Page 19 - kayaksession54_flipbook

Bart's bed for the crossing, an inlatable mattress with high walls strapped to the board.
It was three years after my irst big crossing, and here I was again, in the middle of the Paciic Ocean with no land in sight. The night before, I had slept on and off and gotten enough rest, but now delating my bed and strapping the gear bags tight to the board, I felt seasick again. The three different cross swells didn’t help. Two minutes after choking down a small breakfast, my body rejected it. I knew I had better pull myself together and get some food and liquid in or this was going to be a long and very tough crossing.
I was just 30 miles into a 180-mile crossing between Tahiti and Bora Bora. I had fallen in love with these islands and their people after sailing there in 2007. While searching the globe for potential crossings in 2014, this one had seemed like a good it. I hoped to cover the distance in three days but I knew if the wind and the wave conditions weren’t perfect it could easily turn into four or ive.
There was no time to wait around and hope to feel better. I knew the seasickness would fade once I was paddling and I would be able to eat myself strong again, but that feeling was still far away. Even through this lowest point in the crossing, I kept sight of the fact that I had chosen to do this. I wanted this form of pure adventure. Solo and self supported also means lonely and tough sometimes. But victory would be even sweeter.
Early in the night I had sent a message to my wife via satellite, to tell her how I was. She knew I was a little disappointed with the progress I had made the day before. The wind had come more from the side than I had hoped for and the cross swell made the water slow. Yet, I also had some advantages, lessons learned from my previous crossing three years before. The front rudder on my board was bigger than in the past, which kept the board on course and I could paddle on both sides equally even with wind from the side. I also had new compartments in the board that kept the weight of the water I carried low in the board.
I started paddling again and slowly started to feel better, I could feel the energy with every bit of food and drink I took, my body eagerly accepting each calorie. Progress was still not fast but I was moving in the right direction. Tom Hammerton, my weatherman in Hawaii, sent me a message saying the winds would turn little by little in my favor, which kept my spirits high. In the late afternoon, I paused to
Bart's signature board, the 14’ Starboard Expedition, with a compartment for water bags, front steering for side wind conditions, a compass and many bungies for all the bags.
cook myself a warm meal. While I was eating, some blue-footed boobies came by and checked me out from up close before they continued dancing in the wind, effortlessly gliding from wave to wave.
The wind picked up a little just before sunset, so I made sure everything was secured to the board and the rope was tight around the board in case I would be turned over by a wave. At night I would change into dry clothes and put on a drysuit so I could sleep in comfort. The daily problem was getting changed without taking a wave in the process, but somehow I managed it.
I checked my GPS at 4 o’clock in the morning and decided I would sleep for 30 more minutes before getting up to be paddling at irst light. I had just dozed off again when a big wave rolled me over. I woke up under water with the board lipped upside down. I came up next to my board in total darkness with both leashes still connected to my board. Since I had known this could happen, I wasn’t even surprised and didn’t panic. I lipped the board back and irst checked if my gear was still there. Although not everything was on the board, it was all still attached. Tracker, GPS, check, food bags check, paddle check, gear bag check. It all looked ok. Good thing I had brought a waterproof headlight this time!
I got everything repositioned and started my day.With a little luck I would see land again today. It is always nicer to paddle toward an island you can see rather than just looking at the compass all the time. Sometime in the morning I spotted the outline of Huahine, still far away but clearly in sight. I expected to see dolphins and maybe even sharks, but apart from many different birds and a few schools of tuna, I saw no big ish. After midday, I started to notice the wind was turning in my favor. I was inally getting some glides.
My wife, Dagmar, was following my progress with the satellite tracker, which was working well. The tracker sent a position every hour, and even better, I could send and receive 160-character messages. I know my expeditions and crossings are not always easy on Dagmar, so I kept my messages honest but always positive. By nightfall I was just around the island of Huahine. From now on I could go a little more to the south, with the wind almost from my back. Finally tonight, my drifting would be almost in the right direction.
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Leaving the picture perfect island of Bora Bora.
Bart's signature board, the 14’ Starboard Expedition, with a compartment for water bags, front steering for side wind conditions, a compass and many bungies for all the bags.
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