10/30-11/2 Southbound and green

At 10pm we passed below the four mile bridge which connects Astoria to Washington. 10:05pm I could feel the boat bouncing more than any other day aboard. 10:10pm my books and other personal items were rocking back

and forth along the shelf followed by my alarm clock falling to the floor. 10:15pm waves were slamming along the hull and I began to sweat and felt a bit off…10:20pm quickly slammed my laptop shut, flew off the bed and into the 2.5’ x 5’ so called bathroom/shower floor where the vomiting began! Yup, 20 minutes of rough conditions is all it took for me to experience my first bout of sea sickness! For those of you who have never been sea sick, it is not a fun experience. In fact it was the worst I have ever felt in my entire life. A bad hangover doesn’t even begin to do justice. I had to lock my legs and attempt to stay balanced as the boat swayed from side to side while painful vomiting due to the tensed up muscles which were keeping me from falling limp to the ground. A few vomits and feeling dizzy for an hour or so is manageable, miserable…but manageable. Anyone can handle that, but that feeling intensified by ten, and lasting for 18 consecutive hours is a whole new level of misery. Somewhere into the night a roof tile fell into my bed bringing a chunk of insulation with it. I was so weak and feared vomiting as a result from shifting positions that I didn’t even bother removing the insulation which had worked its way under my sheets. At 8am the following morning I was to report for duty. Reporting to “duty” consisted of me miraculously leaving my room and struggling to the dining room dressed in slip-ons, polo, and gym shorts. Upon arrival of the dining room my body collapsed to the floor attempting to battle the inevitable vomit episode that was coming…which didn’t prove to be an effective method of deterrence. After a good vomit session, I embarked on a two story journey to the pilot house where I was past due. To my amazement I found the ground littered with books, charts, and empty water bottles and standing above them was the 3^rd mate who who’s face was greener than mine. She had a bucket behind her and once our eyes meet, we knew what the other was feeling. My daily duties were excluded for the day. Eventually the water calmed down and my body adjusted to the gentle rocking of the sea. 18 of the 24 crew member vomited the first 12 hours of the trip to San Francisco. The journey wasn’t entirely awful thanks to an hour of watching a pod of four dolphins joyfully surf the bow of our vessel. A quick description of the last 30 minutes of the voyage can’t be omitted from this post… we crossed under the Golden Gate bridge exactly as the morning sun rose to tuck in a weary full moon.