A Short Word from the Cap’n

What a voyage this has been!  An amazing adventure to foreign islands in faraway places.  Visiting beautiful people with wonderful smiles and huge hearts.  From one side of the Pacific Ocean to the other we have witnessed sensational sights, terrific tastes, surreal sounds, and swam in the crystal blue ocean with every imaginable sea creature.  Not that everything was fun and games and as easy as lying on a beach catching a few rays.  We battled a few storms, fickle winds, no wind, monotony, and our own selfish desires(coveting our remaining private candy stash for example).  Which leads me to a few thoughts on our young men.  Yes, they shall now be called young men, no longer boys.  They proved themselves over and over to be capable of handling the rough seas and winds that were thrown at them, standing watch through all hours of the night, wind gusts up to 65 knots, not able to see a thing around them except when the lightning struck with thunderous blows and lit up the sea.  Oh yes, prayers were answered that night.  Great faith and trust were honed that night as well and by morning all doubt was gone as was the storm(but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; James 1:6).  The young men took the helm of Selah, steered by the compass according to the council of the charts and reached the promise land(Australia).  They applied this to their lives as they appropriated faith and steered by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the council of the Word of God and will receive the sure promise of God.  I am so proud of all of them, proud to be their captain.  The dynamics in crew relationships can often lead to keelhauling or even mutiny, I’m happy to report that neither happened.  In fact I was delighted to see that each crewmember did look out for the others’ best interest and grew stronger together and when a little grumble came about it was swiftly worked out within 46 feet.  Each ones’ character was refined as they worked together and I believe they are now better grounded and equipped to take on life’s next challenge.   Selah also proved herself a seaworthy yacht and held up even better at times than her crew, (and by the way she was the only girlfriend the young men ever had!).

We started this voyage along with Moses saying to the Lord “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here”; Exodus 33:15 and our Almighty God never left us.  We sensed His Presence with us along the way.  We trusted our God to strengthen us in Christ, keep us safe, and guide us to each landfall and He accomplished His work in us.  Plus the added bonus of so many lovely memories to inspire us on.  As we finish this last landfall and reflect on the magnitude of all we have been through, we feel so blessed to have been able to take this journey of a life time and share it all with you.

Over and out

Cap‘n  Jeff

carried on a vast stream

Well quite simply it’s been pretty crazy living out here in the South Pacific. Some days were filled with fear, as storms rolled in and our lives were out of our control, which is a terrifying place to be in. Some days were also filled with loneliness, a real enemy that seemed to be nagging at my side when I was longing for fellowship, community, and loved ones; things that 10,000 miles separated me from. And some days were filled with monotony, when we had been crammed in the boat for 21 days straight without seeing land, eating the same canned foods day after day, hearing the same jokes over and over again, unable to be completely be still for one single instant… Everything that would usually be simple becomes difficult while sailing.  But a quote from Dove by Robin Lee Graham says it all… “I wonder that if I had been able to see the future…supposing I had seen my demastings, the huge storm, the loneliness that drove me with in breaths of madness, would I have sailed at all…yet if I had been able to see the terrors and troubles of this trip I would have also seen the tremendous joy, days that no man deserves this side of heaven. Yes, I am sure I would have sailed, sailed through the toughest hurricanes, the deepest hurts and hell itself had I known the full pattern of my life” Just like Robin, some days I wished more than anything to be home in a comfortable bed which wasn’t constantly rocking back and forth or eating a real meal with friends and family but I would never give up some of the days, most of the days, I experienced out here. Days that were filled with pure splendor and so much happiness, that if I had not experienced them, I wouldn’t even be able to dream up such days.

Sailing into The Kingdom of Tonga was one of those days. We had a light breeze, just enough to fill the sails for us to gently float through all the closely compacted islands. The water was a beautiful aqua blue, completely calm and tranquil. The foliage on the islands was extremely dense, filled with banyan, palm and mangrove trees. The clean air smelled of fresh flowers and fruit. The only sounds I could hear was the light breeze soaring past our sails, song birds singing from their tree perches and the water gently lapping up against the steep cliffs and as I looked out from the boats edge I saw just a single flower, pink, deep orange and black, floating face up, just suspended there in the pristine water. It was as close to a perfect beauty that I can imagine… I remember that there was a certain stillness sailing in that day. It was as if everything around us, the sky, wind, waves, islands, trees, birds, everything all came together as one thing in those five simple minutes; all working in harmony to make a perfect landfall. All this while being surrounded by the people I love most, my family, as well as the natives who live a simple life but are truly happy and are completely content with themselves and who they are. You can learn a lot from the locals by just examining them and the way they live; learning how very little a person needs and how to live life to its fullest. Most of the locals were the kindest and most generous people I have ever met. Out here I have experienced another perspective on life that is much clearer and tightly knit to the Word of God. Being around so much beauty and love, it is hard not to feel Gods presence. The beauty of nature and the love of the people proclaim God in an unmistakable way.  I felt constantly filled up to the brim and overflowing with joy, peace and love that could only come from God.

Each day I journeyed deeper and deeper into a relationship with God and fell in love with just being out here sailing the South Pacific and the life style that comes with it. There were definite times when I felt like I would never be able to settle back into the “regular” life back at home; where rules, time, power, money, pressures and many other material things become gods. Sometimes I felt like being out here is where I was made to be, where I am supposed to be. I loved it. But a quote from Crazy Love makes me realize that without purpose, this would all be trivial, a selfish thing and not honoring to God. “It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort and superficial peace.” This really hits home for me.  Our purpose of sailing through the South Pacific was simply to take time away from our everyday lives to pause and ponder, explore and discover, learn and grow, experience the world and mature from boys to young men.  Every day we accomplished our goals for this trip and God was fulfilling that purpose which made it all the more worthwhile. He is also preparing me for a new and different time in my life when I return home. Basically I feel like that big ol’ hand full of clay being molded, by God, into the man He has planned for me to be. He is doing BIG things and I feel so blessed to have been a part of some of His plans out here in the South Pacific. Please pray that I will continue to be used and molded by God and that “in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that I shall have sufficient courage, so that as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death!” Philippians 1:20

Although this is the end of our trip, it isn’t the end of the road. This is no dead end for us. This “ending” is merely a small trail leading to highways and freeways of new beginnings. Here in Australia, at the end of our trip, God arranged a divine appointment for us with a wonderful family, which has sparked lifelong friendships that have led and will lead to new adventures, memories and paths and places down the road. They have been such a blessing to us in generosity, hospitality, encouragement and fellowship. God works in mighty ways and will never cease to surprise me with the doors He opens. I really am quite excited to start a new chapter in my life when I return home. A chapter wholly devoted to the Lord. I’m excited to take on responsibility as a young man, use what I have learned on this trip, go where God leads me and carry that momentum back home to share it with others.

It has been nearly eight months since we left our home in Oregon. We have seen so much and experienced more than we could have hoped for or dreamed. The memories and the experiences we have had are things I will never forget and will forever be changed by. For me it was the long passages and the storms on the way to the beautiful remote islands where I grew the most; and I think that is the case for most of us. It’s the tough journey to the desired spot where the growth happens. Because of the way that this trip has changed me I am eager to encourage you all to take “trips” just like this. To take initiative and do something out of the ordinary, out of your natural comfort zone. To do something that will test and try you, shape and strengthen you in character; as you learn to sacrifice your own wants for the needs of the people around you, as you grow in maturity while you take on major responsibilities and becoming courageous in the midst of fear. This is what I have experienced and have been changed by through Gods mercy. This trip, indeed, has been a life changing experience.

“I was in rapport now with my surroundings, and was carried on a vast stream where I felt the buoyancy of His hands who made all the worlds.”

Jason

The End is Better than the Beginning

With the trip winding down, I have had mixed feels about the end. I am super bummed to be leaving this part of the world, the “best part of the world to visit” my Dad has always said. It has been such an amazing experience that God has given us the opportunity to do, and it is sad to see it end. On top of all this, we just met the most wonderful family in Australia. The Simard family has been so kind to us, and they have been great company. It has been really great to fellowship with them. It’s too bad we have only been able to spend a few days with them!

On the other hand, I am really excited to get home and see all my family and friends again and start this new chapter of my life. I have grown in so many ways on this trip and I am looking forward to putting the lessons I have learned into action. God has definitely helped me grow in my overall character in many ways. He has made me more patient, given me endurance, made me independent, selfless, a prayer warrior and the list goes on. I know this trip isn’t the only way for this to happen, but it is the way we have chosen, and it definitely gave me a jump start in life.

Maybe some of you have not realized how hard this trip actually was. You knew we were at some of the most amazing parts of the world that God has created, but you may not have realized how difficult the passages were. To get to those beautiful spots, we faced many challenges. We didn’t just appear there, or hope on a plane and arrive there. Every crossing was a new challenge. Imagine rocking around on a boat for days on end. Your only hope to stop rocking was getting to the next port. Days with little wind could drive you crazy thinking you would never make it. Days with too much wind would make everything you did miserable. Not being able to see, smell, hear, or touch land. Imagine lying on your bed, trying to go to sleep, with some people holding your bed up and rocking it around all night long, with the noise of a boat under sail screaming in your ears. Everything you did took longer and was harder. The trip was not easy. But with God’s help, we made it to our destination, and I would definitely do it again.

Our verse for the trip was probably Luke 21:17 “Through patient endurance one gains his life.” This verse was a great reminder throughout the trip. Not only did it have spiritual value, but it also was great for in the moment. We had to patiently endure the crossings in order to sail to the next amazing spot, and in the end, we have definitely gained our lives.

Many people are probably wondering why we did this trip. Quite honestly, the bottom line is that we wanted to. There are many other reasons though, and we have accomplished all of them. We had always heard my dad’s stories of when he sailed around the world as a boy, and we wanted our own stories. I wanted a better relationship with my father, and brother. We wanted to see the best part of the world. We wanted an adventure. I wanted to grow closer to my Lord and Savior. We wanted to grow from boys to men. I wanted to take on responsibility, and let my parents know they could trust me with bigger things. I wanted to experience different cultures and see how other people live. There is such a big list of reasons, and the trip definitely lived up to its expectations!

I know it will be hard to not fall back into the same rut and act like nothing has happened, but that is my new challenge to continue on with what God has given me, and to encourage others to do the same.

This trip has opened my eyes to the world and I have realized the most important thing in life is to spend your time where you want to and with who you want to be spending it with.

‎’Don’t cry because it’s over, SMILE because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

If nothing else, I have come away with memories that will last me a life time. But that is not all that happened. I had the most amazing time of my life, and it will probably be some of the best few months in my entire life. I loved every moment of it. Sure it had its ups and downs, but I would always remind myself how blessed I was to be there. I would always think how is it possible to be angry in the middle of the south pacific? So I tried to live in the moment and not waste any of the time God gave me out here. But thinking about it now, why should we ever be angry anywhere? God has created all of it to perfection. We should not waste any time God has given us, no matter where we are. I think we often need a reminder to Selah, pause and ponder. This trip was my reminder.

Zach.

blown away

August 29th, 2011

The sun is setting, and God really took time on this one. You look up, and as you pan down you can see every shade of pink and red; fading into a rich burgundy around the sun which is now dipping halfway into the pacific. The conversation is a bit more intense than usual- there is celebration, and emotion for the coming day. Selah will cross the finish line, and the most anticipated adventure in my life will slow to a stop. It really is bittersweet, but we have so much to look forward to. Occasionally the conversation would slow down and we’d pause and simply take in the moment. Not an awkward silence, but an awe-filled silence. We’ve finally done it. 

The sun dips down, and we are surrounded in the sanguine, starry night. The glow of the milky way pierces through the cloud cover, and reflects off of the mainsail.

Yes, it can be bittersweet. But this isn’t a goodbye- not even farewell! This is the beginning of a new, beautiful and God-ordained adventure. We have made some unforgettable memories in the prettiest places I’ll ever be. We sailed across The Pacific, and what a marvelous day this is! To reminisce over the times we spent with God simply pausing; pondering as you keep Selah on course under the night sky. Personally, as I would slowly adapt to the lifestyle given, God would shake me and say “look around! look up! admire it as you should, Cale!” and he’d underline it with a group of porpoise that would playfully chase me at night; their bodies leaving streaks of glittering phosphorescence. Or out of nowhere, a meteor- a spiraling, flaming mass that comes a little too close for comfort. Just as it begins entering what you think to be within reaching distance, it fades away and leaves you at peace once more; just you, Selah, and my personal savior. How foolish and ignorant I can be to lose sight of my savior at times. Yes, God has indeed shown himself to me in more vivid ways then I’d ever imagine and, friends, I couldn’t mean that any more than right now. I’ve been in storms that had me packing my bags and praying for a painless fate, and witnessed the sea bow in reverence; calm itself supernaturally. Whether it was for our safety, or a declaration of just how powerful our Christ really is, I won’t know for a long time. Either way, God’s had me impressed weekly. Once, we met a wonderful lady who, upon introduction, drove us to and from the grocery store, bought us bread, shared the gospel with us (which we shared back in hallelujah’s) and departed with hugs and kisses. She returned to our boat to give us a personally prepared meal for us- delicious chicken, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and corn more delectable than I could ever hope for. A selfless act. A blessing. A gift, undeserved but gladly accepted. This lady will receive crowns in abundance when she reaches heaven’s gates, my friends.

We had our last, (and very peaceful) night watch that evening. I attempted to steer 5 hours (from 8:00 to 1:00) but only made it to 11:45 and praise God I woke up alive and well to a sleepy, disheveled and very disappointed captain at 12:45. Believe me, I’ve got plenty of grief from the crew about falling asleep at the wheel on our very last and most crucial night watch. They’ve titled me “Narcoleptic Porpoise General” for a variety of reasons. I wear the title proudly.

August 30th, 2011

We sailed into Brisbane, got quarantined by a very jolly Australian named Craig who refreshed us with a bit of a culture shock by using phrases like “Keen as Mustard” and such. 

We had finally made it.

As we entered the marina, time seemed to slow down as each and every one of us realized we’d be parking in our final destination, so we took in quite an unusual scene. 15-20 people lined the edge of the marina, simply watching us. Heads panning like security cameras to a suspicion, almost eerily, following us. It felt like they knew what we’d been through. I felt like they should be clapping. I wanted to clap, too. I wanted to shout and run up and down the deck and tell them all that we’d made it; that I had accomplished something bigger than I can currently fathom. That the one who breathed each one of them into existence was on this very boat, and hadn’t left for a single moment since I stepped aboard Selah in California. This is it.

This is the finish line, but this is no end. No curtains are closing. Nobody’s taking a bow.

This is the closing of a chapter. The title: Adolescence.

Continue to pray that we have the audacity to live for Christ and seek out every single opportunity he provides; that we would listen and look for him in every single moment and radically change the way we look at things- simple things, too.

I’ve had people confront me - leaders, even - that have doubted us. Doubted our efforts. Doubted my growth. Our purpose. I can’t repeat myself enough in saying that God has been with us this whole trip, and thus this whole trip has been for him. The whole crew prayed before the trip was conceived that if He wasn’t with us, we wouldn’t do it. Immediately after, everything flew into place. This was spiritually-predestined. He’s changed me, and there’s nothing that can tame the fire that’s been ignited. You can’t doubt something that you see. Something that’s changed the way you live your life. That’s like doubting gravity. The gravity of my relationship with God is something that I won’t fully understand, but I’ve come to near comprehension a few times and it’s taken my breath away. If you can doubt that, you’ll have me very impressed.

In all honesty, I’ve never wanted to seek Jesus more than after a powerful sermon, a great worship session, or a revealing quiet time with the Lord then I have on this journey; sailing through the waters that were here since the beginning of time, reveling in his creation and giving him the truly deserved glory.

Before I found Christ, I was undone. He found me and I wrestled with him all my life, trusting in him but fighting him in my depraved sin-nature, until he took me into his loving, merciful arms and consumed me- subsumed me completely like a flame to an insect.

I’ve been challenged to do some extraordinary things, and I’m looking forward to following through with them; being a torch for Jesus. A constant light, no matter where I am or what environment I’m in with transparency, peace, joy, and boldness.

“We’ll be like torches- torches together.”

In Christ,

Cale Haugen

Yellow brick Road

I’ve been home a week and a half now.. Life is different, home has changed. I have changed. 

I’ve been asked many questions about the trip, and I’ve told many stories, People asked about challenges and lessons learned, and I have so many things to tell them that I haven’t been finished talking with people one on one after almost 3 hours.

I’d like to talk about few of those things now, and how life is different for me. I’m sure most of you have been on some type so summer camp for a week or ten days and then you come back home on the “camp high” I feel a lot like that, only 6 months worth of challenge, adventure, fellowship and fun. I feel like I have more momentum in my life than ever before, I want to be independent, responsible, and I want to be challenged. I find it hard to sit down and watch a movie, or hop on Facebook 10 times day, In fact I’ve been on Facebook probably once a day, if that. It’s a good feeling for sure.

I learned some pretty key lessons on the trip, that I knew were there but never felt it or saw it play out in reality, the first of which is a prayer thing.. I know that prayer is communication with our God, I know that its a two way thing, but honestly there were very very few times I treated it like that. I always had so many things I wanted to ask God for, some times things I just wanted so I’d “be happy” other things that I felt someone deserved, maybe even me. But like I said, it was rare for me to sit down, and be in prayer, but not saying one word. To listen to God, to bow my head before him and wait. That is an amazing and beautiful thing. There were many night shifts for all of us, where we’d be alone for 2 or 3 hours, and we could have listened to music till our shift was over, but lots of times we spent that time in prayer. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so connected and close to our Father than ever before, so praise God for teaching me that lesson on this wonderful trip.

Another lesson learned: How awesome, and huge God’s grace and mercy is for you, for me.. for all of us. Let me explain.

The storm that I wrote about a long time back taught me this lesson in the most real way I have ever seen before. It was after the huge gust of wind hit us, and we had a little more sails out. Sense the wind died down the ocean’s waves were starting to build up larger and larger because the wind was no longer strong enough to blow them flat. we all had been taking turns steering because it took our full focus and attention to maneuver the boat in the rough seas. I was standing there at the helm, singing, and watching the waves. Timing them so they would hit the boat in a non-destructive way, then it hit me; not only the huge wave that crashed over the boat and my head, but the realization that we are at the oceans mercy. we, at any moment could be thrown overboard, flipped… sunk, killed maybe? I think it was rough enough that someone could have easily lost there life if they fell overboard. 

As I watched the wrathful waves crashing one after another thought hit me- God is in control of those waves, so we are at HIS mercy, not the wave’s! 

Selah

God gave us grace that day in a more real way I have ever felt before.. I realized that out life has been given to us, that we deserve death. God loves us so much, he extended that love to us through his Son, and we were given grace, mercy. We were atoned for. 

As I sit here on my couch, writing about that day, I am most definitely not expecting a wave to come crashing in on me and snuff out my frail life, but again- I deserve it!!! I just took 10 breaths while writing that sentence, and here I am, still living. What does this mean to me? 

Do you remember the momentum I was talking about earlier? I want to harness that momentum, that time, and my life to get a grip on just how awesome God’s love for us is. I don’t want to waste my time, I went from being a boy, who loves to do nothing and goof around, to a man, who is seeking purpose and does not want to lose a God given momentum to change my self, my family.. my family? the world? Who knows how I will be used, but I am excited for that. 

It’s so good to be home with my family and growing into a man, where life and reality are on my door step. My heart goes out for the men who are still on the boat, still having those amazing nightshifts, still being challenged in new ways everyday, and I pray for them, and you should too. 

I hope my thoughts have inspired you, or at least satisfied some of your curiosity about what its like to be home, though by no means let that keep you from asking me. I have many things to say still, and your questions actually help me formulate and solidify lessons learned.

Thank you so much for prayer and support. 

~Grayson

Craig’s Diary Entry

The sun is high, and I’m on holiday in a real adventure!

Sailing around Fiji with the guys I met in Tahiti two months ago - they’re on a full world voyage and it’s such a privilege to join them again.

I’d arrived back from Paris just 24 hours before flying from Auckland to Fiji, so when I arrived I was EXHAUSTED.

And as the taxi cab pulled up at the boathouse where we’d arranged to meet, there they were. Zach, Jason, Grayson Cale and Jeff (Zach and Jason’s dad).

That first night their boat was out of the water as the paint dried from a big fix-up after storms in their voyage from Tonga.

First thing in the morning “Big Red” (the name we gave to the enormous crane that lifted our boat up in the air and dropped us back in the sea) came and set us under way.

That day we sailed to Bounty Island where I’m certain I’d stayed when I was younger. We went ashore to explore, and the locals got angry that we hadn’t paid the $5 “landing fee”…so we dashed back to the boat and chilled there for the day.

In the morning we decided to move to another location, so started to lift up the anchor. But it was caught on coral! …18m under the water. And there were millions of tiny jellyfish around our boat.

Next thing I knew I was in the sea with Zach and Grayson, and they were free diving down the anchor, tying another rope around it so that we could pull it from another angle.

The strain was so much on the stern that there is a big crack below the anchor winch as we attempted to get away that day.

It took about an hour, and we all came away with dozens of jellyfish stings (which I’ve still got now, 5 days later).

But what was truly remarkable about the whole operation, was the absolute calm and clear-headed thinking by the whole team, and led by Jeff.

Their yacht was jumping up and down in a decent sized swell, with 3 swimmers yelping out every time a jellyfish found a vulnerable body part, a crack below the anchor winch, coral literally 10-15m behind the boat and we’re being pushed towards it, Cale’s getting electrocuted as he uses the electric motor for the anchor and he’s also yelping like the rest of us, then he stubbed his toe pretty badly and blood is everywhere.

Jason’s steering the boat, taking in comments from 5 people, but command only from 1. At the front of the boat, watching and monitoring, leading like an absolute expert, Jeff directs everything, and after Grayson and Zach dived down to the anchor about 6 or 7 times we managed to free the anchor chain that kept getting caught, and then the anchor itself. And through the event, there was never the tiniest tone of frustration, fear or anger. Only an unbelievable calm focus, and thanks to that everyone in the team felt like they were valued and appreciated, and they pushed themselves to the absolute limit and it was with smiles and hi-fives that we jumped back on board and headed off.

Congratulations everyone, that was a big eye-opener for me.

Our next stop was about 3 hours north, right by the Island where the movie “Castaway” was filmed.

That same afternoon after we had anchored we went for a snorkel and then decided that all of the ‘kids’ would attempt the 2 nautical mile swim from our yacht to Castaway Island.

It was actually really tough! Even for me, but Jeff came along as we got close to the island and dropped off a soccer ball in the water and we recreated the famous “WILSON„„,WIIIIILSON!” scene from Castaway. On the island itself we mucked around for a while throwing stones and sticks at each other and finding interesting shells and strange artifacts left by passing travelers. Then we decided to explore the other side of the island, so we crept along the slippery rocks while waves crashed around us. On the way back Zach spotted a sea snake jumping up the rocks to its cave. This particular black and white stripped sea snake is one of the most poisonous creatures on the planet…and I was horrified to see Jason pick up a stone to take it on! I had a peek, the snake was almost completely hidden from view behind the rocks, but it gazed up at us. I took 3 steps backwards in case it lept out.

Jason moved forwards skillfully and calmly, his first blow narrowly missed the snake and the rock he had been holding shattered…the guys passed him another firmer rock very quickly and he pinned down the snake’s head with his next movement and with his hand and another rock he attempted to saw the snake’s head off but it was too tough, and after a couple of minutes (which is a pretty big battle!) the snake went limp, and Jason took it out for us to look at.

It was perhaps just under 1m long, and apparently even after they’re dead they can still bite out of reflex (not sure how that one works). Jason flicked the snake into the sea and we continued with our adventure.

There were many such exciting and dangerous moments on the trip, but when I asked the guys what the key lesson they’d learned was, they unanimously said:

“patience”

“when you’re doing a 21 day crossing, there’s no land and nothing other than the sea and you’re the only one on watch, everything takes longer on a boat, you learn to be content with what you have - that doesn’t mean you don’t get excited about other things you can do in the future, but you have a presence of self and a calm and a wonderful new interaction with the world around you”

We had really nice meals on the boat - in particular after serious exercise like that swim to Castaway Island. It was usually either rice or spaghetti with tomato/cream sauce and beans. The rest of the crew was sick to death of that meal but I thought it was great!

The next morning I woke up refreshed. Up to that point I’d been 50% in the holiday, 50% with my mind still on our businesses and everything that was happening there.

Finally, I was in the adventure. We’d already spent many hours sharing amazing stories of our various trips and now it was time to make a new story together.

That next day we went ashore and met the locals, they showed us around their village, their well, their 2 churches, their school, at the other side of the island we went for a swim in the rough swell and bodysurfed…that was awesome, and back on shore the kids showing us around did a dance. As we walked back they started humming Justin Bieber’s “Baby” song and apparently that’s a huge hit on all of the islands.

Jeff had the brilliant idea for us to arrange a feast with the locals, and we spent the afternoon choosing the pig and watching the feast preparations.

Now I’d never seen anything half as this. Quite literally, we spent an hour being shown through the pig dens and bartering with the locals…but the biggest and nicest pig was actually on the run that day! So we went out with the local dog and the local kids to hunt it down! The dog got on the pigs trail pretty quickly, but it put up a serious fight! We had no idea how to catch a pig - do we rugby tackle it, grab its legs? Or something else?

But as the dog got a bite on the pig’s ear one of the kids grabbed on of the pigs back legs and it squealed and lashed around. Zach grabbed the other leg and they held on for dear life! The village elder came to check out the pig and then it was all go. We’d caught it on the beach with the most gorgeous backdrop, and then we needed to carry the pig back to the village! It was really heavy!

Arriving, all of the women had started to prepare the vegetables, the men were digging a pit in which we would cook the pig, About an hour later they were ready, one of the young males (about 22ish) walked forward with a knife and the pig squealed with terror, not a pleasant sound. He slit the pig’s throat and it kept struggling for about 2 minutes which surprised me. I’d assumed it would just die, but as blood gushed out onto the ground it took two grown men standing on it and holding its legs, and then it was done.

The pig was hoisted between two palm trees and cocooned with leaves, then set alight! The palm trees caught fire as well but the locals weren’t concerned…it was a blaze for less than a minute, but the heat was such that everyone moved back a good 7-8m. Then they did it again, and at this stage we went back to our boat to have some food. It was 4:00pm and we hadn’t eaten or drunken anything since breakfast aside from a little glass of water. The elements really take it out of you and I was exhausted.

Back at the boat we fixed up a little meal, because the feast was only going to start at 10:00pm. We watched the movie “21” which was about card counting in blackjack basically, pretty fun but I realized that watching movies was a very poor use of time with these guys, and that was the one and only time that we did that.

Just after 9:30 we jumped in the dinghy and motored into shore. It was low tide so it was rather difficult to navigate in without smashing the engine on coral.

The ceremony started, with Kava. Lots of kava. It was the first time I’d drunk kava, and it tasted like muddy water. But the effects were pretty immediate and we were all giggling and lazing at the side of the room within about half an hour. We each had 10 full bowls of kava which is quite a lot, and then we were taken to the eating area. The pork was A M A Z I N G. Fresh, succulent, flavorsome, and well-earned!

When I’d heard that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg only ate food that he’d killed himself, it sounded gross, but for the first time it made sense that day.

Lots of the village joined us for that feast and we drank kava together, although they waited for us to finish eating before they themselves got to enjoy the food.

The next morning I awoke before everyone else. I thought “that’s the last time I’m drinking kava!” And I was also pretty tired because we’d got back well after midnight which was very late considering we were usually asleep by 9pm.

But I was getting more and more ‘into’ the trip, and I had a crazy idea.

There was a cave that we’d all been really keen to check out and I decided to set up a bit of a real-life treasure hunt!

On a piece of paper I wrote

“You are destined for great success”

“Your first clue is in a dark place where bats live”

I set this on the table, then folded the next clue into a plastic bag inside of a plastic bag and jumped into the water.

It was extremely low tide again so i was barely floating above dangerous coral, but I made it to the cave, checked the bit of paper and it was fine, and just as I was reading it some water had got in and it blurred out! I realized this was now ever better, because the prize I’d hidden behind a birthday letter to Zach where Grayson and Isabelle had been drawn side by side, but somehow a drop of water had joined their hands…so that smudge was all they would need!

I left the plastic bag with the clue under some rocks so it would blow or drift away and I headed back to the boat.

Returning I had a quick shower, Jeff was awake and he’d seen me swimming. I put my finger to my lips so that he didn’t say anything, then I hopped back into bed, and had just taken my togs off and put on my boxers as Jason got up…he saw me there yawning, and the whole plot took on a new twist! They thought it was Jeff that had left the messages. So I proceeded to go along and pretend i was discovering everything as the day went on. They interpreted the clue as a place where bats (as in baseball bats) would be and searched the whole boat, eventually Jason suggested they check out the cave…so after visiting the locals for Church (which the local girls got us dressed up in Fijian attire, Fijian skirts and button ups for the service) and a lunchtime feast we went to the cave, they found the blurred out clue and when I told them the prize was back at the boat they raced back faster than I’ve ever seen them move! They searched the boat but didn’t connect the blur to the letter.

Cale even went to the lengths of jumping under the boat and searching there! As he was drying himself off he saw the letter and it all made sense. He came racing in with a huge smile, and he’d won $20 as the founding capital for “Coffee Tycoon” a challenge I’d set them to make $1000 profit selling coffee in the least number of hours possible.

Well done Cale!

We’d been planning on sleeping out at Castaway Island so we had an early dinner but the weather turned really foul so we had a dance party instead! 5 guys raving in the little cabin is quite a sight, but we went for a crazy swim to cool off then had a very early night (8pm asleep)

The next morning I was up early again and set out the next clue!

“N O N J O”

I won’t bore you with the details of this one but I was pretty complex and had the guys baffled for hours! We went ashore and the little boy Jonny that had been our guide of the village handed the guys their next clue (I’d given it to him a while before). It was a sheet with everyone’s names on it and a couple of letters allocated to them.

Cale: ART

Jeff: SEA

Jason: C

Grason: T

Zach: H

They looked WAY into this one - Cale searched all of his art folders, they started to connect things together in amazing ways. I did an interview with them at the half-way point to hear what they were thinking, they all had completely different perspectives on the possible answers, and I realized the most important part of the challenge was to encourage them to think REALLY laterally.

It turned out the final solution was a simple combination of the letters, and Cale almost had it and asked Zach, then Zach spotted:

Chart Seat! He ran down followed by Cale and he found my University ID card under the navigation seat, $100 prize towards his uni! NICE!

That day we travelled to our current location, and Jason and I got out and did a 4km sea swim over the most beautiful coral I’d ever seen!!! A quick spaghetti meal and then we shared ‘scary stories’ before going off to sleep. The things they’d all be doing (including Jeff!) were remarkably terrifying. But as they say, what happens on the trip stays on the trip so I won’t write about them here.

Yesterday was a HUGE day. We went ashore for the most amazing dive I’d ever done, visibility for 20m at least, we were taken down to about 28m and went through this crazy cave where I almost got stuck but Jason helped me out.

They’re all such confident, considerate guys, with a genuine interest in the world, the people around them, thrill junkies that are always looking for extremely difficult challenges to conquer. They will all be extremely successful in life, and already are. As they have found a peace I have not seen before. They are genuinely content with who they are, proud of where they’re going, grateful for the opportunities the world has presented, and they also believe that you’ve got to ‘go and get em’ - as-in, you’ve got to work hard to get the most out of an opportunity.

After more than 5 hours of volleyball, pool, swimming and meeting new people yesterday, we had a feast of curry, played volleyball in a tournament against the locals, shared stories with our new friends, then fell into a deep sleep.

In the next hour we’ll be back on the Dinghy, into shore, dashing across the island for our next dive, and finishing off the nicest Banana Smoothie! Then we’re off to Mantaray Bay to see some very very large specimens!

Thank you for this opportunity.

Craig

The South Pacific

Being out sailing the South Pacific has been like nothing else I have ever experienced. The people, places, food, culture and life out here are truly special. My goal in making this video is to let others see a glimpse of the beauty that surrounds us and to inspire you to, as Mark Twain would say, “Throw off the bow lines, and sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” but most of all, my goal in making this video is to give glory to God in His awesomeness and to enjoy Him forever.

Departing Words from a Belle-Sailor-ette

The end of a matter is better than the beginning…Ecclesiastes 7:8.  My time has come to an end aboard Selah.  It is a bittersweet time as I ponder all the adventures I have experienced on this amazing life changing journey.  The most profound changes I have seen during this time are in the young sailors, Jason, Grayson, Cale and Zachary.  I have been very blessed to have had such a privilege to see firsthand what this trip is really about, not just a vacation but life experiences and lessons that become etched forevermore on the tablet of our hearts.  The sense of freedom and timelessness  that I have witnessed being out to sea really teaches us how to “Selah”, pause and ponder  the deeper meaning of life, which has made me love life even more, realizing “One learns from the sea how little one needs, not how much.” From the book Dove,  by Robin E. Graham.  I hope when I go home, I can keep all that I have learned in my everyday living.  Reduce the stress and do less.  One of my favorite sayings on this trip is from Pride and Prejudice “I have no fixed engagements.”  We are always on “island time”, I never wore my watch and no one cared about the time or date.  Every day is simply a gift and you live it to your fullest.

I’d like to share about some of the things I have experienced on my journey on Selah.  My longest time out to sea was 10 days, traveling around 150 miles every 24 hours, at 5-6 knots per hour (or 8 MPH).  This will definitely make me appreciate traveling back at home by car.  While out to sea I realized that the night watch is one of the most important parts of this journey.  It requires endurance and perseverance.  “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night, for you have been my help.” Psalm 63:5-8.  Jason has memorized the entire book of James on his night watch.  The seriousness that each sailor takes when it is his time for his watch is interesting and impressive.  The night watch is very important to make sure there are no ships or other sail boats, coral reefs or islands that we can run into as well as adjusting the sails according to the wind direction and keeping us on a course headed to the next destination.  Cale’s watch is from 8pm to 10 pm.  Zachary’s watch from  10:00pm-1:00am.  Jason’s watch from 1:00am-4:00am.  Grayson’s watch 4:00am-6:00am. Then Jeff comes on so all the sailors can sleep.   Jeff is on the night watch all night getting up and down making sure all is well.  I don’t think Jeff ever really sleeps during a passage.  First of all he sleeps on the settee in the galley so he can be easily accessible if someone needs help on deck.  Even in his sleep, Jeff can pick up the lore of the sea.  I am certain he can feel when the direction of the wind or waves change, or if a squall is coming.  He is up and down all night just like a good Captain should be.  Around 9:00am Cale comes on again for another 3 hours and so the routine continues all day.  Each person has to steer 5 hours in a 24 hour day, except Jeff who steers 4 hours a day…Captains’ privileges.   Although the boat has an autopilot Jeff is having the young sailors steer to learn how to handle the boat in different conditions.  The guys calculated it and all together thus far on the trip they have each steered 10 and a half days total.  That’s over 240 hours of steering each!  The hard part about this is the blazing sun and warm temperature.  On the back of the boat they have a bucket attached so they can have a brine bath throughout the day if needed.  No one is allowed to get in the water so that makes the passing even harder due to the heat.  Rain squalls are always welcomed; the sailors always take showers in the rain now.  I do have to say each of them look like the locals with their deep brown tans and sun-bleached hair.

 Jason and Grayson are the cooks and Zachary and Cale wash all the dishes. I have enjoyed watching how each one does his job with joy and no complaining. The generator has to be started every day to keep things going, like all the lights, navigational electronics, refrigerator, etc.  Often the generator has to be filled with gas and just trying to do that while a boat is moving is hard work.  Just trying to walk on Selah when she is heeled all the way over has proved to be difficult.  Every little simple task becomes a big mission when out to sea.  Nothing is easy.  Just imagine working in your kitchen at home but tilted and continuous rocking where you have to hold on to something at all times.   I have watched Grayson and Jason boil large pots of water when the boat is heeled to one side and rocking back and forth and I earnestly pray that the water would not fall on either of them.  The stove is gimbaled, made to adjust with the movement of the boat so that is a plus.  Zachary and Cale have to wash the dishes off the back of the boat before we rinse them in the sink to save fresh water.  Water is another issue at sea.  You must always be sure you have plenty of water so we are constantly doing everything we can to conserve our water supply.  They have become accustomed to drinking rain water that they gather off of the dodger and deck.  Rain water is delicious and refreshing.  In Suva, Fiji the sailors had to fill all the tanks up by gerry cans, making many trips in the dinghy back and forth from the dock to fill up the tanks, which hold 215 gallons of water.  I will forever be thankful for the conveniences of water at home. The water tastes like earthy mud most of the time.  We have to put bleach in the water tanks to kill/prevent bacterial growth.  All the sailors have nice white teeth now due to the bleach. J

The geography lessons are amazing too on this journey.  Every day the sailors are learning to navigate around in the sea.  The culture of the people,  different languages and eating their food have been great experiences.  My favorite place I was able to visit was Tonga, a very lovely place and I highly recommend it, if you ever have the chance to visit the South Pacific.  My Mother in Law, Ann had always said Tonga was her favorite and now I know why.   Strikingly beautiful, the water is as clear as drinking fresh water out of a crystal glass. The sand is white and feels just like the texture of very soft brown sugar between my  toes. The purple star fish were some of my favorite.  At times we were able to see the ocean floor at 130 feet below the surface of the water.  The diving and snorkeling was the best.  We went to Mariner’s Cave where Jeff had gone with his family when he was 11. This is a breathtaking experience.   Ann, my beloved mother in law and Lori, you were very brave to swim in this cave.  I opted not to.  Too scary for me.  The entrance to this submerged cave is three meters down and four meters horizontally beneath an overhanging cliff.  The assent is another three meters before surfacing inside a cavernous limestone grotto.   Jeff gave everyone knowledge of what he could remember about the cave. Since there are no signs indicating the entrance you just have to have faith and dive down into the black opening, hoping it is the right cave.  Zach went first, then all the others followed, taking deep breathes and diving deep so they would not hit the jagged ceiling of rocks.  I could just image each of them popping up like walrus’s gasping for air on the other side.  Inside the cave, the air compresses and forms a mist due to the incoming swell.  Going out of the cave is less intimidating as the light from the sun illuminates the cave through the opening under the water..  They each had their own story when finished.   The people are friendly and love God, in Tonga.  We met some other yachties that have become very dear friends.   Pat  and  Penny, from Tasmania, Australia.  Pat, a very wise sailor gave us great wisdom about the sea.  We love you Pat and Penny.  We also met another couple from Australia named Mike and Jan, who we had many adventures with, as well as Uku, the lone sailor traveling around the world solo from Estonia.  He will be the fourth person from Estonia to circumnavigate the world single handedly.  We love you all and look forward to seeing you all again.  There are many stories that make up this journey.  This is only a glimpse of some of my stories.  I just want to thank Roland Wehrmeijer, store manager of Cost U Less in American Samoa for being so kind to us and taking your time to give all of us a ride back to our boat with ALL our supplies. You were a God sent gift to us.  Remember to do all that is in your heart, God is with you.  Thank you Fono,  for also giving us a ride to our boat with all our supplies. The delicious homemade chicken dinner with mash potatoes that you blessed us with was outstanding.  I think you are an angel.  God bless your very generous heart to bless so many people.  I also want to thank the Casciola’s and the Lorenzo’s for letting us join you in Tahiti.  Lifelong friendships and many memories were made.  Thank you Craig for your friendship to the sailors, they can’t wait for you to join them again in a few days. Thank you Lori and Justin for the BIG’s sunflower seeds and Duke’s beef jerky that kept us going when we had no other food left to snack on.   Justin we were almost able to give a pack of seeds to Kelly Slater, maybe next time.  And thank you Scott E. Haugen for making the effort to come all the way to Tonga and cook for us the most amazing meals.  You were greatly missed when you left.  Thank you Leland Nielsen for coming out to Fiji.  You made us all laugh countless times.  I pray you finally get a good night’s sleep when you get home.  You have all blessed us tremendously.  I want to mention that on this journey, I had more people bless me with gifts from all around the world.   This was amazing for me because back at home I usually give gifts from my heart to those I love.  I did not bring any gifts with me on this trip to give out but I realized the greatest gift I had was my first love, Jesus.  So to all those that blessed me with gifts, flowers, leis, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, stuffed animals and hair ornaments… I hope you will ponder in your heart what I shared with you about God being the One that you can call to and He will show you great and mighty things. Jeremiah 33:3.  

Last but not least, I thank you Selah and crew for an outstanding and memorable time with each one of you.  As I leave I will cry like a baby, but I know you are in God’s hands.  Anyone reading this please remember to pray for each of these sailors.  What they are doing is hard work.  Sailing from California to Australia is no easy task.  They will have traveled somewhere around 10,000 miles when finished.  The sea is for the most part friendly but in an instant can become fiercely dangerous.  Only God can keep these sailors protected.  I trust God for each of them and as Jason taught me during the BIG STROM, “Don’t worry but worship”.  That is what I will do as we become oceans apart again for just a short while longer.  Sail on Selah and crew.  I love each of you.  This amazing journey is shaping and defining each of you young men with the purpose God has for you.  Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for your life.”  God is a God of purpose, just as this trip was planned for a purpose. Enjoy your boat load of canned goods and your boat load of good books. We have so much to look forward to…  Give glory to the name of the Lord in the uttermost parts of the sea; give glory to the name of the Lord, our God. Isaiah 24:15.

-          Dixie

On the 18th, Scott Haugen (my father) flew in from America, and met us in a small, local cafe down by the water. It’s such a strange feeling to be separated from home for so long, and in less than two days a piece of home came clear out to the Kingdom of Tonga to visit us. I woke up and looked out from Selah to see him ordering fried bananas at the cafe in the distance. We had a few things to tie up before we could retrieve him, but I wanted to let him know where we were so I blew into a conch shell, and it resonated over the water. He stood up and waved at us, and we jumped and waved back. After catching up in the cafe, he soon adapted to boat-life with ease and was instantly making wonderful meals for the entire crew!

We went snorkeling at a coral garden, and he adjusted to free-diving quite nicely; socializing with Jason, Zach, Grayson and I at 10 meters. On Tuesday, we informed him that “he was going to go Scuba Diving with us tomorrow”. He signed up without hesitation, and after a great theological talk with the crew under the stars we rested with diving in mind. A couple (Stu and Fran) picked us up in the morning, and brought us to their Catamaran “If Two, then By Sea”. We later found out that they had a great marriage life out on their boat, but as soon as they moved into a house on land things went downhill, and they nearly had a divorce. They quickly moved back into a boat (treating it as the solution) and it worked; hence the name. Our first dive was in “Mariner’s Cove”; a cave that goes underwater about 13 meters, then tunnels out making a nice back-exit. Looking up inside the cave would take your breath away, because in the poor lighting it made the surface look like stained glass against the blue sky. It was exhilarating to swim through an underwater tunnel; to feel your snorkel brush on the top of the cave, and your flippers to scrape the bottom brought out any man’s claustrophobia. When we emerged from the cave, large, spotted-groupers swam by uninterested among a vast array of coral. We surfaced 40 minutes later and feasted on a great meal made by none other than Fran, and the dive guru of PATI; the world’s most renown diving program. Diving with her was very, very intimidating. Scott finished his dive training, and proceeded to enter the water with the rest. Little did we know, the prettiest array of coral rested 10 meters beneath us. The water was so clear, it felt like we were skydiving as we (Jason, Zach, Scott, Grayson, and I) descended. We soared along the reef, admiring the rainbow of colour beneath us. The dive was fantastic.

Later that night, I was talking with dad about the books he was reading and “Think” by John Piper became the focus of the conversation. It’s easy for people to look at this trip as some form of extended vacation. I can’t deny that it’s an adventure; that I’m with my lifelong friends on the adventure of a lifetime, but that’s not the focus of the trip. John Piper talks about the “Adulterous mind” which essentially means that, as a believer we are in union with Christ, but when you turn to worldly thoughts and worldly desires you are being an adulterer; you are damaging your relationship with Christ by going out with another desire that’s not of God and that’s where our expedition on Selah can be misread. We didn’t approach the trip with an Adulterous mind, but rather we’ve maintained Christ-centered focus. When the opportunity presents itself, we are able to share God’s love with both the natives, as well as the yachties. When we arrive in a place like Tonga, we take in the beauty but don’t worship it. We worship the creator of creation itself. When I steer the boat at night, I don’t complain about my lack of sleep, but rather praise my heavenly father for it; for opening my eyes, and lifting the scales from them to see the stars in the sky, and the ocean as it rises and falls; to be blessed with the friends and leaders he’s put in my life, and to constantly commit my life to him as we strive to be more and more like Jesus. We finished our conversation, and I realized that we haven’t made this message shockingly clear yet, so here I am and I hope that I’ve provided a clearer image of the focus of this trip;

sailing through life’s unknowns, reveling in His creation, and sharing His love with the lost.

our hearts go out to the Hannifan family, who is in our prayers and thoughts as we grieve for the loss of our dear friend and brother in Christ, Mark Hannifan.

a quote from Nancy Carlson:

“Oh Mark Hannifan, What do you see? Face to face! Jesus said “Father, I want those who you have given me to be with me where I am; to see my glory. The glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of this world.” (John 17:24) Bathe Bonnie, Nicole and Dustin in your sufficient, incomprehensible grace, Lord.

S e l a h

The story of the Storm.

It started like a game. Typical movie picture. High winds, heavy rain, and good size waves. Even some lightning and thunder! I (Grayson) was having a good time at the helm steering with a little bit of a challenge. It was fun with the rain stinging my face, not being able to hear anything, in fact it was like I head my head in a trash bag and someone was squirting me with a garden hose because my slicker hood was covering my ears. I wasn’t scared, but I started to worry when the sails kept gybing (which is when the sails are set for the wind to go into it one direction, but the wind turns and inverts the sails) So I lost the direction of the wind. Confused, I started to turn the boat to see if the wind would fill them correctly again. I made the boat turn two full circles trying to find the direction of the wind, but everywhere i turned it seemed the wind would just change again. I started to worry and told Jeff. He said to just do my best, and try to get the general direction of our course. That gave me confidence so I gave it another shot for another 5 minutes. And all the sudden it hit the boat like.. well like a storm! 

I when I say it hit us hard I really mean it. Instantly the wind went from a good solid 30 knots of wind (which is already pretty strong) to 50+ knots with even stronger gusts. It must of been about a 70 knot gust that hit the boat at that moment, and even with less than a 3rd of our sails out they caught it, and the boat whipped over to the side. I started to really get scared when the boat kept tipping. It just kept going! When it tipped beyond the furthest point it had been the whole trip I was so scared! It’s hard to explain what I was feeling, but to try and describe it, I will use my car for an example. If you’ve ever wrecked a car ( I know, shame on me) you will know that there is this moment right after impact, where you are telling your self that it didn’t really happen. It was a bad dream that you will wake up form at any second. almost convincing your self. Well I was petrified as Selah continued to rotate under the force of the wind. Just waiting to wake up. But I didn’t. If you look at pictures of the boat you will see the little port holes along the lower side of the boat, and another row above the deck. Well, the upper row of port holes  were under the water, and I was not waking up. All the sudden my adrenaline kicked in and my mind and heart were racing. I called to Jeff to Jeff, Yelling that we should pull in sails right away because I don’t know if the boat could handle it. I don’t know if he heard me the first time, but seeing as how our whole floating world had suddenly been thrust into a new dimension of gravity, I’m sure everyones hands were full. I learned later that all the silverware cabinets flew open and there were knifes and all sorts of things flying through the air. And that explained that they were having their moment of shock as well when that first gust hit us. Half the boat cockpit was underwater at this point and I was sure the boat was going to flip. I was standing on what should have been the leg-part of the bench in the cockpit. that was level ground for me and there was literally water rushing past my feet INSIDE the boat cockpit. I’m sure I say this for everyone, that we were all thinking of what we needed to do if worse came to worse. Grab the life raft, the ditch-bag, the personal GPS and all the other emergency equipment. I was thinking of home. I wanted to talk to Mom, I wanted to ask her to pray for us, I wanted to just go inside the boat and make it all go back to normal. I was so scared. Praying the hardest I have ever prayed in my life.

Jeff was climbing up the stairway that led outside, Jason was right behind him. I wasn’t sure why but they looked like they were having a hard time getting out, but then I remembered that our orientation was all off. The boat was hanging at this perilous angle. The mast was parallel with the water, just stationary. Jeff got to the wench that held the jib-sheet (the rope that holds the tension on the front of the boat) and he released it, instantly the boat righted itself about 30 percent back it its original upright position, but it was the main sail that was the problem. I have never seen anyone crank that sail in faster, Jason and Jeff were machines and they got all our sails in. 

The boat was still heeling over to the point that the lower windows were constantly going underwater, and that was purely the wind blowing on the side of the boat! there weren’t hardly even waves because the wind had blown them practically flat. There wasn’t much else we could do to correct our position so Jeff had me lock the helm so the boat would at least keep somewhat of a direction as the wind tossed us around. He called us all inside and we all got on our knees and started praying. We prayed that God would give us strength, peace, endurance. We prayed he would calm the seas. It made me realize more than ever, and in such a real way, that we are ALWAYS at His mercy, and a merciful God he is. Jeff managed to get the SAT phone to connect, he called a good friend- Leland, to check the weather for us, just to help us see what we were getting into. Then I managed to call mom, and ask that she pray for us, and let you guys know that we needed prayer. I tell you that the next thing hardest to keeping my head in such a scary moment, was saying goodbye to my Mom at that moment. I just wanted to be home. her voice was such a comfort to her, and I was so home sick. But we needed to keep working. Thank you all so much for your prayers, It was after that phone call, that all of us felt more strengthened and we all could feel your prayers with us. That was something else that I learned in a more real way than ever before, was that God was with us on this boat. It was hard to focus, cleaning up the boat, helpless. while the boat continued to drift and rock aimlessly. I don’t know how much time, but most of the strong gusts has past by that time and we were able to put out the tinniest bit of our jib (maybe 10 sq. feet) to help give us steerage and some control over the boat again. It worked. 

The wind was calming, but the waves were growing. That was when our endurance was needed most. All of the crew really stepped up their responsibility and game the next 12 hours as we took shifts into the night steering the boat. twice I had a fairly large wave come crashing over the boat on top of me, but nothing compared to that moment that I was sure the boat was going to roll. And besides, the water was so warm! 

After a long hard night we woke up to a beautiful sun rise with clear blue skies and the sun was beaming golden fingers of light into the sky. The Lord has answered all of our prayers. We had made it through our storm. We have an answer to the question “Did you guys face any storms?” That morning we were all talking about what had happened, recalling everything so fresh in our minds. Everybody had something crazy happen to them when the boat tipped so far over. Then Jeff told us all that he was proud of us. That many times in a situation like that, It was not the boat that was in danger of breaking, it was the crew. And praise God that he gave us all strength, that we did not break under the pressure but looked to Him for strength. He also said that we all officially passed from boys to men that night, and he was glad that we were a crew, a team. 

I don’t know about being men, because we still have our moments :). but I do know this. We are all stronger in our faith. We are all stronger men of God. Its something I will never forget. I changed all of us, and we were all in agreement that it was the scariest thing that had happened to all of us. being completely out of control is a very scary feeling. We cannot ever remain, or even being to control our own lives. So don’t try. Give your live to the Lord. Trust him with your live, with your future. You cannot control it. But he can. Personally I prefer it that way. If we realize this and live life according to his will and purpose, than we have nothing to fear because we are in the best hands ever. 

It all reminds me of a song, which throughout the night I was constantly singing to my self; “So why do I worry? Why do I freak out? You are what I need. You are all I need, Your love is strong”

Let that be your comfort. Let Him be your rock. Your firm foundation, trust him. I know from personal experience that It will not be easy, as I am sure many of you know as well. But we as Christians are not called to live easy lives. We are called follow, trust, and love as he loved us. There will ALWAYS be challenges but on the other side of those challenges we are all stronger people.

Praise and glory be to our faithful loving God!!

~Grayson

Birthdays

Jeff and I(Zach) both had birthdays this month! For Jeff’s birthday on the 17th, we were in Huahine. Jason made him our traditional banana, chocolate, peanut butter birthday pancakes that he makes special for all our birthdays on the trip. The chocolate is what really makes them delicious. He was surprised with a happy birthday song from our new yacht friends as well. We rented scooters for the day, and rode around the island for a few hours. It was really cool, because not only was riding the scooters fun, but we were able to see the whole island. Huahine is a beautiful island that is very green and lush. The water color is amazing, going from deep blue, to light blue. It is so clear you can see the bottom 35 feet down. After the scooter ride, Jeff and Dixie went on a nice lunch date together. They went for a nice walk on the beach, and Jeff got bit by a dog. Thankfully it wasn’t Dixie who got bit! We went for a nice afternoon snorkel out in the crystal clear water and saw some amazing fish. That afternoon, we planned on taking a night trip to Bora Bora with our ychtie friends. As we were motoring out of the lagoon(there was very little wind) we noticed something was wrong with our engine. Grayson and Jeff went to check it out and they found out that a bolt was broken. We had to turn off the engine and we tried to sail out of the pass. Since there was so little wind, we didn’t think we could make it out of the pass by night. We were so close to staying the night again, since even if we made it out of the pass it would take us all night and the next day to get to Bora Bora, and it was risky without an engine. In the end we decided to sail there with no engine to back us up, and hope we find the right parts in Bora Bora for our engine.

It was our first night watch without Hunter, so we all had to take longer watches. On my night watch, Jeff woke up to help me trim the sails, so I went up on deck. I was tightening the preventer(it is a rope that holds the boom from swinging across accidentally and hurting someone) and Jeff was pulling the main sheet. One of the shackles that was holding a block on the boom broke, and the block came flying off and hit me right in the forehead! It was a blunt object, but it hit me so hard it split my skin open! I had a swollen cut on my forehead the next few days. During the later parts of the night sail we passed by pretty close to Phambili and Tamure (our dear friends boats) at one point. As we slowly approached closer and closer they suddenly turned drastically and sailed directly away from us. We were slightly confused by this until the next morning when we talked to Craig about it all, he told us they thought we were a huge catamaran due to us sailing wing and wing, making our sails look huge, and the low visibility because it was dark. We all had a great laugh together about all it. We made better time then we expected. We got to the entrance around 12 midday, and went in to check what was in the town. Grayson and Jeff found a hardware store and found the bolts we needed for our engine! They put the bolts in the engine and we turned it on. Almost immediately the belt broke and they had to replace that also. Finally we had the engine running, and we were able to go find our friends after we went through a super tricky passage. It was very narrow, shallow and it zigzagged back and forth between the red and green markers.

Once we found our friends, we went to explore a half sunken ship we saw. We challenged each other to swim under it. Us boys also had the great idea of sleeping on the sunken ship!  After the sunken ship, we went to shore. We met a local who opened a few coconuts for us to drink. On the beach we had sand fights. We went surfing behind our dingy(kind of like wake surfing) and let our friends have a try. After dinner we hung out on our friends yacht and had a small little dance party, then we went over to the sunken ship to sleep on it.

It was Jason, Grayson, Cale, Craig and I who slept on the sunken ship. Craig told us that in theory, we also slept on a sinking ship,  because when the tide rose slightly it went down a little. When we got there, we set up our camp and talked for a while. In the middle of talking, I saw in the corner of my eye something crawling behind Jason’s bag. I thought it was a huge spider so I jumped up and let out a shriek! It turned out to be a crab that snuck up on us! With the fear of crabs crawling in our sleeping bags, we went to sleep and woke up almost every hour. When we woke up in the morning, right as we left the boat, a group of people came to raise the boat. It took them almost all day, but they got the dialect floating again! It was pretty cool that we were able to sleep on the boat the last night it was there.

The next day we went on a two kilometer swim and then settled down for breakfast. We went to another stingray/shark park. It wasn’t as good as the one in Moorea, but it was still fun. We had the idea to try and catch a fish with our hands and we spent an hour trying to catch one, with so many different techniques. Finally, Craig decided to try to put an apple core in his hand and wait till one tried to get it. He caught one first try and we were so excited and happy since it took so long to catch it. After snorkeling, us and all our dear friends went to the beach to give away the things Hunter left on the boat and nobody needed and to get some coconuts. We met a local who gave us lots of coconuts and Jason was our coconut opener with our machetes. We had coconut chugging contests and we were all so full of coconuts by the end! After that, we had hermit crab races. That was really funny! We would draw circles and the first persons crab to get out of the circle won! Then we advanced to tree climbing races with our hermit crabs! We would start them on the tree and the hermit crab that climbed up the fastest won! One of the girls, Neen, won with her crab named Carlos by a long shot!

We hung out on our friends boat again, and at 12:00 AM they all sang happy birthday to me! We went to sleep, and I woke up to see the sunset. Jason made me our traditional birthday pancakes. They were so good! We took our boat and went to this famous manta-ray diving spot. It was really cool because they were almost 10 feet across! There was a scuba-diving group diving there, so when we were free-diving clear down to them, about 15 meters, they were amazed! After we swam with the huge manta-rays, we went to get gas and diesel. We tied up to a dock and filled up, but Jeff, Cale and Grayson went into town. As we were waiting there, the boat was getting smashed against the docks even though we had fenders. Jason and I had to scramble to get the boat off the dock which was quite the operation! After blood, damage to the boat and a long jump from the dock to the boat, we got the boat safely away. I rowed our dinghy back to get the others, and then we set sail to Tahaa for a birthday/goodbye dinner and party with our friends!

On our way there we decided to race them!. We used the monohull tactic of a slower point of sail but we were able to aim directly at our destination while they used the catamaran tactic of a faster point of sail but aiming slightly away from our destination. It was pretty fun, but then the wind switched and came from right where we needed to go. The sun was also setting soon, so we motored the last four miles. We got in and took real showers at the yacht club, and when we got back out to the boat they arrived. It was almost a close race but with the circumstances our tactic came out on top!!

We had some amazing Poisson de Cru, which is raw fish, coconut milk, lime, and vegetables all mixed up. Then they brought us out Mahi Mahi, frites (french fries), pumpkin baked with cheese on top, and rice. The Mahi Mahi was brought out with three different types of sauces. One of the sauces was Vanilla since Tahaa is known as the “Vanilla Island.” All the food was delicious. As we were eating, there was a group of traditional Tahitian dancers that played traditional music and danced for us. Wow can those guys shake their knees and those girls move their hips! They would often come and pick a few of us to come and dance with them. It was really funny to watch each other try and dance the way they do. They taught us a few of their dances, and then they performed a fire show. That was really interesting! After the traditional dancers, the restaurant put on some dance music and all us kids had a dance party. It was really fun! Once we were all hot and sweaty, us boys ran and jumped into the ocean! Almost all of us got stung by jellyfish, but it wasn’t bad at all. We dried off and hung out on their boat for the last time before they left in the morning. It was a sad time saying good bye to them. Even though we had only met them ten days earlier, we had spent a lot of time with them, and it felt like we had been friends for many years already! Casciolas, Lorenzos, Smiths, and Brenda; we will miss you all!

All in all its been a great last 2 weeks. We are spending one more week in Tahiti before we head out to the Cook Islands and then Samoa. We are all in great condition and enjoying every step of our journey. Please continue to pray for us as we continue on through out the trip, it is much needed and appreciated. We miss you all.

We’ll continue to update with blog post and pictures and video 3 is already in process by the genius cinematographer Cale Haugen himself. Its gonna be a good one!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Zach and Selah’s crew.

More Adventures in Tahiti

Over the last two weeks we have been island hopping through Tahiti hitting the islands Moorea, Raiatea and Tahaa and on each island we have had some awesome unforgettable adventures. 

  Our time in Moorea was pretty unique. We anchored in Cooks bay for our first night there. It was a lot like our land fall in the Marquesas. The island was very green and had steep mountains rising up out of the ocean. The air smelled fresh and tropical and it was a very peaceful night. The next day we went into a little village in the bay and walked around and checked the village out. There wasn’t much there but we just hung out as michelle cut some of our hair. She did a marvelous job at cleaning up us sloppy sailers. While we were in town Zach, Grayson and I found some local boys who invited us to play soccer with them. The field we played on was on church property so before we played the youth pastor came out and we all gathered in a circle on the field and he prayed a short prayer in Tahitian. We had a lot of fun and by the end of the game we all were laughing and joking around together as we communicated with mostly hand signals and a little french. It felt so good to run around and get some real exercise. Later that day we left to go to another bay on Moorea called Opunohu. This bay was even more beautiful than Cooks bay. All the mountains were steeper and more majestic and the trees and wild life was more abundant. The water where we anchored was crystal clear as well and we spent a good amount of time snorkeling and spear fishing. A Canadian couple that we met in the Tuamotus was anchored near by us and they shared with us the location of a really special spot. Across the bay there was apparently a place called “Manta-Ray City”. With that we left in our dingy to figure out what it was about. As soon as we rolled off the dingy into the water we were instantly swarmed with manta-rays. They were everywhere and extremely friendly. They would swim right up on you and literally would be out of the water trying to swim up onto your back. It was a little frightening but we soon got used to them swimming on us and right next to us. We spent a lot of time just swimming with them and when we started feeding them some fish we speared they went even more crazy over us. The fish blood in the water and all the commotion from the manta-rays naturally brought sharks to come check out what was going on. After about 5 minutes there was a good 30 sharks circling us. They were pretty timid of us but we soon started having fun with them. We tried to swim as close as possible to them and grab their tails; which a couple of us did in fact manage to grab some tails and send them speeding away! It was such an incredible experience, that we ended up going back a second time. We will never forget it. We then headed off to Raiatea which is about a 10 hour sail so we sailed through the night so we wouldn’t waste a days worth of sun light.

Raiatea is a fairly large island with lots of towns and even an airport. We have been hearing about a good surfing spot on Raiatea so we headed to where we thought it may be to see what we could find. We ended up finding another one of our yachtie friends from America that where anchored right off the surf spot. We were all very excited to finally go surfing for the first time on this trip. We had been looking on almost every island for a good surf break but since the islands are all surrounded by a reef motu, all the waves would crash right on the coral reef leaving only a foot or two, at most, of water in-between you and the sharp coral beds if you fell. As we all took turns trying to figure out how to surf this difficult spot we basically all got worked. The combination between a new unknown surf spot, currents dragging you on to the coral reefs, intimidating locals surfing right next to you and most of us only being beginner surfers we only managed to catch a few waves each. Nonetheless it was a great time and we all enjoyed getting gallons of salt water in all our sinuses as we were tumbled by the waves. It was sweet. The next day we went into a town called Utoroa. We had a nice lunch there and restocked on food at a local grocery store before heading off to the next island Tahaa.

The island Tahaa is one of my favorite islands in Tahiti. Its island is a very nice island with very generous people and awesome sights to see.Around 5 years ago us Francis’s spent a lot of time on this island so it brought back a lot of memories as we revisited some of the places we had gone to in the past. Our first night on the island was a very peaceful one. Dad took Mom and Michelle out to a nice little restaurant while us guys had our favorite meal, beans, rice on top of hamburger patties. We all like to prepare ours up in a special personal way using different seasonings and sauces. It is so good. The next morning we headed out to a anchorage that we had gone to before that was one of the nicest places we had ever been and sure enough it did not disappoint again. It is directly across the town Tapuamu on the motu. The water there is an aqua color. The last time we were there we found the best snorkeling spot in Tahiti. It is in a little passage that you have to walk up to the top of the motu then hop in and drift down the pass. The current flowing through the narrow pass is what makes the place the way it is because the flowing water increases the grow of the coral which brings all sorts of new marine life. I could float that pass many times in one day and still not grow tired of it. When we arrived back at Selah two other boats had anchored near by. The first thing we noticed was that there was a bunch of youth around our age on the boats. Over the next couple of days we had the pleasure of getting to know them and their families. It was so nice to have interaction with other people that were our age. Almost all the other yachties we have met thus far have been older couples and parents with little kids so this was a nice change. One of the families consisted of four girls around our age. Another family had two girls close to our age and a younger brother who was 11. Then there was our good buddy Craig that we met who was 22. We had a lot of fun with all of them. We snorkeled the pass together quite a lot, played bocci ball with coconuts, kayaked, and swam across the channel from the motu to the main island and had some adventures there together too. An awesome adventure that we had was a night snorkeling dive with Craig. All us guys suited up with snorkeling gear and underwater flash lights and set out to the pass. It was so sweet. It was so peaceful under the water and above. We saw a ton of new nocturnal species including lobsters, octopus and flounders. At the end of the trip we all agreed that it was a memory we would never forget. Another great adventure we had with Craig was a night staying out on the island with nothing but the clothes on our back, water, and two blankets. When we got on the island it was dark so we all got our flash lights and started gathering dead coconut tree branches and laying them in a big pile for our bedding. Shortly after we made a fire and then all laid out on our new bed and relaxed. Then all the sudden out of no where, as we were all laughing and enjoying a great conversation, sirens started going off, lights started flashing and over a loud megaphone speaker we heard some woman in french sounding very authoritative saying something about the government and camping. It scared us all and we weren’t sure if we should be excited of a new twist to our adventure of sleeping on the island or if we should be terrified that some tahitian government police were out looking for us. We quickly put out our fire, pulled up our dingy and covered it with coconut branches and just lay completely flat and silent on our bedding. For about 20 minutes we could see the boat with the sirens, lights and megaphone going back and forth along the islands shore shouting in the megaphone and shining flashlights back in the island. We thought about sending a couple scouts to see what was really going on but we decided not to because we didn’t want to get kicked off our island. When they finally left we relaxed again and eventually fell asleep under the stars and coconut trees. When we woke up the next morning we ate a few coconuts and then went back to our boats. Craigs dad, Trevor, was there to greet us as we came in from our adventure. One of the first things he said was “did you hear all the sirens?” We started telling him everything we heard and saw and he just started laughing. After leaving us in confusing for a little longer he finally told us what really happened. All the girls from the other boats had got in their dingy with glow sticks, flashlights and the megaphone and came to try and scare us off the island. A couple of the girls are fluent in french so one of them, Francesca (Chess), was the one shouting in the authoritative voice that really got us going. We all had a good laugh about all this; and of course all the girls had a good laugh at us as well. 

One of the days while we were on Tahaa we went ashore to the town Tapuamu in search of my dads old old friend Chief Peti. When Jeff was 11 and sailing around the world he and his family spent three months in Tapuamu living with Peti the chief of Tapuamu. Now nearly 40 years later we were in search of him. As we started asking around for him we found out that he had moved to the next village over called Tiva. On our way over there, Michelle, Zach, Cale and I hitched hiked and randomly got dropped off at a restaurant in Tiva. When we looked around I recognized the spot and realized we where at Chez Louis Restaurant. We had gone here 5 years ago and the owner Louis took us in and let us stay on her dock as a intense squall swept by. She was a very friendly and funny lady back then and she seemed to only be more funny and friendly than before. When we told her we were looking for Chief Peti she instantly started making calls to see if she could find him. She ended up bringing us to her daughter who brought us to Chief Peti’s house. As we arrived there Mom and Dad were already sitting down and talking with Peti. They had hitched hiked as well and coincidentally got picked up by Chief Peti’s step son. Peti was a very nice and generous man and asked us if we needed any fruit or anything. He was 86 years old now and told us that he had 16 children and then started talking about something to do with the number 160. We were all confused until we realized that he was talking about his grandkids. He had 160 of them. After we finished talking with him and set up a time to pick up the fruit he wanted to give us we left and went back to Chez Louis to have a nice lunch. She had us laughing the whole time and the meal was excellent. We had a great time reminiscing about the fun times we had here 5 years ago and we enjoyed the perfect evening in Tahiti.

As Hunter’s and Michelle’s time on the boat started to come to an end we all went out to dinner for their last night. We had some great hamburgers and all enjoyed the relaxed evening together. As we dropped them off at the airport it was a weird feeling having hunter leave us. He has been an awesome leader for all of us in both our spiritual lives and our everyday lives and it was a blessing having him abroad for the time he was. The trip will definitely be a lot different with out him. We have all grown real close over the last four months and it is especially sad to lose our guinea pig in all the adventurous actives such as surfing on coral reefs and swimming in a feeding frenzy of sharks. We are all missing you Hunter! It was also a lot of fun having Michelle on board with us for the time she was. It was nice having a girl aboard to add a little womanliness to our boat full of dudes. She was great to have aboard and she handled the boat life with grace. MIss you shell!

Over the next couple days we have restocked our food and water supply in Utotoa. Last night we met up with all our friends in a bay called Faaroa. It is a beautiful and peaceful bay. We all went for a nice cool down swim. Then after a great spaghetti dinner we all went over to their catamaran yacht which is very spacious and is perfect to just hang out on. The adults all enjoyed some wine, cocktails and great conversation on one of the boats while all of us young adults went out on to the front of the other families boat and laid out on the large net that is spread across both the hulls of the catamaran. We had a real fun time eating chocolate, laughing and enjoying the star filled sky. We managed to pack 12 of us on the “trampoline”. It was quite cozy and humorous. 

This particular bay that we are at has a river at the end of it that you can kayak up. The river weaves through a thick lush tropical rainforest filled with singing birds and tropical flowers. It truly shows the awesomeness of Gods creation. The Lord has blessed us above and beyond over these last couple of weeks.  We have met many wonderful people and seen some of the most beautiful sights on earth. He has giving us multiple opportunities to share with others how loving, awesome, powerful, caring, and merciful He is. He has given me such an indescribable peace and joy as I seek Him every day and I think that speaks the truth for everyone else as well. He is showing us through other people and experiences that all the happiness that this world could ever offer is only temporary. No matter where you are, who your with or what you have it all will fade. Paul’s central thought in Philippians communicates to us that only in Christ are real unity and joy possible. We have indeed been filled with that joy and it is an amazing thing.

Happiness depends on happenings, joy depends on Christ.

“and this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” 

- Philippians 1:9-10

Soli Deo Gloria

Jason