The vastness of the ocean is not often beachfront. Sailing from Hawaii to Long Beach on the 50 foot Santa Cruz 50, “Chasch Mer” In May of 2009 took our crew of four 19 days. Within a day of leaving Kaneohe Bay on the north shore of Oahu, we could see no land or other ships, just the vastness of the ocean. We encountered all manner of weather from Gale Force winds and 10-20 foot seas to placid stillness with nary a ripple on the water. Our sat phone was hit or miss and downloading the weather grib files was discouraging. There was usually too much wind or not enough. The autopilot was broken which meant that each of us had to hand steer the whole time during our watch.
The author and painter, Stu Coleman, Sailing Across the Deep Blue in June 2009 aboard the Santa Cruz 50 Chasch Mer
The hardest watches were at night during the gales with driving rain and no stars or moonlight. The ocean was a roiling black cauldron and with no visible sense of direction aside from the binnacle compass, all we could do was concentrate on steering to prevent an accidental gybe and potential dismasting. Waves would crash over the bow of the boat and come roiling back to drench the helmsman, alone in the cockpit as the other three crew tried to sleep below.
When off watch, sleep was hard to sustain as the boat boat would launch off the top of a wave, only to crash into a trough or the back of another wave, causing the whole boat to shake and leak. The experience was akin to being on Space Mountain, the ride, only the ride lasted for hours and hours became days of thrashing in the Deep Blue Sea.
Many of my paintings showcase the calm energy that looking at the ocean from the beach exudes. “Deep Blue Sea” reminds me that when you are in the middle of the Pacific, over a thousand miles from any coast, the closest solid land is thousands of feet below your keel.
Painted in 2012
24″ x 36″
SOLD