Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Sailing into Tomorrow


"How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened." -T. Jefferson


A Gift for Karen
Captain's Blog, 8/17/2015

Caves on Niue
Lava Cave, Niue
We sailed into tomorrow a few days ago, if that makes any sense. The International Date Line does a bump around the east side of Tonga because they wanted to be the first nation to welcome in the new day. Depending on where we were standing on the boat one of us was in one day, and one the other, at least for an instant.
Scooter ride in Niu

Today we are in Tonga!! Arriving here has been a huge milestone for both Karen and myself. It has been a long journey for each of us; totally different, but each in its own way challenging us to step out in faith, trust, and hope. The trip from French Polynesia was a relatively long one, the second longest passage of the entire trip. There were several highlights; they included a harrowing lagoon pass entrance, whales breaching off Niue, 4 meter seas, either a lot of wind or a little wind, a crazy dingy landing requiring a crane, a scooter ride to explore caves, and even the beautiful gift for Karen of a rainbow on July 23 under a blue sky with waves thundering and spray flying 100’s of feet into the air (pictured above).

Whales breaching and slapping tails



New friends and inspiration!
Pass at Maupihaa
Tonga has been our destination, it has taken a long time, a lot of work, emotional ups and downs, and many, many miles to arrive here. The journey itself, and ultimately our recent arrival, has taught me a lot about fear, anxiety, and living in the day without knowing the future. To do something like this one must have the faith and the trust to step through those emotions, but honestly, even when you do step through they are pervasive and tend to continue to work their way into your thoughts and heart. For me it is my faith in God and a much bigger plan that gives me the perseverance to keep pushing them away. I have found that if you open your eyes and ears along the way, He gives powerful confirmations that you are doing the right thing. This comes in the form of experiences and introspection, but most profoundly through encouragement through other people. We have met many new friends along the way who have demonstrated both similar perspective and faith, and they've been a consistent inspiration to us on our journey. On arriving here, Mosese (Moses), our local official and contact for our work here, uses a favorite phrase a lot, “no worries”. That is a good summary.

I read recently in a daily devotion, When you worry about the future, you heap day upon day of troubles onto your shoulders and you stagger under the heavy load. You re-live over and over things that may not even happen. No worries, we are here today. Later on we will sail into tomorrow again.

First meal, Tonga, Sea Angel at anchor at last.



Sea Angel is sailing for a cause. The Catamaran has now traveled from Carolina Beach, NC, to Tonga- to become a FHCC (Floating Health Care Clinic) for Sea Mercy. Sea Mercy's vision is to be the most effective preventive, curative, promotional and rehabilitative floating health care provider and service delivery mechanism to support the remote citizens of the island nations. Their mission is therefore to ensure that the community sector has the practical tools and talent available to accomplish those visionary ends. To accomplish this in the short term they will provide floating health clinics to needy populations. To effect long term community improvement, they work to increase awareness of the health issues facing these vulnerable populations.
Please consider getting involved or donating to Sea Mercy, or simply share our cause with your friends and family. Thank you for being with us on this journey!