Sailing Alone


by Adrian Korpel


One day Grassy Lake got too small for me, and I decided to sail around the world. For a while I pumped gas at night--in my day job I am an accountant--and then bought a thirty foot ketch with a mizzenmast and a poop deck. I replaced the jib by a Genoa, ran all the sheets aft and installed a new bilge pump. After dropping the kids off at Edna's, I was ready to sail, God willing.

I had decided not to take the clipper route, but sail West with the trade winds, and on a sunny Thursday I set out for Hawaii. It took much longer to get there than I had calculated. To pass the time I read my Bible and played my accordian, but it was difficult to find the right chords and hear the palms, what with the boat rolling and the wind whistling through the rigging.

In Hawaii I bought new general provisions and also procured a new Bible, as the old one was waterlogged. I then set sail for the Marquesas, and made landfall after seven weeks of steady wind, interspersed with squalls. The natives were very friendly, apart from a man at the Quicktrip who gave me a bad time about my skin color.

After leaving the Marquesas I ran into the doldrums and was in irons for a long time. The sun beat down on the poop deck while I sucked water from my handkerchief. After a while I lost consciousness, and when I came to it was dark night. I prayed to my God, and eventually reached Australia.

In Australia I visited the zoo, and saw my first koala. I then found some good Christian people on the beach to help me re-step my mast. When all the sheets were snugged and the stays secured, I set course for South Africa.

The Indian Ocean was terrifying. The swells were very long and many a time the water came up to the gunwales. I constantly had to trim the Genoa and reef the mainsail. Once the squalls were so bad that I had to lash myself to the rudder. But fortunately I outran the typhoons which are prevalent in that region. On Christmas Eve I reached the Cape of Good Hope which I rounded with good cheer, giving thanks to my Maker.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Crossing the Atlantic I turned to the Panama canal which was very expensive, but they let me use my credit card. On Groundhog Day I finally sailed into Nevada Beach harbor where I kissed my native soil. I then collected the kids at Edna's. They had grown a lot in those two years, and were very proud of their mother.