Sailing, in hell

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  Pago Pago, American Samoa
Sunday, July 8, 2007

In the morning, I woke up alone, in my fale, sweating, with a pounding headache, and an insatiable thirst.  We were supposed to go sailing that afternoon, and just the thought of being on a boat repulsed me.  I got some water, took a shower, and laid right back down.  I was no better.  Amanda showed up a little while after, and she was in worse shape than I was, and informed me that we were expected for breakfast, then sailing, as soon as possible.  After nearling coming to tears, the both of us mustered the courage to head on to breakfast at Betty and David's house.  Two pancakes, coffee and bacon later, I still was feeling the 15 San Mig's I drank during sloshball.  Amanda, groaning while laying on the trampoline, was all but refusing to head on to our day of sailing.  We had pre-arranged this day with John's friend Grant, so we really needed to go.  I laid down on the trampoline with Amanda for only a moment, and I was out like a light, sleeping more soundly than I had the night before.  In what felt like no more than ten minutes, but in all reality was over an hour, John was shaking us awake, saying, "We need to leave if we are going."

Amanda floundered a minute, so I told him we were staying, but as I went to lay back down and told Amanda they were leaving, she shot up and got in the car.  I followed, hesitantly.  On the car ride in it was decided that I would be sailing with Grant, and Erica with John, while Amanda slept cozily on shore.  I was starting to feel better by the time the boats were rigged and we were shoving off.  The wind was good that day, if not a little too strong, though gusty.  On the way out I was telling myself, "Maybe this won't be so bad."  As we were about to clear the harbor, my captain, Grant called, "Come about," a little too quiclkly for my slow functioning mind.  He turned the rudders, I didn't get across the boat quite swiftly enough, the boat turned, went up a wave, and a gust of wind came just at the right moment to send us straight over, backwards.  

The swells were fairly sized this day, and here we were bobbing up and down with a capsized Hobie cat.  For all of you who haven't flipped a sailboat back over, it is supposed to be a fairly easy ordeal, usually pretty possible with just the two of you.  There is a rope tied to the mast which you have to retrieve, loop over one hull, then stand of the opposite hull, and both hold on the rope, and hang with all of your weight.  The only trick being you have to be going into the wind, or it will fight you all the way.  We attempt this a few times, and find out that the waves and wind are not exactly on our sides today.  We cannot seem to get the damn thing over, try as we might.  John and Erica are circling us now, seeing if we can get our boat over by ourselves.  Grant then has me head up to the mast to try and lift it while he pulls on the rope.  Problem being, the waves, each time a wave comes it slams my chest into the mast, and then on the backside it tears me away from the  mast.  Once we decide that this isn't working, I make my way back over to the hull, and bob up and down for a while, resting.  This really only succeeds in making me feel even sicker.  I work up my courage and climb back on the hull, stand up and get the rope over the hull, and wrapped into the harness I am wearing.  I  say to myself, "She is coming over this time," and I lean back, hard and fast.  Spash!  I fall straight in the water.  As I am floating in the water, wondering what the hell I did wrong, I realize, the knot came undone.  So, Erica comes over and helps us situate the boat into the wind, and we finally get the thing back over.  As soon as we do, I lay on the hull, and proceed to get rid of all the pancakes and bacon that had made me feel a little better.  A little break and Grant asks me if I am ready to move on.  I say, "No, of course not, but lets go anyways."  And we sail on.  Two minutes later, we see John's jib halliard come down, and we decide to throw in the towel, and we head in.  The wind was not strong heading back in, so, we bobbed around a lot, and I just felt sicker and sicker.  When we finally reached shore, I just knelt in the water, and dry heaved for a little, then dragged myself into the grass, and took a little nap until I could lift my head and not feel dizzy.  A little Coca-cola and I was right back on the right track, although, the reverberations stayed with me until the next day.

I LOVE SAILING!!!

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