By the Stars

           Jessie Hanson and his wife, Jean have spent a good part of their lives together traveling the world on a J-Class sailing yacht that they named, “JASMINE” after their daughter who died as an infant of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

           Jessie, a self-made millionaire, wanted nothing more in life than to please his wife. His purchase of this 137-foot-long superyacht was his birthday present to her one year following the loss of Jasmine.

           Even though “JASMINE” is equipped with the latest navigational equipment, Jessie prefers to do his navigation by following the location of the stars at night and the direction of the sun by day. He was taught at an early age by his father how to use a sextet and chart a course using the stars and a paper map.

           Jessie’s father was a merchant marine as was his father before him in a time before GPS. He will never forget the quote that his father had told him when he was a teenager. He said, “Stay the course, light a star. Change the world, where’er you are.”  It was a written by an English author named, Richard Le Gallienne. Even though the meaning of the quote had nothing to do with sailing, it was inspirational to him.

           Jessie and Jean had recently left a three-week stay in Naples, Italy, and they were now cruising across the Mediterranean Sea toward Egypt. Their destination was the city of Cairo. As they passed the coast of Malta, they could see the set of the Robin Williams film, “Popeye” still standing in Anchor Bay just outside of the town of Mellieha on the northwest coast of the island. The ramshackle timber homes still looked today as they did back in 1980’s with the exception that it was now riddled with curious tourists instead of actors dressed in ridiculous costumes.

           They anchored in Port Said, north of Cairo, shuttled to the dock in a small boat driven by one of the local fishermen. From there, they went by taxi to the city of Cairo. During their five day stay, Jessie and Jean explored Giza Necropolis, the Pyramid of Djoser, The Egyptian Museum, and sampled Egyptian cuisine in a popular restaurant named, “Sobhy Kaber”.

           After leaving Egypt, the couple set course along the African coast toward the Alboran Sea where they would take in the magnificence of The Rock of Gibraltar on the southern coast of Spain. This limestone monolith protruding almost 1,400-feet above the Iberian Peninsula cast a shadow across the bow of the yacht as they neared. After taking several pictures to add to their collection of memories, they continued with their journey.

           The next part of their journey would take several days to complete. They were to cross the North Atlantic Ocean toward South America where they would make port in Venezuela. Before leaving the African coast, they checked the galley to make sure they had enough provisions to make the long trip. To play it safe, they made port off the coast of Morocco and purchased extra food.

           The Atlantic Ocean was turbulent at times, though with Jessie at the helm, “JASMINE” handled the waves beautifully. The 3,876-mile trek would be challenging, but Jessie and Jean were up to the test of man versus nature.

           Making regular calculations on his map, Jessie raised the anchor and they set sail once again. Nightfall came quickly, but the waters were calm and the light from the stars and the moon lit up the deck like it was the sun that was shining. Billions of stars lit up the night sky and Jessie took the opportunity to tie off the helm’s wheel, so they stayed on course and he went to awaken his wife who was asleep in the cabin below deck.

           He led her up onto the deck and they laid out on two lounge chairs gazing at the majesty and awe of God’s handiwork. Before long, the two fell asleep breathing in the sea air. Hours later, drops of rain began to splash off the bridge of Jessie’s nose, and he woke up in a start. With Jean’s assistance, they removed any loose items from the deck and secured everything below the deck as well. A storm was approaching.

           Jessie took another reading of the stars before they were covered over completely by clouds and corrected his course. He asked Jean to unpack his slickers and he put them over his clothes before heading back outside. He also attached a harness around him that he could attach to the helm if the storm became more intense.

           Thirty minutes later, the storm was upon them. Jean was secured below out of the rain while Jessie stood at the helm. With the storm sails in place, Jessie maneuvers the craft with precision. Waves smash against the side, spraying heavy saltwater into his face. Jessie struggles to hold the boat on course as it climbs the crest of several large waves and strong winds.

           The boat was taking a beating, but not as much as what Jessie was. His arms weakened by the minute and he wasn’t sure if could hold onto it for much longer.

           The squall continued for nearly two hours before the clouds parted and he could see the stars once again. They had made it through unscathed. Jean returned to the deck and took the helm while Jessie took a much-needed rest. His muscles now ached after the wrestling match against Mother Nature.

           After a short nap, Jessie checked took out the sextet and checked the stars again. The storm had set them off course slightly, but it should only make a difference of about two hours in their travel time.

The next few days at sea made the couple weary, so when they saw the shores of South America coming into view, their spirits were lifted. They weighed anchor off the coast of Isla Margarita. From there, they chartered a small plane. The pilot flew them South over Canaima National Park where they could view Angel Falls from the sky. The water levels were high due to the excessive amount of rain that they experienced during the entire month of May, so the falls were full and beautiful as the water cascaded down 3,200-feet over the Auyan-tepui mountain.

           From there, the pilot flew them back north toward Puerto La Cruz where they flew over a white sand beach. Hundreds of sunbathers gathered to take in the clear turquoise water. Schools of colorful Rainbow Parrotfish can be seen in the sea below twisting and turning in unison. After landing back on Isla Margarita, they spent a few hours relaxing on the beach with tropical drinks and soaking in the sun. They had a pasta dinner at Gaia Ristorante before heading back to the yacht. After a good night of sleep, they set course for the next destination, Costa Rica.

           They made port in Limon, Costa Rica, and hired a guide to take them to the Tortuguero National Park. They were led to a beach that spanned fifteen miles and was overrun with thousands of sea turtles who were there for one purpose; to lay their eggs.

           Once they were back on the yacht, Jessie and Jean debated over the next stop along their journey. Jessie wanted to see Cuba, while Jean wanted to check out Belize. He knew that arguing with her was futile, so they headed north along the coast until they reached Belize.

           They cruised to the Belize Barrier Reef where they took in the wonder of “The Great Blue Hole”, a massive sinkhole under the ocean. Jessie and Jean donned their scuba diving gear and dove in for a closer look. The hole was filled with hundreds of species of marine life. Using an underwater camera, Jean snapped pictures of groupers, yellowtail snappers, porcupine fish, cowfish, frogfish, a spotted eagle ray, and an octopus. When a barracuda showed its razor-sharp teeth, she decided that her swim was over, and they swam back to the safety of the yacht. They decided to spend the night by the reef before heading on to the Florida coast the next day.

           As they laid in the cabin that night, they could hear the call of killer whales and dolphins as they swam past the boat. The sound was so calming, that they fell into a deep sleep quickly. When they awoke the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through the portholes of the yacht. Jessie shaded his eyes with his hand until his pupils adjusted.

           They continued sailing northeast past Cuba’s western coast on route to Florida. After a lot of begging, Jessie convinced Jean to make a short stop in Havana, Cuba. They watched as three men sat inside a cigar shop rolling cigars by hand while a line-up of patrons waited patiently for their orders.

           Men and women dressed in colorful garb danced in the street to upbeat Latin music. Colorful buildings lined the busy streets and beat-up cars acted as taxi cabs for the tourists. Jessie and Jean took selfies in front of the National Capitol Building and explored the Museum of Revolution before stopping at Mas Habana for some traditional Cuban cuisine. After dinner, they bought tickets for the famous Tropicana Club where they took in a show. The lavish costumes and amazing dancing made Jean happy that she agreed to stop in Havana.

           The next day, they were back on the yacht and heading to Miami, Florida. The waters around the Miami Yacht Club were busy as usual. Hundreds of boats filled the crystal blue water as they carefully made their way back to their slip. It had been six months since they first left on their international adventure, and as great as it was, they were looking forward to spending the next six months on dry land.