I would have gotten only a few hours’ sleep, at most.

The main reason for lack of sleep on anchor is that in spite of the various anchor alarms I use (alarms that use GPS and sound an alarm if we move a specified distance).  On numerous occasions, I have convinced myself that we are moving laterally.  I don’t think I have ever been right either, but the feeling is so strong, I must get out of bed, and run to the pilot house, prepared to fire up the engine at the first sign of danger.  Being in a dark forward cabin is one of the factors that cause this.  It has certainly made me even more aware of the dangers of vertigo that pilots face in dark, FIR conditions.  And the only cure trusts your instruments and not your brain.

So for the last few hours I have been finishing the pilot house reorganization.  90% of the stuff is put away and I’ve just been doing the odds and ends today.  I’m writing this post now, sitting in the salon, because while in the pilot house not long ago, I realized I was getting sea sick!

Yes, tied to a dock, going no place, I was getting sea sick.  Maybe I just needed a little water, but that is usually the first sign.  20 minutes later, I’m fine now.  I think having my head under the helm station for an inordinate amount of time was the culprit.  But we are also bouncing in a non-rhythmic way.  Since Dauntless is tied to a floating dock, under such conditions, the lines pull on the dock, resulting in a jarring motion.

I’ll adjust the lines again.  I let you know the results.

Author: Richard on Dauntless

I’m an eclectic person, who grew up in New York, lived overseas for many years and have a boat, Dauntless, a 42 foot Kadey Krogen trawler yacht. Dauntless enables me to not only live in many different parts of the world, but to do it in a way that is interesting, affordable, with the added spice of a challenge. Dauntless also allows me to be in touch with nature. As the boat glides through the ocean, you have a sense of being part of a living organism. When dolphins come to frolic, they stay longer if you are out there talking to them, watching them. Birds come by, sometimes looking for a handout; sometimes grateful to find a respite from their long journey. I grew up on the New York waterfront, in the West Village, when everything west of Hudson St. was related to shipping and cargo from around the world. For a kid, it was an exciting place of warehouses, trucks, and working boats of all kinds: tugs and the barges and ships, cargo and passenger, they were pushing around. My father was an electrical engineer, my mother an intellectual, I fell in between. I have always been attracted to Earth’s natural processes, the physical sciences. I was in 8th grade when I decided to be a Meteorologist. After my career in meteorology, my natural interest in earth sciences: geology, astronomy, geography, earth history, made it a natural for me to become a science teacher in New York City, when I moved back to the Big Apple. Teaching led to becoming a high school principal to have the power to truly help kids learn and to be successful not only in school but in life. Dauntless is in western Europe now. In May and June, I will be wrapping up the last two years in northern Europe, heading south to spend the rest of the year in Spain & Portugal. Long term, I’m planning on returning to North American in the fall of 2017 and from there continuing to head west until we’re in Northeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, where we will settle for a bit. But now, my future lies not in NY or even Europe, but back to the water, where at night, when the winds die down, there is no noise, only the silence of the universe. I feel like I am at home, finally. View all posts by Richard on Dauntless