SSIS longboat trip 2015

1. May 18-21, 2015

2.  “We shall not cease from exploration, and
the end of all of our exploring will be to
arrive where we started and know the place
for the first time”
-T.S. Eliot

3. Boats docked @ Jones

4. Eating breakfast
ahead of a long day Loading up our boats
Tawan standing guard

5.  “The sail flaps in the wind. The air is warm
and moist. “Ready About!” Sasha yells. The
water parts from flat to wavy. ‘Helms A Lee!’ I
scooted to the other side of the boat which
makes a sharp turn. Wind presses against our
faces. Small waves rock the boat.”
 -Sonora Tate

6.  Let’s go sailing! Journeyman & Tern separate
Captain John tells us how to tie
knots
Cruising

7. “It was hard to hold the jib really tight so it wouldn’t slip.
The rope gave me calluses and my hands would hurt
everytime I had to pull in the jib or know when we were
tacking to switch the jib. I kept having to readjust the
the way I was holding the jib. Once I was sitting with it
wrapped around my hand and John soon notified me
that this could take off my hand. So I held it tightly in
my hand and I could feel some of the little strings on the
rope sliding down my fingers. The next day Nahja told
me I could wrap the jib sheet around a thole pin and
then hold it. From then on, it was smooth sailing.”
-Gwendalyn Westerveldt

8. Crossing paths with the Adventuress near Deer Harbor

9. “One last point…come on we can do this,” I said. We
were heading towards Shaw. We were scoping out Bill
Gates’s property when we couldn’t sail any longer. We
took the sails down and got out the oars. “Paddle, 2, 3,
paddle, 2,3,” Forrest and I said. We just have to get to
that point on the rocks and we will be there. My arms
ache and my face burns in the sun because Gwen was
borrowing my sunglasses. We came up on the rocky
point and see…more Bill Gates property!”
-Sonora Tate

10. Breakfast at Shaw; Eggs + Bacon.
Yumm!
Departing Shaw
At the helm

11.  “My favorite moment was our 2nd night. We
were on Shaw, and we were all huddled
around the fire. We were singing songs and
laughing. We started telling ghost stories.
Gwen, Nickie, and I, were all hugging sitting
really close together. Then Sofia came
behind us and we turned around and
screamed. I put my hands on my ears and
kept saying ‘I’m gonna die’”
 -Hannah Larkin

12. “I smell bacon from my tent. I put on my jacket
and started walking to the kitchen. As soon as I
sit down, Nahja starts running and telling us that
the boats are beached.”
 -Rotor Luigs

13. To drink or not to drink Lay low
Benedict Cumberbatch? Frankie and Kramer navigating
Maybe Not.

16.  “My favorite moment was this: sailing from Shaw to
Turn, it was very windy and cold and we were heeling
over. Everyone was calm though. Some people were
looking through Juniper’s journal or sleeping or
drawing. It was peaceful in a crazy time, while other
people were singing, “Benedict Cumberbatch!”
-Frankie Black

17. “I learned that the fastest our boat went was 4.7 knots.”
-Sasha

18.  “I learned to keep a clean tent and an easy way to hold
the jib.” -Rotor Luigs
 “I learned that if you are rowing really fast but not to
the pace of everyone else you will slow down the boat
and go nowhere.” -Gwendalynn Westerveldt
 “I learned that you cannot be irritable and not expect
others to be irritable back. And that it’s hard to wash
out bacon and egg grease.” -Sonora Tate

19. Leaving Turn Island Going home!

20. “There is no better feeling than waking up early, before
sunrise, outside, surrounded by a sea of fog. Our last
morning on Turn really felt like a moment suspended in
time, calming silence interrupted by an occasional blast
from a passing ferry. These are the times that I try to
forcibly remember every snapshot –a glistening sea lion,
a platinum white sun burning off the fog, the sound of
wooden oars churning the water in time. “A drop of
Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm, and we’ll all fall
in behind.”
-Forrest Marowitz