I'm wet. I'm cold. My bruises hurt. My scrapes burn. As I get closer to the beach, I feel the waves building up. The swell hits the seabed, the waves get higher. They break. Not good! The waves begin to lift me and, shortly, I begin to break. I approach the beach with dizzying speed. It's a steep beach, it must be low tide. They try to slow me down and the wave makes a hissing sound like it's laughing at me. In fact, I feel like I'd take off and fly if it were a little faster. And I think I feel what surfers experience by running through the waves at incredible speed. I think I won't survive the impact. But right now I had no options. The impact is brutal. When I hit the beach I stop suddenly. That hurts. They pull me trying to get me out of the waves. But the next wave fills me with at least a quarter of a ton of water and they leave me there. I'm no longer useful. I am left defeated, lonely, abandoned.

Collected

Despite the incredible vastness of life in the oceans, most of the time I see nothing. I can sail a thousand miles and see nothing but water and the sky in a thousand shades of blue. In the ocean encounters with creatures are rare, but when I have them they are impressive and emotional. Whales, turtles, with whom I connect immediately. They are not afraid of me. They accept that we share the same habitat and consider me part of the family.
But there are also seabirds that spend most of their lives over the oceans. They circle around me, fish a bit, take a bite, and come back again. They can float less than a meter away with my rocking in the waves. And I am happy when after following me for several miles, they make the decision and land on my deck. They just sit there and are not impressed by the noise of my engines. They accompany me throughout the night. But sooner or later, my feathered friends disappear without a goodbye. And I'm left alone again feeling nostalgic.

Collected

"And all of a sudden it is calm. No movement. Not the slightest breeze. Even the birds stopped chirping. The world is holding its breath. This abrupt hush is eerie. It's the calm before the hurricane. But am I ready? I think I am ready. As ready as it gets. Now the waiting begins. I'm not ashamed to say I'm afraid.
The wind is picking up...
The relentless gusts unload their explosive charges like bombs. The noise is deafening. Every gust makes me list and shiver when the wind hits me. They don’t come head on. They strike from the side like Thor’s hammer. The lightning show is spectacular, for unbroken moments at a time it is bright.
I doubt that I will be able to survive twice this. How much more can I take? How much longer will it last? My headsail comes loose. Slapping in the wind it bangs like machine gun fire.
And ironically now, at the peak of the storm, I calm down. I understand the eye already passed us, it will be over soon. The worst lays behind me.
I have made it! I live!"