Today was the day! The day I have been waiting for, the day I finally depart for 7 days at sea.
Unfortunately, I have not adjusted to the 13 hour time difference. I woke up at 3 am, and have not slept since. But maybe excitement is partially to blame, or it was the anxiously awaiting my luggage to arrive, determining the fate of this trip. Well, guess what? It did! 8 am on the dot! 2 hours to spare! Pfft, I wasn’t worried…
Now the real excitement kicked in. There was no way I could go back to sleep now. I went out of my room to find Naan, to request some much needed coffee.
Walking out, there was a guy sitting at the pool. He waved, and I groggily smiled back. I was on a mission. I needed coffee, and probably looked like the walking dead. I walked around in circles, eventually leading me back to the pool. I went and said hello and introduced myself. His name was Nick, and he was from Switzerland. After chatting, and having breakfast, I found out he quit his job, and told his family he was moving to Thailand for 9 months. He said it has been the best decision he has ever made. I am envious. One day…
Dirk called me a taxi, costing 200 baht. I am still unsure if you tip or not. I was also told by Nick it is an American thing, and we make them look bad. Oh well.
I arrive at the lighthouse restaurant, about 5 miles away. I was the first to arrive. Well, if you know me, this is a rarity, and truly shows my excitement. I see two women with packs walk in, and ask if they’re here for the sail trip. Yes, they were! A mother and daughter from Denmark, Cristina and Tina. I did not catch what they do for work. The next, a young radiologist, Carin, from Dublin, Ireland. It was easy to tell when people came in with packs, looking lost. Then Sarah, a college counselor and Eric, a car dealership salesman/owner, from Chicago! Sarah actually grew up in Oscoda, and they were stunned I knew the city. We met the rest of the crew on the boat. More people than I expected. Two men, Max, from London who is a building surveyor, Karston, a physicist from Germany, and a women named Evy who does some sort of engineering, from Greece. She is my my bunk mate, but decided to sleep outside on the bow tonight. Then our captain, Francis, from France! He has been coming to Thailand on and off for 3 years. I feel so lucky to have such a unique, intelligent crew to be with. Many of them had never sailed. A lot were asking me “boating” terms. Apparently I’m either good at bsing or I actually learned over the years of being a skipper. It helped when I learned together with MY captain, Nick. Learning to sail with a SO definitely strengthened our relationship. Efficient communication is a must. 3 boats later, I had to have picked up on something, right?
WE’RE OFF! Unfortunately,the wind was under 10 knots, so we motored for about an hour. I hear the magic words, “Rene, Karsten, let’s raise the main!”
Woo! I hoisted the main, but it took forever! This boat is massive. Welcome back calluses!
The wind died down, but a little motor power did the trick. We made it to our docking point. Some jumped right in, but came out shivering. It was about an hour until sunset. I think I’ll wait for the sun…
We all sat around chatting. It was nice. Everyone seems open minded and ready to try and learn new experiences.
Finally, the delicious smell from the galley is served.
Red snapper, sticky rice, curry chicken, and a veggie medley. YUM! What a feast to the eyes, let alone my belly!
After dinner, we all laid out on the bow. It was too cloudy to see a lot of stats, but the moon was beaming. We chatted some more. Surprisingly, it went well talking about American politics. Maybe it’s because only 3 of us are from America, and they others just pity us. We did give them crap about how much holiday they get.
Max, was like “I had leftover holiday to burn before the end of the year.”
We asked “how many days do you have left?”
He replies “15.”
“Rolls eyes.” Great, now they pity us more.
Thank goodness I actually slept until 5 this morning! Every hour counts! Then again, going to sleep at 1030 pm last night, over 6 pm like I did the previous night, kind of defeats that win.
Oh well. At least I get to see the sun rise! Awful service on the boat, which I secretly enjoy.
We are off to Ko Hong, first thing after breakfast. I cannot wait for day two aboard!
Expanding Horizons 