"It’s slow. I love the slowness of the travel. I love the anticipation of arrival as you slowly draw closer to your destination."
The 9 day passage from the Solomon Islands to the Queensland Coast was a mix of dead calm, squally storms, choppy seas and then, finally the trades came and we were on the milk run home. It was time for a different way to relay the story of our passage. So here is an insight into Captain Hugh's mind, the man that keeps the engine humming, the main sail reefed and everything down below under control when the seas are up and turning my gills green.
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| Captain Hugh |
K: So Captain Hugh, tomorrow we are due to cross our sailing path, completing the South East Asia and West Pacific loop, where we were some 16 months ago. What are your thoughts on being a captain then and now, how have you changed?
H: My first response is, has it really been 16 months? It feels like a lifetime since we last left Cairns last time. There has been some amazing up and downs hasn’t there?
K: Indeed there has.
H: It is interesting to come back to the same point with a completely different perspective on the lifestyle that we were embarking on then. I feel much more relaxed and at home in our sailing and I really only get to enjoy it more as time goes on. At the same time, I am very happy to be coming back to the familiar.
K: So after everything we have experienced, where would you like to return to on a sailing boat?
H: I think that we did not give the Pacific enough of a red-hot go. I guess part of that was that we knew we may be able come back there one day. The Solomon Islands was just a really interesting cultural experience compared to some of the places we went in Asia. I think it is just the beginning of a very large expanse of water with very interesting cultures and interesting terrain to cover.
K: You feel like it has opened your eyes to endless possibilities?
H: Without putting too many words in my mouth, I would say that that is certainly the case.
K: And where would you never like to return to in a sailing boat?
H: Ah, well, the Arafura Sea for one, the Malacca Strait for two, and I would say the doldrums in general.
K: How did that wear on you as a Captain?
H: Well, the doldrums, otherwise known as the ITCZ or the Intertropical Convergence Zone, are basically one big shitstorm.
K: A sailing quagmire.
H: [laughs] A sailing quagmire of light winds and thunderstorms and variable pulling in and taking out of sail and putting them back in again in rapid succession. And it is just not really necessary.
K: Sailing can be more fun than that.
H: It can. Like this weather now.
K: It is really quite beautiful.
As Hugh gazes out across the port deck to look toward the horizon unobstructed to see crystal clear water where the sky meets it at the horizon. It is hard to see the difference between the two because the of the richness in each of the blues blend to become one.
K: So what is the highlight for you for travelling by a boat? As compared to other means?
H: It’s slow. I love the slowness of the travel. I love the anticipation of arrival as you slowly draw closer to your destination. I love the feeling of connection to the past. And the natural nature of your locomotion.
K: Connected with nature?
H: Indeed.
K: So what have you learned from taking a trip like this?
H: I have learnt that life is wonderful, you have to grab it by both hands to see what is out there. That your fear about the future and uncertainty should be thrown aside if you are ever to experience what is out here.
K: We are about to make the once hazardous crossing through the Australian Great Barrier Reef. What are your thoughts about the sailors and explorers of yesteryear?
Hugh takes a breath and a glint shines in his eyes and he takes himself to another time, one where engines did not exist and when sailing relied entirely on the weather and boats would sometimes bob around in the doldrums for weeks on end waiting for a puff of wind to drive them through. Certainly the navigators were using all their senses like smell, changes in wind patterns and ocean colours to identify when they were drawing closer to land as there were no maps to speak of.
H: I am very glad that you asked that question, the explorers were, in a word, sublime. We are about to pass through the reef in a place called the Grafton Passage, and it is only 100nm south of the famous Endeavour Reef where Captain Cook ran the boat aground while trying to navigate this set of reefs. Looking at the map today it is hard to imagine any of the sailors made it up this coast. And it just goes to show the exceptional ability of the sailors of these times to be able to navigate such a large section of reef and the willingness to continue on even though it seems as though they were going down a dead end that would never release them. It was a very dangerous journey that Captain Cook made up the east coast and an amazing feat of the leadership of his men to keep them motivated through that passage. I cannot imagine how I would keep 200 feisty, strong, and sometimes reticent men under control, when you yourself did not really know what was around the corner or how long it would be before bringing them home.
K: Trying experience no doubt.
H: Yeah. I only have one reticent lady aboard to keep under control. And that’s enough for me.
K: Control?
H: Well control is the wrong word.
K: Hmm.
K: Well, we are about to come home to Australia and have travelled some 7000nm, in what will end up being a 20 month expedition, starting and ending in our home town of Sydney. What do you think of the trip that was dreamt up over a bottle of wine and a book about someone else’s world cruising voyage over 2 years ago.
H: I think it is the best idea you ever had.
K: Surely it was not my idea, you supplanted it.
H: I had nothing to do with it, I was dragged along.
K: Against your will and better judgement.
K: So I guess you are saying that it was worth it.
H: It was certainly worth it.
K: Giving most of your worldly possessions up and your grip on reality in Sydney?
H: Who needs any of that?
K: The final question is, we have learned that it is pretty unusual for people our age to embark on a trip like this. Any comments for any budding young cruisers out there?
H: Do it! Just do it. It may seem really scary. I know that careers and all these things that people are attached to in the so called ‘real world’ are a heavy burden to throw off sometimes and it can feel like you may be disadvantaging yourself, but honestly even though I do not have a job just yet, I have no qualms about finding work again and if anything it has brought me back far more motivated than I could have been by staying in Sydney. Yeah, just do it.
28/10/2014
