Sailing the Karina C

Its wet here too. Juneuary has been terrible. Today, I had the fireplace on for a few minutes just to warm up the place and keep a little heat in the place.
Thought 1
I've been following the Vancouver Island Cruising Experience (VICE) on the HAM radio. It seems to me that many of the boats went out into a gale warning and were happy they survived. I was amazed at how many folks would get into a boat and stick to any kind of schedule knowing the elements can be so different. We are not intrepid sailors by any stretch. True, we have seen a bit of rough water here and there, but we would never go out when the winds were forecast to give us a for sure kick in the rear. As far as I know only one boat made it to the Cobb Seamount (the destination). Most others were kicked around and returned with a good case of mal de mer. Today it is so calm on the west coast, you probably couldn't justify putting a sail up. It would make the trip to Cobb a much more pleasant experience. Remember the sailors motto : When the goin gets tough, smart sailors step out of the way. Which brings me to my next thought.....
Thought 2
Mal de Mer is something Anita struggles with. She is not a wussy girl. She is 115 lbs of the toughest girl you could hope to meet. She struggles desparately with seasickness. She is the kind of girl who loves sailing because of all the nice places we can get to. There are watches she has had to lean over the side and make her offering to the sea as many as 4 times. She doesn't complain. She just rinses out her mouth and gets back on watch. All episodes of seasickness come from inadequate meds. Stugeron is Anita's wonderdrug. It is not available in Canada or the USA. All we can report is that it has not given Anita any unpleasant effects...yet. If you suspect you are going to be seasick (and yes, a gale will likely do it to you), then make sure you have some effective way of dealing with it. Anita is always saying, "oh I'll be fine on this trip. I'm fine......I'm........blleeeaaagh." She is getting better at getting the Stugeron into her before the brown stuff hits the fan. She is slim enough already.
Thought 3
Going out and getting kicked around on the ocean is not what we are out there for. Activities like VICE where folks stick to a schedule and seem obliged to head out into a gale is a sure way to get turned off sailing for good - if you survive! Our plan for our own VICE is to hang out and get a good long range forecast and then head out. At least if we do run into a gale, we will tough it out and recover out there before we get to home port. I don't want my offshore experiences to be coloured with the terror of being kicked around on the ocean. I prefer the lovely sunsets and warm evenings of tropical passages.
Call me a sissy if you will. I'm out there looking forward to the next passage!