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jason wynn sailing curiosity birthday

No Brownies. No Cakes. Just Squalls. Happy Birthday Sailor!

Being at sea is like the crest and trough of the waves we sail over, up one second and down the next.  This passage, like all great adventures, has it’s trying moments.

We’re sailing for the Tuamotus and it’s Jason’s birthday. I had planned to bake up a storm, but Mother Nature beat me to it.

This passage marked another first.  It was the first time Jason has ever thrown up while sailing on Curiosity.  We’ve sailed over 10,000 nautical miles but this was the passage where he had to reach for the bucket.  Luckily, it was just once and then he felt better.

He now describes that day to me as, “the 2nd worst birthday ever.”  The worst was when he was ten and his parents gifted him a barbie doll.  Apparently, he had popped off one to many doll heads from his sister’s collection and this was his payback.  It was a joke of course, but he still doesn’t think it was funny.

Considering his hit list for worst birthdays ever, I think he’s had a pretty good 37 years.  (Happy Birthday Old Man!)

As we were editing this video we kept thinking: it almost looks like we’re suffering from bipolar disorder.  This is great…this sucks…look, its great again…wait a minute.  

But that is the thing. Sailing life and passage making isn’t always rainbows and picture perfect sunsets.  As with any grand adventure, the challenges don’t make it undesirable.  Some would argue that the difficult bits are where the real adventure begins.

Imagine a photo of a woman on the cover of National Geographic.  She has icicles for hair, wind burned cheeks and a dry, cracked lip smile.  She is smiling because she just reached the summit of Matterhorn, one of the most dangerous mountains in the world.  What do you think when you picture her?

I think, Now That Is An Adventure!  But I have no doubts that she cursed, spit and had some setbacks during her journey.

nikki wynn sailing the south pacific

It wouldn’t be much of an adventure if there wasn’t any adversity.  Plus, the moments of challenge (physical or mental) are what make for good stories at the pub.

So, if you see us struggling, know we appreciate those moments too.  Because sometimes we’re having a great day and thank the storm for all its might, beauty, and the rainbow it leaves behind.  Other times we just want to tell the storm to stick its rainbow where the sun doesn’t shine.

Either way, we keep adjusting our sails and as long as we’re still floating, it’s a damned good day.

squalls, rainbows and sailing curiosity

Big Thanks!

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RESOURCES & GEAR IN THIS VIDEO

In The Galley

Entertainment at Sea

Camera Gear

Sailing Specific Gear

AWESOME tunes for vids: http://bit.ly/artlist-gwtw  Artists Used In This Video: LUMINAR, Giants and Pilgrims, Eill

SAILING REPORT

To see our full map with interactive pins, click here: gonewiththewynns.com/map

sailing adventures map south pacific

  • Dates: June 22-23, 2018
  • Passage: Day 2 and 3, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas to Manihi, Tuamotu

Hello there! I honestly don’t know what to say, so I am going to tell you a bunch of random facts instead. I'm a fish eating vegetarian who hates spiders and loves snakes. I almost never took vacations growing up. I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking (still do). I misspell about every other word I write and still struggle with grammar. I love splurging on a good high tea (which is really hard to find these days). And whatever you do, don’t tell me I can’t do something, because then I'll HAVE to do it!

Comments (37)

  • vandir

    thanks

    reply
  • Michael

    Happy birthday, Captain Jason! Say, you could always go up the mast and stay there awhile. Coming down would seem like heaven.

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  • Jen

    The music is so ominous this episode. Definitely played on the isolation. Maybe a strange correlation… but it made me think about UFOs. Ever see anything strange out there in the skys?

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    • ha, i did see a massive ball of fire enter the atmosphere then explode into 4 pieces that slowly flew into the sea…it was pretty weird and had my mind going. somethings out there 🙂

      reply
  • Yvan

    I love this stmt: “… we keep adjusting our sails and as long as we’re still floating, it’s a damned good day.” It’s becoming my quote of the month !!!
    Thanks for a different perspective of what living on a sailboat looks like.
    Take care…

    reply
  • Joyce Barnes

    Happy birthday Jason. You share your day with our son, but he’s 49 this year

    reply
    • Usually I’m happy my Birthday is one of longest days of the year (in North America) but I couldn’t wait for this one to be over 🙂

      reply
      • Nicole

        I have two things! First, I cannot seem to find what the name of the song is when you’re filming the waves and the rain! I love the bass it has! Most definitely a good cruiser! Do you think you could maybe start posting the music y’all choose as well! I really do enjoy your taste!
        Second, we are almost birthday twins! 🤗 Summer solstice, June 21/22 is no joke the longest days ever and I cannot imagine being out at sea like that! A dream! But sheesh! It looked rough! Have you found anything that maybe makes that easier for you??

        reply
        • Curious Minion

          Hey Nicole. I can’t tell you the name of the song, but Nikki always lists the artists at the end of each blog post, so that’ll at least get you started.
          Curious Minion

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  • Dave West

    Happy Birthday Jason!

    reply
  • paciii

    Best wishes to Jason for your birthday, whenever you get around to celebrating it!! We delay birthdays all the time in our family.

    I did have a question, which may have been answered earlier, but missed in my binge watching of all of your videos in just a couple weeks time… I seem to remember it being mentioned that something monitored if either of you or the cats went overboard while underway, but I don’t recall ever hearing details of how that worked. Is that correct , and if so, could someone mention what does it? Thanks, and best wishes that all the rest of your long-term visa paperwork can be accomplished without problems. (And that you can find real kitty litter for C&S 🙂 )

    reply
    • Curious Minion

      There’s nothing that will sound an alarm when anyone falls overboard. However, their flotation harnesses (which they wear when weather is bad or they’re alone on deck) do have lights and a transponder that will emit a signal so the person left on the boat can home in on the signal. The cats aren’t allowed out when weather is bad.
      Curious Minion

      reply
  • Alan Solomon

    Happy Birthday Jason. 23, right?
    Nicki, those cookies were thick, Chocolate Chip Cookies make everything better.
    All through your sailing, Cleo and Singa have had great Sea Legs, great stomachs and care-free attitudes.

    Enjoy,

    reply
  • Diana T.

    Jason actually looks green at one point! Not fair at all. Hoping a wonderful adventure is just around the corner to make up for the challenges of this passage. ❤️

    reply
    • Ha, crossing an ocean is the only way I’m going to get to live in Tahiti and Bora Bora…so I’d say it’s worth it 🙂

      reply
  • Eric

    A man I once knew, who climbed Everest, skied across Antarctica, and scaled El Capitan numerous times, once told me “it’s not an adventure until something goes wrong”.
    Words to live by

    reply
  • Robert Dawson

    Happy birthday Jason, hope you are feeling better.Hope you got a Chance to celebrate. Happy sailing, so enjoy traveling along.Bob here near Annapolis Md

    reply
    • Once I ‘let it out’ I felt 100% better. Now it’s time to play 🙂

      reply
  • Robert Dawson Daw

    Happy birthday Jason, hope you are feeling better.Hope you got a Chance to celebrate. Happy sailing, so enjoy traveling along.Bob here near Annapolis Md

    reply
  • Mike

    Best wishes for your next adventure; be safe

    reply
  • Roger B

    Happy Birthday Jason. A sea sick and exhaustion Birthday you’ll probably never forget. Me too. I want to see how you pull in the big one on your fishing line.

    reply
    • Sailing for me is definitely a rollercoaster, one minute I love it and the next I’m done with it…but in general it’s all good 🙂

      reply
  • Christina Stilwell

    I guys. I’m really concerned about your rash. I’m a nurse & it looks like ringworms to me. I’ve had my share of them. I can look @ a cat & get one. You must change your towels after each use & put LIQUID ANTIFUNGAL MEDICATION on them & wash your hand all the time. They are highly contagious.
    That is want my Doctor has told me to use & the liquid goes a long way on a few drops. Pricey but works very well.
    I really am trying to save you a trip to the doctors Office.
    I love your videos. Be safe out there.
    Chris from Missouri

    reply
    • Curious Minion

      In the previous episode they visited the hospital and got treatment for it. It’s a rash caused by exposure to taro plant and/or mangoes.

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      • Michael

        How long does it take to go away?

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  • Bruce McCaskey

    Can’t wait to see how you bring in the fish on that set-up, especially if it’s a big one. There appears to be no pole or reel, just a shock absorbing connection between the line and the boat.

    My father used to talk about catching huge sturgeon on “hand lines” in the lower Columbia River back in the 1920’s using only gloves and a tight grip on the line. He always said it could be a real challenge to control the big ones and it was important to never wrap the line around any finger you were fond of. He also said to always hand-over-hand the line when letting it out, never let the line slip/slide between your fingers because it could cut through even leather gloves, although they used heavy cotton gloves.

    As I said, can’t wait to see how this turns out as I’ve never actually seen a hand line used before.

    reply
  • Brian

    Another great video, thanks for sharing. What kind of rig was that towards the end you were fishing with? How do you reel in a fish with that? Thanks again, love your adventures.

    reply
  • John Flynn

    Happy birthday to Jason!

    reply

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