I’m not going to lie—the first 24 hours have been quite challenging for the stomach. With the Sealegs stowed away after all this time spent in calm anchorages, and the sea behaving more like a washing machine, the “happy sailing life” feeling is still very much on hold.

But meanwhile we all know we‘ll get there sooner or later, following the mantra:

this is just now, tomorrow will be different. (#thisisaboutsailingthisisnotabaoutsailing)That—and some very committed anti-seasickness dancing.

So when a large blob appeared on the radar—without any AIS signal—I was right in the middle of my anti-seasickness dancing and rather puzzled as to why such a huge object wasn’t showing up properly. I even started wondering whether our antenna was faulty… 

As we got closer, the truth revealed itself. No AIS because… it was an aircraft carrier. Yes. An actual aircraft carrier. Looming past us in the dark. Slightly terrifying. Very impressive. A shame we didn’t get to see it in daylight.

So yes—definitely an experience to remember. Though, if given the choice, I would have happily exchanged it for a calm sea and a cooperative stomach.