Before I could scream and cry, we had already started on the pacific crossing, otherwise known as the Puddle Jump. Blame old people for that name.

The PPJ usually can take anywhere from 15 days to 30 and most people tend to average about 25 days, which seemed like such a hideously large number at the time. We left and dad was seasick for three days, I think he threw up almost every few nights for the entire leg. We even considered turning around because we were that worried.

The day land went out of view, we knew we couldn’t turn back. We were in now and in this swimming pool, there’s no halfway ladder.

Now, I hear you asking, what on earth do you do with no wifi, no cellular data, no new books and a very rocky boat? The answer: I really have no clue. I read as much as I could bear, trying not to feel too seasick. I ate very little, concerned about it reappearing when I least expect it. I barely moved due to the worry I would be thrown over board.

In my opinion, the most important thing I learned was resignation. When faced with something you cannot change, don’t fight. Accept it and work with it. I resigned and went with it, because there are some things that cannot change. Just, stop fighting. Breath out, look around you, accept and realize that it’s not going to stop or change. Go with it. If you’re swimming upstream and the currents going downstream, turn and swim with it. Go rest somewhere to rest until you can fight again.

We also received a visitor along the way: a brown footed booby! He did poop all over our solar panels, killing our charge for a while, but he was very cute. We also ran into a boat – Bliss – after being out for 7 days. We saw them within a 2 mile radius. Really really weird, dude.

My advice to people who want to do this passage⬇️

· Never take a reef out. No matter what the wind speed is, leave it in. The wind can change in a heartbeat.

· Remember tHiS isNt fOrEveR sO dOnT jUmP!1!1!1!1

· Pack lots of cheese and crackers.

· Watch movies when you can.

· Take some good books!

When we finally arrived, I almost cried with happiness. I could taste land!

The Marquesas were truly terrific, towering out of the water and so, so mountainous.