The First Hour -- 21°11.29’N, 157°50.85’W

Winds on deck are calm. Waves in harbor are light. We are ready, ready to head south.

            The Robert C. Seamans makes its way past enormous container ships, industrial fishing boats, and coast guard vessels. Tropical flora lines the harbor shores. Layers of clouds pile on each other in the surrounding atmosphere. Rays of the Sun glisten off the emerald surface.

            A grip on the ship is not needed while in harbor waters. But as we steadily transition to the open waters off Oahu, standing up straight for even ten seconds becomes almost impossible. The change of motions comes as a big shock to my balance. How difficult it is to walk up and down the deck cannot really be anticipated. When moving towards the bow, the rocking and rolling feels more and more amplified.

            My right hand reaches up to grip the bow railing. My body lay diagonally forward against the steel. My head rises up to catch the wild unobstructed winds coming from the port bow. My glasses are squished up against my face.  Any moisture on my upper body immediately evaporates dry. Any woes and worries the blow away completely. Only my unstoppable zeal for more wind remains.

            Such raw forces of nature surge upon the ship, dwarfing my nimble body in all degrees and magnitudes. Never before has my mortality becomes so apparent. The rushing and crashing waters can take my life in any instant. If not, the rush of time would do it instead. For existence to devoid permanence, the joy of wind is now to be.

            To stay between the winds and waves is to stay between being and nothingness.

-Drive Rojrachsombat