February 12, 2018 - Leaving Majuro, RMI

February 12, 2018

                My year and a half in Majuro, RMI is almost coming to an end. Today we cleared customs and after a late start, sailed to Enemonet Island, about three miles away from the mooring field in Majuro but still in the lagoon.

            Never did I dream that I’d be leaving Majuro by boat to sail west across the Pacific through Micronesia. In the last few months, I’ve learned a lot about sailing, but not nearly enough to prepare for the open sea outside the calm and safety of the lagoon. My only time on the open ocean was a visit to Arno Atoll my first Christmas here with two fellow teachers and the boat ride was terrifying. Yes, we were in a motor boat, probably much too small for the trip, as well as going upwind. Jon sat silently and clutched his backpack and pillow like a child watching his first scary movie. Certainly, he was doing the same as myself; praying, praying, praying in the hope we’d see land again and that the boat would not get flipped by the towering waves converging in front of us. Waves so high that you could only see fractional glimpses of the horizon with no land in sight either behind or in front of us. Chloe tried to take our minds off the trip with stories. When she’d finished one, we’d ask for another and another until she realized the bench, a flimsy 2 x 6 that had little more room than the three of us, was quickly bouncing out of it’s slightly wedged slot with each crash of the boat as it flew over the crest of the waves and fell airborne until it slammed into the low troughs shaking the boat so greatly it felt as if it would break apart beneath us.

Here it is almost 14 months after our trip to Arno and tomorrow, sailing vessel French Kiss will sail west to the channel by Kalenin Island in Majuro Atoll and out onto the open sea.  Her passengers include: Pete, the captain, who has sailed Miss Kiss for twenty years, and myself, Lise, a very inexperienced crew member in a crew of one, but a very worthy chef to have on board. French Kiss is small catamaran, 10 meters by 6 meters, basically a day sailing vessel for coastal waters, but she’s wandered the Caribbean, Atlantic Ocean by South America, through the Panama Canal and over much of the South Pacific with Captain Pete at her helm, tenderly caring for her through the years. 

I did my homework and checked up on Pete’s credentials with friends, spent time on Miss Kiss learning to sail on random weekends for months before moving onto her. We all had adjustments to make as we got acquainted rather quickly with each other in such close quarters and now after nearly two months of boat living in Majuro and its islands, we will be finally setting sail, leaving this lovely atoll and life here behind for new horizons and adventures: Pete, Miss Kiss and me.

Galley/salon of Miss Kiss

Miss Kiss

Good times with Pamela