Gone in Ten, Nine, Eight....

Hi Everyone.

I'm off in 10 days, crazy! Anyways, I'm packing up my apartment today so I thought I'd send out the addresses of the Port Agents while I still have my computer with me. So just in case anyone wants to send me mail (*wink *wink It's so special to get mail when you arrive in port!) well now you have that ability! Make sure my name and Pacific Grace appear on the outside somewhere to make sure it gets to me. Don't forget to send me your info if you want to start collecting exotic stamps. So there you go, love you all.

Papua New Guinea: send by November 1

Sarah Brizan, Pacific Grace
C/O D&S Seko Ltd.
PO Box 993 Madang
Papua New Guinea

China: send by December 9

Sarah Brizan, Pacific Grace
C/O Penavico Shanghai Pudong Co., Ltd.
5/F.,No.175 (Wang Jiao Plaza), Yan An Road
Shanghai 200002
P.R. China

Japan: Send by February 19

Sarah Brizan, Pacific Grace
C/O Waldron Norton Lilly Intl Osaka (Branch) Heisei Shipping Angencies Ltd.
Wakasugi Grand Bldg 3F
5-25 Tenjinbanshi 2-Chrome
Japan

Hawaii: send by April 22

Sarah Brizan, Pacific Grace
C/O Waldron Norton Lilly Intl
521 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 255
Honolulu, Hawaii
96825 USA

--
Take Care,
Sarah.

~Sing, Dance, Floss, Travel

Under the Knife

Although possibly, more appropriately titled under the q-tip perhaps.... turns out that my ear drum wasn't ruptured after all but that I had wax melted onto it, hence the pain. In the end I had to go into day surgery to have it removed and after fasting and not drinking all day yesterday and not being able to go in I was glad to receive a spot this afternoon. All went well, but they ended up having to take off a layer of my ear drum as well so besides the fact that I'm still doped up feeling my ear is possible more tender and sore than it was before. The good news is that it should heal up in a couple days and then off to Fiji, no problems.

Oh and I'll be out on the boat this week, but have been promised as much as I need to recover (albeit on the boat)...should be okay though, my crew loves me.

Update

Now that title seems a little redundant as this is a blog, and what else am I going to do but update....
But I mean update on my ear, which still has not healed.
I went to another doctor who said the same thing as the last one, its just needs some time. I want to believe them, but I have this sinking suspicion that it needs more than time. Hasn't there been enough time elapsed already? It's been 10 days since I tore a hole in my ear drum and the pain seems to be increasing, arrrraaaaarrrrrgh!
Anyways, hopefully the T3's will help, now that I have actually accepted a prescription for them.
Cross my fingers and pray.

Back to School

Well I'm not back to school, but back to doing school trips which make up the majority of my year. I was thrilled to have a chance to visit with a good friend and past coworker, Rebekah, in between the break of summer and fall trips. She is an amazing girl, with such servants heart.
I was excited to sail with my old highschool for the first trip this Septmeber. College Heights is always a trip looked forward to by the crew and a really good transition trip from summer trips, where there are multi ages and no one knows eachother before hand, to school trips, where its a class that has been going to school together for a while. College Heights brings multi age student who may or may not know eachother but have fundraised together for a year before hand to get there. Going from a ten day to a five day feels so short, so the extra day with this group was great to have.
I usually feel like the longer a trainee spends on the boat the more they understand the routine, the more they learn and the more chance I have of getting to know them even just a little. Most schools come for five days and the difference between school trips and summer trips in terms of growth, learning, and understanding are huge. This is another reason that I am so excited to have the chance to go offshore again. Having the oppotunity to spend months on the bo at is so incredible. I am excited for the immeasurable amount of potential it brings.
On a completely different note... I ruptured my ear drum! Warning: No one should ever candle their ears! A friend of mine wanted to try it out so I thought, why not?. Well I didn't know what had happenned at the time, but turns out that the loud noise pain I felt was my eardrum rupturing! I went on to do the next five days with a constantly plugged feeling ear, and the pain got better and then worse as the week progressed. I didn't get to see a doctor until we came in five days later, but I am happy to know what is wrong with me, unfortunately there is nothing I can do but wait it out, it should heal a few more days though. My crew was great to me, picking up where I had no more energy left. The boat is that last place I'd pick to be sick. I feel awful and useless because I can't do my job the way I'd like to be able to, but I was so happy to have a crew that cares so much.
Back out again tomorrow. We have a replacement cook for the next two trips. A long time SALTSer, Christina Vanderkamp, who I am really excited to be sailing with again. I am also looking forward to next weekend when one of my best friends ever, Ronelle, is coming to visit for the weekend! Lots of excitment in the next few weeks before I leave, but I'm feeling organized and my passport is back and the visas all came through which is a big weight off. Now I just need to worry about buying enough toothpaste for the year!

Circumnavigation # 3 Complete

I am back in Victoria now after fulling circumnavigating Vancouver Island for the third time. It's the greatest feeling when you round the corner and can see Race Rocks (one of the oldest lighthouses on the west coast) and you know that you are home again. Trips four and five were both fantastic, compelte with highlight visits to Hot Springs Cove, Rugged Beach and Cougar Annie's Garden!
Trip four in general was quite a calm trip, hardly any seasickness, which is great for a trip down the west coast. This trip is always really exciting because we only get to visit these places once a year everything is so new and undiscovered feeling and there isn't very much traffic either. We didn't have any really stomping broad reach sails like we normally due but a lot of our travelling was done very steadily with the courses, mains'l and main top up. We got so many fish we could hardly eat them all, despite the fish and chips night we put on thanks to Andrea.
Trip five was a different story all together. We got to sail up the island on the first day, which is rare in itself because the wind is usually blowing from the north when we want to head that way to start the trip out (there is virtually nothing between Ucluelet and Victoria). However, despite the sail (which usually calms the motion of the boat) almost every hand was seasick in one form or another. We had a few diehard trainees (most of whom were in Port watch...) who did a lot of dishes and radio watch that first day. We finally made it up the South side of Brooks Peninsula where we thought we would be sheltered from the swell....but we weren't and ended up having on the most terrifying dory experiences I've ever had trying to load people into the dory while buffering my dory against the bottom of the Swift as we got sucked under wiht every other roll! By the time we finally got to shore the trainees were almost kissing the sand and just staring at the trees trying to pretend the ocean didn't exist behind them.
The trip continued on however, and despite a lot of rolling around (penance for such a calm trip four I suppose) everyone had an amazing time. The highlight for me was a a very muddy and hilarious hike through the rainforest to Whitesand Beach (one of the most beautiful on the West Coast) Although I'm not sure everyone found this knee-deep mud experience quite as enjoyable as I did....I now have a new favourite sound though, and it is the sound of squelching mud and you lift your feet out of it take the next step back in.
It's really nice to be back in Victoria with some time to rest hopefully, between organizing everything I need for Offshore. I was getting a little nervouse about my Papua New Guinea Visa going through, but it looks like its all sorted out and that I should be getting it back next week sometime. Just enoough time to send it off to the Chinese Embassy next and have it back in time to leave in early October.
I really starting to realize how little I am prepared at the moment, but I'm slowly ticking off my to do list one by one and am trying to rest at the same time and get over a cold that seems to have taken a hold of me. It usually happens at the end of the summer. I figure my body just go go go's until the end of august and then when I get back from the boat and it realizes it has time to be sick it takes advantage of it!

Trip 3

This was an amazing trip. Leaving Victoria and knowing that you won't be back there again for at least a month is a great feeling. We set off and started the trip with a night run all the way up to Desolation sound making our first stop at Savary Island. Beautiful white sandy beach where we had a fantastic game of soccer, boys against girls...which usually isn't the best idea, but this time the girls were all for it and definitely held there own, although they just couldn't quite seem to score. Everyone was really happy and exhausted afterwards though.
The next few days we spent lolly-gagging in some of the lakes and waterfalls that are abundant in Desolation before started north again on our way up to Port Hardy. We even managed to spend an afternoon at Fredrick Arm where my watch had a lovely dory sail into the lagoon where everyone else was busy preparing for a sauna. This is always an adventure. We build a fire on the beach and heat up rocks meanwhile building a tent out of a tarp and wood with a pit in it. Then we put the hot rocks into the pit we fill the tent with people. Next we pour hot water on the rocks and let the steam collect inside the tent, for as long as we can stand it before we start a tribal chant of "Sauna sauna sauna...!!!" and then everyone makes a break for the cold water lagoon that is close at hand. It was fantastic.
We were thwarted by wind and current and fish as we spent out time trying to sail north, but not making it very far (I spent an entire four hour watch in the same 2 nautical miles of where I started!) We spent some time at many fishing spots that had been lucky the previous year, but not this time. The only fish we've caught this year is a three inch long rock fish of some sort caught off the Port Hardy Dock. We are hoping for better luck on the west coast.
This trip was one of my favourites. Trip three can make or break your summer sometimes being the "hump trip" but we were treated to so many good adventures, some spectacular sailing and whale shows (like within one hundred feet of the boat!) and even more fantastic and very talented trainees. Thanks to Angela for all her fiddle!
Port hardy has been relaxing and the time had gone by fast, but I am ready to leave and get back on the water.
Love to everyone!

Trip 2

Wow.

Two down three to go. This is the point in the summer, when you can't believe how little time you have left in the season. It's really like one big long trip, since leaving Victoria this time means I won't be back again until September, and then its a month and half worth of trips before the sails will come off again.
Trip 2 was great, visiting the old desolation haunts one more time, enjoying the sun while always praying for a little more wind... We had fantastic volunteers again, they really make the trip amazing. We always joke about how fabulous it would be if we could stock pile volunteers so by the end of the summer we would have 5 bosun's mates and assistant cooks, 10 watch leaders, etc. I think we don't do this because we would be laughing so hard we would never get anywhere. Gong show!
After only a few days back in Victoria, I'm already looking forward to being back on the water again. Being in town makes me realize all the things that are STILL on my to do list... like travel visas and forms and banking...ugh

I'm learning to play the fiddle

Please pray for my roomate, Kara... I've rented a violin

Trip 1

Back to the routine of summer. Its glorious, and really not so much of a routine at all. It is fantastic to be back into a longer trip after so many shorter three day ones. The summer trips are my favourite part about working for SALTS, I figure the longer the trip the better. You can get to know everyone so much more and relationships onboard develop so much deeper as well. Not to mention the fact that one can reap the benefits of all the teaching they do and not have to start all over every three days. It was a such a treat to be able to furl the topsails and headsails with trainees and then have them jumping at the gun to be able to go and do it by themselves the next time.

The first trip of the summer was full of all its usual shananigans and colourful characters,

Let me introduce you to:



RICO! ROSALITA! and CHANCHO!

not to mention was blessed with an unusual amount of wind.

The inside passage trips up to Desolation can be quite flat, but we were able to have worthwhile sails 7 of 9 days with a special treat of sailing all the way down the Georgia Strait averaging around 6 kts on our way back to Victoria. We hit up all the favourite spots: Savary Island (a glorious beach), Tenedos Bay and Unwin lake (possible my favourite anchorage in Desolation), Teakerne Arm and the waterfalls from Cassel Lake, and Hornby Island (another amazing beach, and with an icecream store to boot!)

We were blessed with four stellar volunteers and a whole boat load of amazing trainees who really bought into the program and where excited and up for anything.

This trip really drove home what it is about this program that I love. It's all the relationships that are made, the community that is developed, seeing people being challenged and learning from them, hearing peoples stories and sharing in a part of their life.

Kayaking

So I finally got my but in gear and after loving the day I spent kayaking last fall, I rented a kayaking and went out again...it only took my sister coming all the way from Prince George to keep me from being "too lazy." It was a perfect day to go out, nice and sunny, but with a bit of cloud cover so you don't get too sweltering!
Last fall I went out from Sidney and paddled over to Portland Island. This time we decided to do something closer to home and rented a double from downtown and paddled up the Gorge and around the Inner Harbour a bit.
The Gorge starts out very industrial, but as soon as you cross the Bay Street Bridge it is beautiful and peaceful. We didn't meet many other paddlers, just one or two and a couple of Harbour ferries giving a tour.
I checked the tide/current before leaving and found out that slack water under the Tillicum bridge was at 1400, which suited us perfectly since that was around the time we would be crossing under it. We got shot out going through and had an exciting paddle back under, but made it through on our first try... poor Leighsa, her foot pedal got stuck on the first attempt and she got swung back out in the current. Apparently it can get to be quite the whitewater scene in there when the current is racing. I would have liked to see what it looked like this morning at 0600 when it was doing over 7 kts! Crazy!

Sisters

Wow, the spring season has officially ended. I now have 3 months, 10 trips, 110 days before I board the Pacific Grace in Figi. Not that I have been counting (seriously I just counted now for this blog)
But to celebrate the ending of the spring season we have about 5 days off before the first ten day summer trip starts. I am so excited about the summer, but definately looking forward to some rest. Plus my sister came to visit me as an added bonus.
So far lots of shopping (see below for the sexy new shoes my sister bought) But tomorrow we are planning on going kayaking, and enjoying more of the beautiful weather we have been blessed with this week.

In Which the She-Wo goes in...Again.

I should also mention, I went in again.... and no I wasn't much more prepared for it this time, than the last. The last trip I did (in the middle of my first aid course) we took the first day and rigged up the main tops'l. The boys were taking a while to furl so I leaned out the aftcabin quarterberth window in an attemp to view their progress when I felt my sunglasses fall off the back of my head! AAAAAAAAH. I quickly turned around and saw them ever so slowly sinking, and not so slowly getting pulled back in the current. So quickly weighing the odds of getting wet versus losing my sunglasses I, after not being able to reach them from the boat) launched myself out of the window and into the ocean. At first I couldn't see the glasses and thoughtI must have pushed them down, but then I looked up and they were floating just above my head. I quickly grabbed them and passed them up to Drew (the first mate) before swimming over to the rope ladder that had been thrown over to me once again.
I maintain that my fate was sealed before I went in, because Drew and Leighsa (the cook) had been taking about how it would be funny if I fell in again, just momements before.

3 Down, None to Go

Finished! I've been in boat withdrawal lately, although I havent had too much time to worry about it. The last week has been spent at an Advanced Wilderness First Aid course. This is an 80 hour course, the outdoor equivalent of OFA3 if you will. It was a great course, although I'm not used to sitting in a classroom any more, so that part was a stretch, but I got through okay.
I took the course with Slipstream Wilderness First Aid, and one of my favourite parts about this company is that when we practice our skills we do most of the scenarios outside. We spent a lot of the class out at place called Mt. Work doing scenarios in the bush and down by the water at Mckenzie Bight. It was a fun to be learning, but not have to be in the classroom.
The last day(on thursday) was test day. We had three exams to do. A Trauma scenario, and Illness scenario, and a written test. I was really nervous in the morning, mostly because I had never got to do a trauma scenario in the class because I had missed those days to take a trip on the boat, but everything went well. I passed with flying colours and now I have couple years before I have to recertify again.
Now I am back on the boat again tomorrow and have two three day trips before the summer season (ten day trips) starts up again. I also realized, that at the end of this week I will have only 10 trips left before I head to Figi. CRAZY!
Can't wait for the summer to start!
Hope everyone is doing great.
love ya!

They Left.

The Pacific Grace left me yesterday on her year long voyage. I won't say I didn't shed a few tears. They kept coming in bursts and then I'd push them back down and then they'd come out again. It was hard to watch the people that I am closest to leave all at the same time. Ironically I looked more emotional than most and I will be the one to see them the soonest (of everyone left in Victoria that is).
Victoria however, will be as busy as ever and I will be seeing them all in four months in Figi! If you want to follow the trip, check out salts.ca There is a trip log where their position and ship's log is updated frequently and I hear that pictures and videos willbe posted as well.
I am currently at home, despite the fact that the rest of my crew is sailing... why you ask? I am preparing to do an advanced wilderness first aid course, as I am the medical officer onboard and need to be up to date with all the "new stuff." I did more homework today that I have in a while and my brain is feeling fuzzy again, but hopefully I will be very prepared for my course which starts tomorrow. 10 days of intensive first aid... Well not quite ten. It's hard to find someone who can fill in for me on the boat, so I will be missing a few days of the course to do a trip at the end of the week, which will ne a nice break from classroom stuff.
Wish my good luck, I haven't had to do any exams for a while...

36 hours in PG

I flew home this weekend for a very very quick, 36 hour visit to good ole' Prince George. It was my sister's, best friend's, and best friend's mother's grad weekend.

I was horrible let down however, when I arrived in the Prince George airport, why do you ask? well after all the defending I do of Prince George, maintaining that it is not the "hick town" that everyone says it is, I arrived at the airport and was greeted by a group of at least 8 and all the males in that group were wearing too tight jeans, boots and cowboy hats, with cut off t-shirts of course... Remind me not to defend my hometown anymore, I will now mock it along with the rest of the province, hee hee.

The rest of my weekend was not a let down however. I managed to spend some time with family and friends, the home, the school, and the pub, and still upload some pics!

Congratulations to my sister Diana, who graduated from highschool, Ronelle, with her bachelor of arts from UNBC, and Helen, masters of teaching!

In which the She-WO goes in.

This past trip was another gloriously sunny three day trip with Langley Christian School, a great bunch of grade eights. We made our first stop of the season at Portland Island. In the past this has been a frequented stop by SALTS, but we havent made it there yet this year. It was marked by the occasion of my very first dory sailing ever. Well not really my very first dory sail, it was my second, but the first with a watch. We had a beautiful soft breeze that blew us right up on the shore of Portland Island, we had to row back, but seeing as we didn't have to row there, my watch was grateful. This is an unusual occurance as the sailing dory is the first mates dory, but I heard if you ask nicely then...
Next day was almost if not more so memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. One of the trainees decided it would be a good idea to throw a deck mat (rope mat to protect the deck from wooden blocks) at another trainee, however they missed and it went in the water. Oops. Anyways, We were still at anchor so therefore limited in our ability to maneouver, but Skipper managed to put us within pike-pole reach and I got it, and almost had in onboard, but then it slipped of the pike I was ever so carefully balancing it on. next I tried to lean over, but found I couldn't quite reach it, so I grabbed a line (the port side reefing penant) and holding onto this lean away from the boat, managed to grab the deck mat, but as I am doing so I needed to be upside down and then I had to let go of one arm and this culminated with me ending up swimming in Cadboro Bay in my jeans and hoody. I guess this speaks to how much we love the boat...when we go in for a simple rope map.
I love my job.

Hmmm....

You Belong in 1959

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Chairboarding and Anton-kwon-do

The past few weeks have a been a bit of blur and now I find myself looking at the rest of the spring season and wondering where the first few months went? This next week marks big changes in for the Pacific Swift, as my first mate, Antony, and bosun, Chris, are replaced by the two not so new faces of Drew Hayes, and Matt Lamay (respectively).
This past week marked the last five day trip of the spring season. I will now be doing a series of three and four day trips, which means no teaching of our regular curriculum, so more time for fun and games and sailing; but it also means that the trainee's don't learn quite as much and I have to clean up the boat twice a week instead of once...
This last five day trip was fantastic. It was the "warm wind" trip. There is always a trip in the spring when the wind changes from its fridgid winter temperatures and starts blowing a warmer summer breeze accross our sails, and this trip was it. The change in temperature meant a lot of brightwork (painting/varnishing/etc) was done last week. I even had my she-wo (female watch officer) hands on a few brushes re-finishing the names boards with metallic gold and green paint. The warmer winds also made the water look more inviting and one sunny and not so windy afternoon when we were not able to sail, but looking for something fun to do, we decided to bring back out the chair-board. That is to say, we rigged up the bosun's chair (a plank with lines on either side, kinda of like those old fashioned swings) and swung it out off the end of the yard (big horizontal piece of wood) and then proceeded to swing out over the water and the mercy of whomever was in control of the other end. I volunteered to be first out to spike curiosity and interest and though I had not planned to get more than my legs wet, by the time I got back onboard I was soaked from head to toe!
As far as the Anton-kwon-do goes... every since my crew found out that I have a black-belt, they have been challening me with their own martial arts, such as the aforementioned Anton-Kwon-do, as well as Kick-but-te and Drew-Jitsu...

April Showers Bring May Flowers

This old saying is undoubtedly true!
I spent the last few days of this weeks trip in my foulies and pink boots half the time being smushed into a puddle on the deck after having my skipper and first mate discover that I have a rather ticklish neck and that if they jam their fingers in the back of it they get the delightful (or not-so-very-delightful depending on whose poing of view) result of my head cramping down and despite my constant plea or rather shreik of "stop, stop, stop!" they insist they cannot since I am pinching their fingers into the very spot!
This weekend however had brought warmth to the day and blue to the skies and a skip to my step.

Another Year

I realized that I haven't posted much in a while. So here I go, on the blog train again.
I head out on the boat again this week, 21 years of age, and will come back 22.
Birthday on Tuesday! Woo Hoo.
I am only slightly scared on what will come of me, considering in the past there has been plank walking, sending people out on the bosun's chair(just a plank, tied to a rope) or just plain throughing people over into the fridgid April water's of our West Coast Pacific Ocean.
I however smart of not so smart this may be, have convinced my crew that they should all voluntarily jump in on my birthday, so here's to hoping we don't all catch pneumonia...
I am looking forward though to another fun-filled week and am thankful everyday that I get to work with such amazing people celebrating the creation that surrouds us everyday.