After a delayed start, we’d eventually loaded everyone and everything onto the vessel in the bluff harbour.
The excitement of beginning our adventure could hardly be quelled by anything. At least that’s what we thought…
We sailed out of the harbour, perched contentedly on the bow with the Durban stadium lights behind us. After such a battle to get everything ready we had a peaceful night on the boat, the water lapping the sides of the bough. Little did we know this would be the last night of restful sleep we would have for a while.
The next night sea-sickness took hold of everyone. And by the next morning each one of us was, to use the official term – (wo)man down.
With the movement on the boat, your brain receives conflicting signals. Your eyes show you a world that is still but your body and the equilibrium sensors in your ears send you signals of movement. This discrepancy puts the body in distress mode, which manifests in the digestive system.
Here’s what is recommended to combat it:
“Most people tend to concentrate on the inner surroundings, or close the eyes and try to sleep. This will cease the worst effect of the disturbance. Avoid reading, watching TV, and even talking to neighbors.”
Caine had basically ceased functioning, Tan was plastered onto her bunk with her eyes tightly shut, and Rhett and I would make brief appearances outside only to scuttle back down below at the mere mention of food. The crew looked like the cast of ‘Fifty Shades of Green’, everyone that is, except for dear Justin, who was hopping around like this was the greatest roller coaster ride of his life. I am fairly certain that mentally we were plotting his death, if we could only move three inches without being sick.
Then the engine stopped working. And the weather turned from pretty unpleasant to downright terrifying.
We found ourselves 1 nautical mile (1.8miles) off Leven Point with a broken engine and at the front of a major storm, that over the coming 12 hours would grow to a force 10 storm, with wind speeds exceeding 100km/h accompanied by 20ft waves.
Fortunately we managed to point the yacht away from land and head out to the safer, open ocean. It was a long night, but as dawn broke, the boat bobbed in a flat ocean and we glimpsed blue skies for the first time in days. But all involved had taken a beating.
