Twenty five years ago my dad took his family on an adventure that would define the rest of our lives. I was only fifteen when we said good bye to our home and became the merry crew of Dreamweaver II . We crossed the Pacific Ocean when no one thought we could. We plotted our course and learned how to survive the open seas . We sailed in and out of island groups as Dreamweaver II taught us how to keep our eye on the horizon and survive as a family. Bonds were formed with my parents and seven siblings that will last into the ages.

Years have come and gone but always Dreamweaver calls softly in my waking dreams . Woven in and out of my relationships are lessons learned from Dreamweaver II. For decades she has beckoned me to return to the waters we so loved. Finally with boat of our own Norm and our own merry crew have begun our journey on Far and Away. We have left the safe harbours of San Fransisco and are now truly on our way down the coast of California!

Warm winds and a gentle roll with soft pink skies were supposed to accompany our first idyllic voyage. A well fed crew laughing and playing together with mom reading aloud after dinner. That is what I remembered. This is the story I have repeated through the years to my group of eager adventurers.

Again and again they wanted to know why my sister Naomi and I were lost overnight in the jungle. Stories of dark caves and cannibal pits told over and over at camp fires fueled their desire to venture out on adventures of our own making. Even the youngest children could relate most details of how we survived Hurricane Ofa and had to live for months on a south pacific island with no running water or electricity. Everyone knew how we had all worked together to survive storms and help rebuild villages. In my memory us kids always got along and we never questioned or complained when our captain gave a command.

Every beautiful image became blurry by Sunday afternoon when after thirty hours I still could not get the nausea under control. Did sea sickness feel like this when I was a kid? I can’t really remember, I always slept the first three days of each voyage. At least that is what I am told.

Thankfully our littlest crew member, Zakary still needs to nurse and nap a lot. Every time he needed me I snuggled in and we both slept as he drank his comforting fill. In between I would would help a little with the sails and learn what I could from our experienced friend Ron. Still, it did not feel quite as magical as all my stories.

My perfect dreams were just a very rocky memory by now. At least I had wrapped all the gifts for today was Eli’s 10th birthday. I had plans of waking with the early watch crew and making everyone a birthday pancake breakfast with fresh berries and orange juice. I was up with the early watch but only because the baby had been up all night with the crashing waves bumping between the hulls. I glanced in the mirror and was shocked how worn out I looked. I wasn’t the one up all night fighting gale force winds and reefing in the sails. I opted to offer dry crackers for breakfast. No one complained.

Sitting out in the cockpit I mused at how our dreams become realities but sometimes our realities have unexpected winds and crashing waves. Even with high winds and extra waves the beauty, the majesty of God’s creations surrounding me were impossible to ignore. Sea sick or not I knew my heart was preparing to submit to a higher power. Our ship felt very small and our abilities insignificant at sea and in life. Maybe this why I felt compelled to take this journey again with my family.

We were all blessed by evening to have the seas calm down long enough not only to bake a cake and celebrate the gift Eli has been in each of our lives but also to receive a phone call at sea from Alyssa. Eli was a good sport to wait until Monday morning when we were safely in Santa Barbara Harbour to Enjoy his birthday pancakes.

Our adventures will be different on Far and Away and our fantasy may be woven in and out with bouts of sea sickness but I am hopeful lessons learned will help each of us chart the course for the rest of our lives.