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November 14, 1997
Monterey CA, Hawaii pre-departure. Update #5
Friday, November 14, 6:00 AM
Monterey, California
So, a new concrete reality has been added to the heady sense of momentum which we have all been party to in recent days. Last night’s trial run was an immensely valuable learning experience for all of us, in terms of our own interaction with Moksha and her interaction with a new ocean. Our enthusiasm and eagerness to begin our journey can only take us so far before the need for real experience sets in, and although Casey and I both have areas of knowledge which complement each other well, we were before tonight united in a common lack of experience with Moksha in open seas. Our first steps down this road were quite interesting…
Our plan was to leave in daylight and be some distance offshore before dark, but timetables being what they are we missed the sunset before casting off, heading out into Monterey Bay with a full moon making silver of the shifting water, and the sealions barking their farewells from beneath the wharves. Storms to the north were sending eighteen foot swells into the bay, and our transition to the motion of open water was predictable, each of us paying our regards to Neptune over the side on a couple of occasions. At least the fish got the benefit of our dinners, because we didn’t hold onto them for long enough. Just to add to our sense of fun, we navigated flawlessly into the heart of the only kelp patch for miles, which meant handfuls of the stuff being pulled away from the prop - like performing surgery on Moksha, her guts open to the sea while we delved around inside. Seals blew and huffed around us, and thoughts of the rotting hulks in the Sargasso Sea, their bare timbers settling gently into the weed’s embrace, crossed my mind and were quickly shelved. Surgery complete, we pointed our stern at Monterey and headed out, settling into hour watches and quickly discovering what a meditative exercise the action of pedaling becomes. As the body is occupied the mind is free to drift, and make whatever association it wants with the new world around. I feel that tonight our time was too brief to lose the feeling of "battling" the elements rather than going with whatever flow becomes apparent, but with time will come a growing sense of acceptance - and confidence along with it.
The fact that we were unable to come back in under our own power grates on me even now, after sleep and hot drinks. Five miles out, Moksha decided we were becoming too complacent and secure, and threw a broken chain and jammed prop into the equation to remind us that plain sailing is never to be relied upon. Naturally, such a problem had to occur just after I had clambered into the bunk - which proved to be womb-like in it’s snug comfort - so it was up and about in order to bring our combined, limited brain power to bear on the problem. Although the prevailing current was taking us very slowly out of the bay and the swells were high enough to shrink our horizon down as we dropped into the troughs, safety was never in question and the overall feeling was one of annoyance that we were unable to fix such a problem and remove the unit, especially with a pristine spare stowed aft. All manner of strange and shaky tool combinations were tried to no avail, before we had to admit defeat, and speak to Jason and Steve on VHF to arrange a tow. We arrived in harbor at 4:00 AM, a little cold, a little wet and very thoughtful about the implications of our experience - and with about an hour to get showered and clothed and switch on our 100-volt smiles for a live TV interview.
It is undeniably obvious that we won’t be leaving tomorrow, with chains that potentially break after six hours pedaling, but the time delay can only be useful. It was the first time that Casey and I have worked together in the confines of Moksha at sea, and if the night had been uneventful we would have learned nothing about each others capability and style in a situation out of the ordinary. I think we learned positive things about each other, and our approach to the journey has certainly been cemented into a wholly more unified and focused mode. The sense of unreality which we have both spoken of was pretty much blown and washed away during the long tow back to the harbor, with salt spray in our faces (and getting my cigarettes wet) and lightning illuminating the gray horizon behind us. A new timetable has been dictated to us by chance, but with it comes new knowledge and purpose to add to the current momentum. Watch this space.
-John
Posted on November 14, 1997 5:26 AM