FIRST BIG CROSSING: Day 16

24 hour run: 138 miles

Wow. I can't even begin to do this justice.

Out here.

BECALMED.

So still.

So empty.

So huge.

So silent.

So BLUE.

"BECOME CALM...",

said the Sea.

"The WInd is busy, somewhere else,

this may take awhile."

We turn off the engine.

and DRIFT...

in the Zero degrees,

the minutes of naught.

This is the world of dreamers.

"COME IN" said the Sea, presently.

She had seen us looking.

Acolytes of the Big Blue, we couldn't resist.

To refuse the invitation would be to lose a moment offered to so few.

We clung to the swim ladder and the boat lazed along.

Looking below us, we saw FOREVER.

14,000 feet straight down...To the beginning of Time.

Maybe being awake for two straight weeks heightens your sense of the experience...

But when it all stops moving for a minute,

the veil falls off,

and you find yourself staring the Goddess straight in the face.

Back on the boat we make lunch.
Ham salad and Ice tea.
We play music but out here mellow playlists are lost in the dream,
It's Arena Rock. Ludvig B., Zepplin, Queen...
Go big or Go home...
Whatever you do, stay awake and alert.

You still need to check the horizon every twenty minutes.
Or you could miss the huge tanker that bore down on us yesterday,
He appeared on the horizon and within 7 minutes, he was right on our position.
We had seen him coming, so we were fine but the kids and I were overjoyed to see another BOAT!
I grabbed our VHF.
"Big Tanker, Big Tanker, This is Sailing Vessel Pura Vida, How Copy?"
"Ya." Said the Tanker. " Vee copy you. This is Vessle Magdolene"
"Oh, Hi!" I said, like I was serving brownies at the church social,
"How, ya doing? No emergency.  Um....Just saying hello. We're form Canada and California and we've got kids on board and everything's just fine, we only wanted to reach out because we haven't seen anyone out here in like two weeks..."
Big pause.
"Vood Evenink, Mizzus." said the Tanker.
Then, Click. They hung up.
Really, that's all you got?
No other humans for 2000 miles around and your SOOOO busy you can't even say hello?
Oh well, not everyone's a Chatty Kathy, I guess.

Now, to the BIG question:

WHEN WILL WE  BE CROSSING THE EQUATOR????
It is currently 52 miles away...
We are presently going 1 1/2 knots.
Jon is estimating sometime tomorrow... or the next day...

And just so you don't worry, we promise...
No more swimming.

But while you're waiting for your great honorary Shellback journey... have a look at this film: