Skippers log #19
Position: 12 15N 39 43W at 21:15 GMT Log Entry: I have just learnt that Project Amazon has retired from the race. This does not help my mood on the boat. I was hoping to get to know Sebastian in the stopovers. He was the only other sailor in this race with a cause. It has not been a fun 36 hours. They winds are strong NE- ENE, gusting up to 33 knots making the sea angry. The tropical wave has now moved away from me, I hope. I am still beating with just 2 reefs in the main and the staysail. It has been miserable. Everything is damp. I have felt queasy, bordering on being seasick and have felt listless. It has been too risky to cook a meal, not that I feel like eating. I did have a thick slice of Kate's smoked ham and washed it down with water. Felt a little bit better, but not much. I have tried to snooze, but sleep has been elusive. Spent very little time on deck as it is so wet. I hate the way the boat is pounding. This is not part of the dream, yet it is. This is the part I do not like. But to know how high a high can be, one sometimes needs to experience the low. With all the good, there also comes the mundane, uncomfortable days we can rather live without. But this is not how life is. We have to role with the punches. Every goal has its times when it is not what we want. But there is no quitting. Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Every person must have a goal, but must find the character to see it through. The easy thing to do when things get tough, is quit. At the No Barriers Education Foundation, by leadership and example we try to demonstrate that dreams can be realized. Success lies in the seeking and application of knowledge gain, with hard work to implement one's plan. Neal
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My apologies if the lack of my spelling abilities have offended a few readers. Technology is a wonderful thing, but has its limitations. The software program in which I create the daily logs does not have a spell checker. Nor does it allow me to write my logs in another program and to copy it over and paste it. This is the only system that links to the satellites. Now you are wondering about my team ashore and why they don't fix things. Bob and Diane are the two most reliable people we could find who we could count on for the next nine months to get the logs out everyday. They work normal jobs by day and are volunteers to the No Barriers Education Foundation with what free time is left. They are not journalists or editors, but two people who are willing to give up some time every evening to get the logs out. Dallas Moore at Common Sense Solutions who hosts our site and does the web updates is also a volunteer who uses his time to support our endeavors. The No Barriers Education Foundation was founded in 1997. This month we should be celebrating our first year. I did not put this Foundation together with a grant or someone funding us. I saw a need to inspire and help youth and recognised that I have the ability to help meet that need. Bob Richard and Jim Hagerty in Washington, DC recognised the potential to serve communities around the globe and they volunteered their skills and time to help make this happen. Gwen has been at my side for seven years. When I do something, she throws her entire weight behind the endeavor. She too is a volunteer. Even though Gwen and I work at the Foundation everyday, we do not receive a salary. (For more information about the Foundation please refer to the NoBarriers Web site at http://www.no-barriers.com) My success is more than to finishing this race. Our success is when through our endeavors we can help other people to finish their races. We are here to realize a dream, and to help others turn their dreams to reality. Who knows what those dreams are. It could change someone's life forever, for the better! Neal
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Skippers log #20
09 34N 37 06W at 21:00 GMT
It has been a frustrating 24 hours. I entered the doldrums last night and drifted. Then I felt some breeze pick up and freshen. It was a black night, and soon I was engulfed in a thunder squall and having to reduce headsail. Made progress for 20 min and came to a stop till after sunrise. From position reports I notice Shuten-Dohji was not far away. I tried calling him on the VHF, but heard nothing. During the night my autopilot died and it cannot be resurrected at sea. So I am down to my last electronic pilot, which I am saving for very light airs only. I am using my Monitor Windvane now totally as the main driving force. It is doing a good job, but does wander a bit and demands more of my attention. I managed to get a quick nap after sunrise, with the boat moving. I was awoken by the VHF radio and Minoru calling. We spoke for a while, but it is very difficult speaking with Minoru as his English is not clear and I can't understand most of the words. It must be very frustrating for him with our lack of Japanese. But Minoru and I tried to have a simple conversation, from which I gathered he was fine, but frustrated too. Back up on deck I watched a container ship pass a mile ahead of me heading NE towards Europe. I was envious as I was not moving at all. But I did have a butterfly come and keep me company. There are a few orange with black spots butterflies flittering around. They will not land. Then I spotted Minoru on the horizon. We drifted for about 2 hours in sight of each other, as a huge rain squall developed. When the squall engulfed me I lost sight of Minoru. I sailed S through blinding stinging rain, helming and cleaning up. When I finally popped out of the squall an hour later, I had covered a few miles, and parked for the rest of the day. I used this opportunity to re-run reefing lines through the boom. I was not happy with the way things were chaffing inside of the boom, so I pulled the lines out completely, and used the bilge hose to feed the lines back through. Out here, one has to become imaginative in finding solutions. I am still thinking about Project Amazon retiring. I am disappointed for Sebastian. I hope Sebastian is not thinking about his disappointment of retiring, but reflecting on what he achieved just to get to the start line and spend 20 days in the race. It is sad to drop out, but he accomplished more than a lot of people have. This is just a set back. He will be back some day. I have picked up some breeze. Two friends called to keep me sane. While Gwen was having lamb for dinner, I dined on last nights tuna pasta, a slice of ham and an orange. I have taken a few naps, but am still very tired.
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Skippers log #21
08 58N 36 43W at 03:00 GMT
People have often told me that what I do is courageous. Well, what is courage? I believe that it is one looking out over the world and recognizing a challenge. It could be anything. Neil Armstrong looking at the moon and saying he wanted to walk on its surface, Columbus telling the King of Portugal that there are spice islands to the east, a boy wanting to ride his bicycle without training wheels. We then look at our skills and realize we don't have all the answers, but we are willing to make the sacrifices to aquire the skills. Applying these skills to the challenge is often hard, frustrating work. The courage is believing enough in your self, that you can rise and meet the challenge, even when it looks impossible. You have to have self confidence to have courage. Without the determination and the dedication, the attitude not to give up, courage will not survive. It is a very personal skill. My first act of courage was as a little boy, who had been through major surgery on my hip, spent six months in a plaster cast from my ankle to my chest, followed by months of water therapy, to finally being able to stand and use crutches to take my first steps in re-learning to walk. I was six. Because I could achieve that first step and build upon it, one step at a time, to sail a boat around the world is about planning, preparation, determination and implimentation. Courage is believing that I can do it, one mile at a time. But the people who I believe had the highest degree of courage, were our early voyagers. Those sailors did not have the benefit of modern vessels, materials, navigation and communications. When they made their first voyages from land, it was believed that the world was flat. How did they know that they would return, and not fall of the edge? Yet those ancient seaman set forth and pushed the bounderies of courage to its maximum. But my courage is not just from myself. It is combined with the courage of many people. Firstly, my parents did not kill my dreams by saying I could not afford it. They helped me in any way they could. Gwen knew that this voyage would be tough on both of us, but she did not say don't do it. She helped. Then there are the people in Ireland, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and California who each did a little bit to help in the preparation. Without their belief in my abilities, they would not have invested their resources in this challenge. Success is all our combined efforts together, and knowing that we can make the difference in somebody elses life too.
