I’m happy to report that Eldon, Pat and Eric safely completed their journey from Astoria, Oregon to Honolulu, Hawaii aboard a 35-foot sloop (see blog entry June 19) with only minor difficulties.
For the first week or so, Pat and Eric suffered from severe seasickness. The really icky kind of seasickness. Eric lost so much weight he had to find something with which to secure his pants for the rest of the voyage to avoid accidental indecent exposure.
Mid-way across the Pacific, the propeller became entangled with some lines or netting or something that was slowing their progress, and the men had to wait several days for calm enough seas to send Eric into the water to disengage the hindrance.
They caught a few fish to supplement their food supply, and were hoping that some of the larger flying fish might accidentally jump right into their frying pan. No such luck with that, but there were lots of “suicidal squid” choosing to come along for a free ride.
All in all, the journey was hugely memorable, but rather uneventful… until they came ashore. A few days after tying up, Eldon tripped over a cleat on the dock. He put his hands out to break his fall, and ended up breaking two bones in his wrist. Not exactly the ending he anticipated for his once-in-a-lifetime adventure…
While some sailors come home sporting tattoos, Eldon came home sporting an interesting scar where a small metal plate and a couple screws were inserted into his wrist as permanent “souvenirs” of his trip.
It was definitely one “trip” Eldon will never forget!