When we got to Kingston Marina we put our boat in the water and packed all the extra stuff in. My brothers and my father got on the boat, hugged our mother, and began motoring off into the lake. Mom took photos of us as we passed the ferry dock.

When we turned the VHF radio on there was a strong winds warning for winds gusting up to 70 mph so instead of puttering off to Oswego we decided to duck into Cape Vincent, only 13 miles away. As the sun set the skies began to let loose. At first only light rains but as soon as we pulled into dock it began to storm. Lighting was striking all over at Wolfe island. The wind was picking up. As I stepped off the dock to tie the boat up with Fitz, the wind was blowing so hard that it nearly knocked me off my feet. We decided to stay in Cape Vincent for the night.

When we woke the next morning we walked down to the library and I began to catch up on my school.

The next morning we began puttering off to Oswego. We attached Phil up to the tiller (our automatic steering device). Nothing eventful happened on the passage other than spotting one freighter that was empty. When we arrived in Oswego we tied up to the marina and went out for a nice Mexican dinner. It was delicious.

The next morning we cleaned up the cabin of the boat and did some shopping. After dad and Fitz returned we started up river we had to do four locks. A lock is like a stair case for boats, the lock master waits for the boat to drive into the lock and then closes off both ends of the lock. Then the Lock master begins the pumping process which lets water into the lock until you are at the higher water line. the Lock master will open one end of the lock and let you out of the lock. Today we have gone up a total of 50 feet. We are now in Fulton for the night.

“Any man who goes to sea claiming to have no fear is either a liar or a damn fool”. 

I read this in a book once and it stuck with me, being a sailor. Since then I have never once claimed to be fearless in the face of the ocean, knowing deep down that I am, in fact, afraid of it. The raw power that it holds in its depths could destroy me without even realizing it had done so. The ocean is full of beauty and wonder but it must also be respected. A shark which may be swimming beside you as gently as the Angelfish in the coral below could become a raging torrent of hungry teeth; a small cloud on the horizon may build into a gale that knocks your boat out of the sea and onto the rocks; an out of place wave may be marking a shoal waiting to rip the bottom of your boat off and drop you to the seabed below. These are some of the thoughts running through my head as my father, brothers, and I prepare for a many month long trip down to the Bahamas.

I lost sight of myself for a while in the process of dating a girl and didn’t know what to do with my life. I was jumping from wanting to go with my siblings on this trip to wanting to go to school, to not doing anything but pursue the relationship. About two or three months ago I realized that even though I might be in a relationship with someone who does not share even close to the same career interests as I do that I need to go and purse my own dreams instead of following hers. So I hopped on the TearAway adventure. In about a weeks time (as long things go to plan) we will be turning the key in our diesel engine and guiding our bow towards the Erie Canal, and from there to the Hudson, and finally into the great blue that I consider more home than solid land.

I have crossed the Atlantic ocean once before, and loved it. The long nights at the bow of the vessel Argo, watching the stars trace their paths across the sky. The warm days spent catching fish, taking classes, and everyday work that is necessary to keep the vessel running smoothly. The feeling as you look toward land at the edge of the horizon, marking the end of your long voyage, and knowing you just long for it to continue on and the tranquility to never end. We won’t be having any long passages such as that on this trip.

With just over five thousand nautical miles under my belt I am by far the most experienced sailor on the boat, but this trip will be different as each trip away from port is. It will teach me things I haven’t even thought about yet, it will grow me in ways I can’t even imagine, and we will be guiding the vessel to places not yet seen by my eyes, which means that I am as new to this as my father, and brothers, are really.

As we get the boat ready I am working on making lists of what needs to be put on the boat and where, making safety checklists, conjuring a ditch bag, and making a watch chart. Other tasks will be added to that as we get closer and closer to getting TearAway underway. Our engine is almost operational again and we are all in high, if a bit frantic, spirits.

In some ways I shall miss this island and the security I feel of being able to go to my home whenever I need to. Having friends within a half hour. Knowing people on the streets and the community of it all. I will miss my work at the boat club and teaching what I love. I will miss learning, with my friend Josh, random things like windsurfing. I will miss the familiarity of it all. But at the same time I have been itching since I returned from Argo in December to get away and be out of my comfort zone and to be near the ocean again; to be seeing something new each day and to be learning how to do things with new people. I will miss this, but I will love the serenity of it all.

So as we get ready to say goodbye to the people here we know and love we also prepare to embrace a lifestyle which most of us have not yet experienced and which none of us can predict.

Let’s hope the wind and seas stay at our back.

Photos by: Matt Hardy, Sophia Haram, Katie Combaluzier.