Journal entries from a twenty year old girl on a sailboat

So, I was reading through some old journal entries from the trip and decided to make them public. I started a journal before we left and continued up until we got the bus. I wrote every single night about what I did that day and how I was feeling. I have never made a journal entry public before but thought this is a good time to start. So the first one I want to share with you was the very first day...

9/14/16

1400 nautical miles. Thats the trip that Ryan, my dad, Diego, and I embarked on today. The last three weeks of my life have felt like one bad blackout of my life. Why did I say yes to this? Selling everything I own to live on the water, who does that? What was actually going through my head when i said yes. Then the second thought I keep having is this trip will change your life. I believe this will give me a better more educated outlook on life. I left today with not much faith in people, always seeming to get taken advantage of, and I hope this trip changes that, along with many other things about myself. I took this trip for the right reason. We had our last goodbyes at dinner with the Dewyer family at sportsmans, with pizza and beer. Took off at 9am this morning, and its five pm now, getting dark. Were 22 nautical miles from grand haven our destination. Wind is picking up, and windfall is surfing the waves like a board out in california. We started out at about four knots with not much wind but since then are going 8 knots now. The captain (dad) has said were going to pull off and anchor in white hall. He knows a good spot. Listened to some music today and took a little nap, not a bad first day on the water. I have no idea what Diego is thinking right now, he's been in the cabin all day on our bed. I hope Ryans not mad at me for dragging him along on this trip. The water is beautiful. Its so peaceful out here, except for the roar of the engine for a few hours in the morning. I can really hear my own thoughts. We went past the silver lake sand dune to day as well, over 2000 square miles of sand dunes, which apparently you can drive on. Saw the lighthouse of little point saba also today, that was pretty cool. Well, better help the captain trim some sail and get to this anchorage.

Danielle

Reading back on that post, I can still feel the excitement I had starting that trip. Little did I know it, I would soon be obsessed. The next post I want to share with you was a good marina we stopped at on the rivers, where we met some amazing sailors!

10/16/15

Today was hectic, we had to cross lake Kentucky and we had the main up so at least we were sailing. The winds were not in our favor, but when are they really? I believe our tiller is 2 feet to short also, which needs to be extended and our motor is too small for our boat so it can't push us well enough. I want a bigger boat! We talked to an older couple who had a 30ft boat and went into the caribbean with it, so if they can so can we right? They had some amazing stories though. Guataloupe, St. Martin, St. Lucia, Grenada, Puerto Rico they almost lost the boat from grounding on a beach, and they abandoned the boat, but kids on the island got in a canoe and went out there to help, and they got it off the ground! These guys had stories about all sorts of things. In one island some kid stole from them and they caught him but the cop wanted 25$ from him to let the guy whoop his ass! Insane things these people have done, I want to live that kind of life. I want stories when I get older to tell my grandkids. The sailors we've been meeting are amazing, it feels like a club and they are the most welcoming members. I have this urge to sail, to cruse and cross an ocean! At the same time, this life scares the shit out of me, I get butterflies and a weird anxious deep feeling in my gut when I think about it. Its a good feeling though. Anyway, today we had 30 knot winds and we made 2.3 knots all day for six hours making only 17 miles, oh well, were not in a rush anyway right? We just left a nice marina and got luxuries for two whole days so we're all refreshed and prepared to go slow.

Danielle

The last entry is a day things didn't go quite as planned.

11/23/16

I was woken up last night at two am by a squeaking of the boat against the dock, the wind had just picked up. We got stuck here in caravelle for three extra days awaiting a storm. The weather report says 20 knot winds and seven feet seas, and we have an overnight sail to do to get down to clear water. Our plan is to leave Thursday, when the rain stops. We have 172 nautical miles to go. I am filled with anticipation, anxiety, curiosity, and excited for the overnight sail. Sailing in the dark! Because I believe all the waiting will be worth it.

Thanks for reading over some of these personal entries I wrote when I was sailing. I really enjoyed re reading all the entries, and feeling just as I did when I was on that trip. It really did, in the end, change my life.