Kelcey Chandler-Yates and Jim Yates present...

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Dolphins on our bow during the motor to Cocos Island

May 10 2002
We have been to sea now for a full two days as we left Isla Isabella, Galapagos at 12pm two days ago.  The first two days of a crossing are hard, as you must get used to your watch schedule.  These watches consist of one to two, two-hour watches at night and one three-hour watch during the day. It is not easy to get used to but after a few days it becomes the norm.  The seas have been relatively flat and the winds a constant 10-15 knots so the sea gods are with us.  It is even harder for the boys to get into the trend of schoolwork.  Usually on crossings, I am lenient but with three weeks to keep them occupied, I am being the Gestapo in their eyes.

Today we had a bit of excitement when Jim caught our first Dorado.  He was small but just enough for lunch.  After lunch, he cut his finger open while fixing a broken chair.  Out came the suture material and in went nine stitches with Christopher's help.  Me, I almost threw up between the rolly seas and the gouge a half an inch deep and an inch and a half long!  After all the cuts sustained on this trip I am proud of myself that I don't faint anymore.  The boys continue to find my reaction to blood amusing which always lightens up the situation so I guess I am not as useless as I feel in these situations.

May 11, 2002
It is amazing that at two am I could be so happy.  Here on my watch after Christopher had to wake me twice to drag my tired but out of bed, I see such beautiful stars I felt I must write.

I have been thinking about my life tonight.  I have two beautiful children who are just blossoming in their adolescence, (or arguing their way through it!) and a husband who is so great, (even with all his husbandly faults).  I live on this boat traveling wherever I wish as Jim really doesn't care-he just wants to travel.  It's sometimes lonely out here but not a lonely like at home.  Here I am connected to myself and those who mean the most to me so I feel very free inside, very grounded.  Odd considering I am floating in the middle of a huge body of water but I suppose it has a lot to do with being disconnected with the dark side of society.  We have a slow pace, when things are not breaking, and have a chance to appreciate life without the next project, patient, school paper or social engagement looming at the door.  A pace we note in native cultures of Indians, slow and simple.

We are going 7-8 knots on the rhumb line to the Marquises.  Last night we blew out the spinnaker so tonight I am watching, our head sail closely.  The spinnaker is very old and had been re sewn several times so it was no surprise but we had hoped it would last us through this trip as it was our best down wind sail.  -Wind is picking up-- I see a squall approaching so better get to work.

May 13, 2002
Not much to say for here at sea on day 6 it is amazing the things which find way to the mind.  It is 12am and my watch for the next two hours.  As I arose, I looked forward to the vision of the night sea.  I was not disappointed.  Stars abound as the Milky Way flows into the sea at horizon line where it is met with the deep black flowing of tall waves who mesh with our hull to create the constant swish of our wake.  Nothing else visible and the lonely but calm peace of the night watch over takes me in a submersion of calm.  At 7.3 knots, we should be there in 12 days.  A weird misunderstanding in my brain overtakes the small girl inside, as I cannot imagine what I will feel when at last the vulnerability is pacified by landfall.  Times like these I must force fear from my heart and focus on the other side of reality for the sea is too awesome to fully comprehend.  A sense I cannot bring to words.  Perhaps peaceful fear sums it up well.  If not for the other 10 boats we are traveling with I believe this fear could over take my calm some days, especially when the waves rise and clouds overtake the horizon.  Nevertheless, morning and night we are in contact with others - some friends, others just acquaintances who are becoming friends via this experience although we have never met face to face.  We are at the back of the pack so have the advantage of wind and wave conditions of different latitudes and longitudes in front of us.  We have chosen to stay north of the rhumb line.  Here the winds are lighter so our speed is a bit slow but the seas are comfortable and skies for the most part clear.

Not all has been easy on this trip so far.  Two days ago we lost compression on our starboard engine and are faced with the fact that we will not have it's power to help us into the anchorages for the next few months until we are able to rebuild it in Tahiti.  Thankfully, the other engine we just had rebuilt is working fine and the winds are such that we don't need engines for a while.  We also had a sail failure.  Our spinnaker which we knew was old and fragile, blew out a few days ago so down wind sailing will be a bit more tricky but still manageable with the skillful combination of our other four sails.  Just a few challenges added to the personal ones of keeping the boys on track with their school and keeping peace with our crew member who sometimes can be a huge challenge -- but that is another book in itself if I wanted to nit pick!  This sea is to large and this boat too small to accommodate negativity so I will pass by saying she is teaching the boys French and doing a wonderful job!  They are doing well enough now to be able to tell their brother-I am intelligent but you are sooooo stupid!  She is good at getting the words into their head at their level!  She also helps me in the kitchen to prevent burnout and keep the delicious meals this crew has been spoiled upon flowing as well as helping me with the endless domestic duties considering salt spay finds its way everywhere via our feet.

On top of all this, we have been pulling in Dorado like crazy.  They are small but two make a meal for this hungry crew.  I had a huge one on last night.  He bent the hook he was so large-but I unfortunately lost him.  The kids appetites are tremendous.  Chris, who now is as tall as his father, is incessantly hungry.  Nick is still going through spurts.  God help me on the days they are both in EAT mode and I have not the desire to cook.  While on watch after a huge dinner last eve Chris took five eggs from my stores and hard-boiled them.  He ate them all in an hour period along with a half a pack of Oreos!  Then this am he ate 6 pieces of toast with cream cheese piled on top!  Lunch devoured a huge bowl of pasta and the rest of the Oreos and dinner over a pound of steak and a huge amount of noodles.  During the movie tonight another two cups of rice! As well half a cake Isabel baked today!  Yet, his waist is 30 inches and not a speck of fat to be found! It's a full time job just cooking for him!

May 14th 2002
Slept most of the morning hours today as I did a long watch last night.  The winds were high and I had to decide to reef at the end of one shift so I stayed up and did another.  When this shift was over, I spotted a ship in the distance so I waited an hour before it passed.  Chris awoke dazed but with only an hour left of his watch rigged the fishing rod with a hitchhiker flying fish we found on deck.  In the weeeee hours of sunlight, I faintly heard a huge commotion on deck.  Once fish on was established I relaxed and dozed off to sleep knowing dinner was taken care of.  Little did I know that at least two dinners were taken care of as a significant sized Dorado was caught.

Well it's once again my watch.  The stars are bright with only a sliver of moon glowing while giving shadow to the rest of it's circle.  An eerie beauty persists with such deep darkness illuminated with pinpricks of starlight.  Off to do my lookout-Going over eight knots now so could make 200 miles for the day.