Mary Gardiner
(inducted 2011)
King Neptune,
Two ships set sail out of Kalamaki Marina, near Athens on a blustery August afternoon in the summer of 2010. Destination Mykonos, a 95 nautical mile, 15 to 18 hour sail through the night southeast across the Aegean Sea.
16 jetlagged adventurers and wanna be pirates had gathered from 3 continents to spend a week sailing and exploring the Cycladic Islands of Greece. For most, our first off shore sailing experience lay ahead of us. The first night of our journey proved to be a very special night of sailing. For some of us, it was one of the best nights of our lives. The sea providing a thrilling rollercoaster ride full of twists, turns, pitches and dives. For some it was one of the worst nights of all. A night that seemed like it would never end. The sea cruel, angry and unrelenting, hell-bent on teaching both crew and boat who really is the boss.
Our chartered Beneteau 43s sailed away from mainland Greece and land slowly disappeared from sight. The wind speed was a feisty 20 knots, gusting to 27 with 3-4 foot seas as the sun began to set. As nightfall engulfed us, the wind was steadily building and alongside it the seas were too. The stars began to twinkle and the full moon to rise as the wind built to 27 knots, gusting to 33. The swells were already at 6 feet. It wasn’t long before the first victims of seasickness were incapacitated.
Waves regularly crashed over the deck from port and astern dousing the harnessed crew of “Agathopolis”, while below deck anything and everything that was not secured was in flight. With a loud crash the utensils drawer flew across the galley. Knives, forks, spoons were airborne as the boat pitched down the trough of another wave.
We reefed and we reefed and we reefed again as we prepared ourselves for the next salty splash. The radio call from our buddy boat, now ahead of us warned us that there was even more wind coming. They were experiencing gusts to 40 knots now. Both boats decided to abandon course to Mykonos as the howling wind had shifted and we now had headwinds to take up battle with. We instead set a more southerly course and sailed for the island of Paros. The two boats agreed to meet in Parokia harbor in the morning.
I sat during one of my 3 hour, bleary eyed watches, entranced by the waves as they approached from port. I remember thinking “What’s this one going to do to us? Pick us up, spin us around and toss us down like so many before had? Or is this the one that is really going to do us in?” I was mesmerized by the power and force of the ocean as I watched the waves pass on starboard and continue off into the endless horizon like a gang of thugs setting out for their next victims of the night.
It was my turn to sleep and I didn’t think I could. I didn’t want to. I was exhilarated, excited, high on adrenaline. Prudent captain insisted I get some rest, finishing his remarks with “its going to be a long night…..” As I lay in my bunk, with PFD and harness still on, I thought “Should I be worried?” I had full confidence in our captain, Matt Shafer but I’ve read many, maybe too many sailboat disaster stories. Tales of hurricanes, cyclones and rogue waves started to swirl about in my head as yet another wave crashed above and the crew moaned as they were yet again soaked by the salt water. The seasick crew below deck moaned and groaned as well. One feeble, pathetic plea out from a bunk: “Are we going to anchor somewhere…….SOON?” No one had the heart to say that we were at least 6 more hours away from that.
Remarkably, I did drift off into a peaceful sleep. I was awoken for my next watch just in time to see the sun which had said good night to us many long hours ago, peek over the horizon to say good morning to us. The wind and the seas had calmed down and we were within 3 hours of seeing land again. Just as our destination appeared on the horizon, two playful dolphins jumped up next to us and swam alongside of us, then took the lead and swam in front of the boat showing us the way to the harbor entrance. We made it! Land never looked so good.
But where was our buddy boat? They had been sailing ahead of us, but they weren’t here in the harbor. We eventually made contact and learned that they had to alter course and seek shelter on the Island of Antiparos. During the wee hours of the morning both their mainsail and their foresail had ripped. But that’s a whole ‘nother tale to be told……….
Respectfully submitted to King Neptune,
Mary Gardiner
Crew aboard “Agathopolis” a.k.a. “So Good”
August 21-22, 2010
