Cristofer

Cris on watch in the middle of the Atlantic

Cristofer joined us in Las Palmas nearly three weeks before the departure. It seemed that his first objective in Las Palmas was to befriend every person he encountered and early on he was busy encountering as many as he could. Soon he was off to Danilo's house for a barbecue or off to the Brazilian restaurant for a group feast or getting his hair cut off by Danilo's girl friend. He kept so busy and slept so little that he was wearing himself out before we were near departure time. Finally he slowed down and settled into a manageable (for a 27 year old) routine.

Part of the reason Cristofer didn't sleep much is that he refused to sleep in his cabin for fear of keeping his cabin mate (David) awake with his snoring. By and by Cris gave up sleeping on deck and finally tried sleeping in his cabin. David didn't even know Cris was there. In fact, David snored so loud that it kept Cris awake and two nights didn't pass before Cris was back on deck or in the main saloon trying to get some zzzzs.

Cris handled our first days at sea admirably. He had arranged to have flowers and a proposal of marriage delivered to his girlfriend, Susan, on her birthday December 7. We still had 6 days to go. Plugging along at 5-6 knots in the middle of the ocean while not knowing Susan's response was more than Cris could bear. We were all happy to see St. Lucia but none of us was as happy as Cristofer, particularly once he got to the internet cafe in Rodney Bay and got Susan's response via email. He was estactic.

Cris couldn't get home fast enough and three days after we arrived he was gone.

Not many fathers get to spend 22 days at sea with their sons. I did and I consider myself fortunate for the opportunity. There is one change I'd make if I were to do it again ... it would be just Cris and me ... that would be a kick.