Off to sea

We woke up early and headed out to sea. We had to time our departure well due to the locks we had to pass through which are dependent on the tides. We sat around for a while and then off we went.

During this dead time, our captain had a "serious" talk with one of our mates. It went something like this: "I know what kinds of souvenirs you guys bought over there. I don't care what you do with them...eat them, smoke them, throw them overboard. I just want you to know that I when we get into London, I don't want any German Shepherds running around this boat getting all excited."

I don't want any German Shepherds running around this boat getting all excited.

In short, we had to get rid of our stash. And the clever people that we are, we climbed up to the highest sail with a baggie and a roll of duct tape, and taped our souvenirs under the sail. No dog is ever going to get up there and hopefully the winds blow the smells away. Although every time I had to climb up there to do something, I got a whiff of some Mary J.

After the detour up top, we got on our way to London. It took us about 5 hours to putter through the canals that lead from Amsterdam to the North Sea. During that time, it was rainy but calm. I mean, there was a bit of wind but absolutely no waves...yet.

And then it hit us. Going straight from flat water to 6 foot swells hit everyone real hard. People were puking left and right while 3 or 4 of us pulled a double watch. Everything eventually calmed down and we were able to brush the rest of the vomit off the side of the boat that the waves hadn't yet gotten.

And we continued on.