report from Shibumi

Okay so Im here on Catalina Island and I just got an update from my fellow crew, Georgia who stayed with Shibumi for the last 15 days. It sounds pretty awesome ridiculous crazy. I was gonna try and summarize the details but figured it be better and more interesting if I just copy/paste the email she sent me onto the blog. This is some of what she wrote:

So things started out okay...Rachel was sea sick for the first few days..but to be expected. Then...i think day four..i wake up to fumes off buring antifreeze in the cabin again! Great the engine is still not fixed. Also the cooker stops working...power is low agian...the bulge cannot be used..same as before...except an added bonus...the hand pump (whale) is broken..or did that break when you were still with us? Either way we are down to using that bailer you made to bulge! Then we try to fish...great idea! Then we do an accedental tack..resulting in a jibe and crap..the fishing line is a spool of thread around the propeller. I was feeling slightly confident after our visit to the cenotes to at least dive down and begin the process of cutting it off but was quickly defeated...my beathe is pitiful still. Thankfullly Rachel was feeling strong and we do in the end manage to get it all cut off in the end.

So things are good for a day..Then day six the main sail rips completely in half.

We start sailing with just the Jenny...(.the jib still wont unfurl)...things are ok we still have good speed..and are set to make it around the point between Honduras and Nicaragua. Okay Then day 8 the trusty old dolphin stricker that saved the boat..and the dock from becoming one back in Isla Mujeres...well the brunt of the blow shows up now. I am at the helm when all of a sudden I see the bow sprit moving differently from the rest of the boat. It turns out the dolphin stricker ripped out from the bow of the boat leaving a hole! yep a real hole in the hull! Rob comes back to the cockpit and says ´´girls get life jackets and your passports.´´ Yikes!

Then Rob throws the life raft overboard..that while box up front if you remember..i didn´t even know what it was...but instead of it working it begins filling and then pops..and gets caught..yay in the propeller. Rachel saves the day again with that diving task.


We realize the hole is only into the chain locker..good news..will not sink the boat.

We are a little settled..try to sleep. Then the next morning Rob wakes me up with ¨ Georgia i need your help.¨ I go up on deck to find the bow sprit dangling off the front with the weight of the anchors holding it down and thrashing about the bow of the boat. The main forestay with the Jenny is taking out anything in its path...banging against the mast..the jib..out of control. I just want to go hide in the cabin..the boat looks doomed. Somehow after about 2 hours of Rob being quick thinking and me trying to be the best scared shitlees helper I can be we get everything tied down and not thrashing about further recking the boat.

Anyway it was nuts and the story does not get better...for yet a few more days. Its day 8 when that all happens..we are getting low on food. We sail using the jib..we get it to unfurl and sail to an anchorage...still a ways from shore. Anyway to make a long painful story short...we stay there until it is day 13 with no help.

Finally Rachel and I fix the maing using a fish hook to poke the holes and then thread the fishing line through..I get some crap for only having baught one needle in San Felipe.. Anyway.. we end up heading back west.. which sucked in the end as we really were finally set up to have good wind (what we had been promised all trip) to sail right into Panama.  But it was getting late and I was not going to make it back in time for my job. Plus we were uncomfortably low on food. I was cugging a warm beer with each meal in order to feel fuller.

The main sail only made it 5 hours into our 200 mile trip back west...it busted again..Somehow the motor decided to work agian and we made it to Honduras this morning.

So that´s been the last 15 days of sailing...more than a few times I was envious of you being safe on shore. But really overall it was pretty neat. I got to take over your roll as first mate duties...raising the main, going out in heavy seas to reef the main, you know all the exciting things. Plus we did get some cool sailing in even though in the end we were pretty much where we had been on day 3 of leaving.

To read the other blog, click the "Shibumi" link on the right side of the page

departure

The last week or few days or whatever it was has been good. I left Shibumi and said my goodbyes to Captain Rob and the people of the El Milagro harbor. Georgia and I then took a ferry from Isle Mujeres to the mainland to hopefully find adventure. This began by going to the nearest bus stop, pointing on a map to some random destination that seemed nice, and then buying tickets there hoping we made a good decision. Tulum became our destination. Although it didn't turn out to be the most non-touristy area, I think we chose right.
The next few days involved running about catching collectivos, seeking out some of the ancient Mayan ruins, lying on the beach, meeting random folks/locals, and a bit of cavediving of which has become my new personal fascination.
          I want to take a moment to describe these underwater caves or Ce Notes, although I don't believe my words can hardly illustrate the awesomeness of what they are. I guess the entire Yucatan Peninsula is infiltrated by underground aquafers. Stretching over I think 150klm, the region actually contains the largest system of them on the planet. I thought this was pretty cool. We kinda stumbled into them. We went down into a few of these giant sink holes that allow you to get pretty deep in them. We then got our hands on some snorkal gear and dove in. I wish I had better pictures. I think it was clearer underwater than above. Anyway we spent two days diving into them wishing we could hold our breath longer to go deeper. If you swam way down you could see the divers shining their flashlights way way back around all the stalagatites(mites) in the caverns. Despite not having air tanks, with just snorkal gear one could still swim far enough back to feel completley lost and realize you're about to be eaten by some Mexican cave monster. You would look down and see fifty feet to the bottom and there would be black holes reaching off into some other Ce Note.
          I said goodbye to everyine again yesterday and flew into L.A. last night thinking about everything. I believe I learned a great amount on this trip about myself and about people. I learned nothing ever goes according to plan and I also had my belief reaffirmed that its still best not to have one. I made friends I won't forget and saw God through several new perspectives. I learned I can cook Mexican but can't handle their spices. I learned about new stars and had the phrase inconsistent weather redefined for me. I discovered how to create a good story for myself but also how to be involved with the great story that involves everyone else. I got to re-experience lonliness and and also complete grace. I learned what being stranded in a desert must be like and also how to read a book in one sitting. I was taught about how bad I can stink after a sweaty weak at sea and also how to get used to it. I learned the best shoes are your bare feet. I learned to keep learning as often as possible and that "ridiculousness" is still my favorite word. I leaned that a comfortbale life leads to misery and that believeing in our dreams is what makes life interesting.

I learned a bunch more lessons too, but I'm tired now and need to sleep. Goodnight.

a short clip of nothingness