The anchor was pulled, the main sail was left down (no wind) and the diesel engine was started. By 7 a.m. we were pulling out of Chalong harbor in Phuket, Thialand and heading toward Sumatra, Indonesia.
It had been my second night and third day spent on Helena, Kevin’s sailboat, and my home on water for the next seven weeks.
Yesterday we checked out with the harbor master, immigration and customs and today we set sail (or rather motor).
We maneuvered through dozens of boats, passed rocky islands and a few hours later there was no land in sight. The sun was high and a familiar motion sickness feeling was keeping me quieter than usual, but Kevin maintained his end of conversation.
So far, between all my boating experiences, which includes the trip with Gary from Malaysia to Thailand and the countless ferries I’ve ridden, I’ve yet to experience full-on sea-sickness. I have not been incapacitated by ceaseless vomiting, pounding headaches or incessant sweating. Unfortunately, I do often in the middle of the afternoon, feel slightly nauseous, fatigued, severely aware of the heat, throbbing between my temples and a very strong desire to lie down in silence.
I’ve managed to will myself out of succumbing to the ill feelings, but I don’t feel like singing and dancing.
Tonight will be my first night watch because we are running for 48 hours nonstop and Kevin and I will rotate being awake through the next two nights. While on watch it’s important to make sure we are running on course and not getting hit or hitting other boats.
I’m not nervous about staying awake (my night shift is from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.) but I am worried I will do something wrong like misread the GPS (thank goodness most sailors have upgraded to modern technology and rarely use paper charts and maps anymore!) or misjudge the distance of another boat? This is Kevin’s home, without insurance, and for seven hours I will be responsible for her wellbeing.
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