Nate and four of his kids, Maddie, Jorie, Josie, and Griffin joined Emilie, Ethan, and me for an afternoon aboard Charis. The conditions were great... wind was 10 kts out of the south, and the waves were 2 feet. We had a great time and the kids enjoyed playing around down below and sitting on the deck as we sailed... that is until the Oreo cookies came out. The kids were all down below enjoying an Oreo when Nate and I noticed some of the kids seemed a little too quiet. I looked down the companionway and noticed both Ethan and Griffin slumped over with their heads on the table. Sitting quietly is not something either of these boys do too often, and when I called to them I got no response. Suspecting seasickness, I brought them out into the fresh air of the cockpit hoping to bring them back to normal or at least avoid a messy cleanup down below. Slumped in our laps, the boys languished with their heads resting on their life jackets. Finally, first one then the other puked. It seemed to me that Griffin was the most miserable. After puking over the side, he fell asleep in his Dad's arms.

As soon as we began puking, I immediately reversed course. And as soon as we entered the calm water of the Kenosha harbor, the kids who had become sick immediately perked up. We anchored in the harbor for an hour and enjoyed hanging on the hook... the kids entertained themselves. Ethan demonstrated his amazing vocal range... he has discovered that he can emit the highest pitch squeak... it sounds almost like the chirps of a dolphin but much much louder. A few weeks ago while anchored in the same harbor, he discovered his echo as he bounced his chirp off the buildings and steel piers.

Despite the seasickness, we all really enjoyed hanging out with each other. It was great to spend some time with Nate and the kids.