I am in the Finals!!! :) - GoFuckYourself.com

AdultInsider Cloner · 08-16-2008, 01:06 PM

On urging from my parents who wanted me to submit my Africa story to Readers Digest (of all places) I told them I would look around for a decent travel writing competition and submit it.

I entered the Solas Awards competition put on by Traveler's Tales a few weeks ago and I received an email today notifying me I am one of ten being considered for the Grand Prize... which is like $1000 or something and they'd publish the story. Pretty cool

Anyway, I thought I'd post the story here for you to read if you're interested. Wish me luck!

...................................
African Awakening

4:30 am. A warm tropical breeze helps mellow my irritation at having to wake up so early in the morning. I?m almost used to it by now. Predawn risings have been the order of the day for almost four weeks. A necessary evil if you want to arrive in time to see the loins stalking a herd of wildebeest, or witness a giraffe engage its 18 inch tongue to delicately avoid the spines of the Acacia tree to feed on its leaves, or see the almost unbelievable speed with which a cheetah gives chase to a gazelle, as both speed across the savanna in a race with the highest of all possible stakes.

I?ve seen these sites and countless more during my tenure here in Tanzania. I?m here in East Africa with a group of my fellow Biology students and four faulty on a Concordia College May Seminar. It?s been the experience of a lifetime, studying everything from anti-poaching efforts in the Serengeti to biodiversity. Visiting the Great Rift Valley site where the Leakey?s discovered ?Lucy? and touching the fossilized footprints of a parent and child protohuman left here over 200,000 years ago. This is where we all began, ALL of us. Before we spread out over the planet and the superficial physical features that evolved to help us adapt to our different environments were seen as a reason to divide us, we were all here, united. One fledgling species attempting to secure its future, our present. A humbling experience and one I will cherish for as long as I draw breath.

This day however would turn out to harbor a wholly different type of experience then we had had so far, although almost as powerfully humbling. Today was our last day at Pangani, a small town on the Tanzanian coast where we had spent the last four days recouping from our travels and leisurely studying the marine life in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean which caressed its white sandy shores.

We were going to be making an early morning transit to the island of Zanzibar, where we would spend our last week studying the Red Vervet Monkey and learning about the political history of the region and its effect on the biology of area. To make the journey, we employed two local fishing boats called Dhows, which were nothing more than seat-less sail boats with large tree trunks for masts.

We watched as our luggage was piled into the smaller of the two crafts and were informed that the faculty would be traveling along with the baggage, while the twenty of us students would be making the crossing in the older, albeit larger Dhow.

Even in the darkness our concern was evident as we boarded the Dhow and immediately were instructed to start bailing out the three inches or so of water that had already pooled in the bottom of the hull. It was 5am on that clear equatorial morning when we embarked on our three hour trip, all of us hungrily anticipating the breakfast that awaited us at our hotel on Zanzibar. A breakfast, as it would turn out, we would never enjoy.

As the dawn broke over the watery horizon and chased away the last of darkness? hold upon the sky, we began to take in our situation. Tanzania lay behind us, still a tall mark along the western edge of our field of view. Ahead of us to the southeast, was Zanzibar, the pencil thin line of its coast repeatedly hidden by the mildest swell of the water. The Dhow containing the faculty and our luggage was rapidly out distancing us because of its smaller size and lighter load, and was quickly all but lost from view. It was then that we noticed the stormhead. Dark and ominous, it was rolling in from the southeast and seemed to be upon us almost instantly.

The wind was the first to reach us, a warm soft breeze turning into a hard gusting gale. The sail snapped taunt and the mast creaked with the increased strain, but held firm. The direction of the wind forced us to tack in order to continue forward, but move forward we did, at least until the rain hit.

Blinding sheets of warm water poured down from the sky, accelerated by the wind turning every drop into a mini liquid projectile. The blacken sky and relentless rain was making it nearly impossible to ascertain which direction we were headed. The storm however would soon unfortunately remind us from which direction it had come and which direction we had to go in order to make our destination.

Even with the rain we could see them coming. The fifteen to twenty foot high walls of water that rushed toward us, waves created by the push of the storm head but lingering behind the rain because of their sheer mass. We were bow forward when the first large one struck, rocketing the twenty-five foot sailboat almost straight upward. With no seating and no life vests we desperately clung to whatever part of the boat we could. I was lucky enough to be standing at the mast which provided a strong anchor point for me. We pierced the tip of the wave and headed straight back down in a descent I was sure would lead us plunging right beneath the surface to our deaths. But the bow caught the trailing edge of the wave at the last second and threw us level, where we bobbed for a few seconds before being tossed upward again.

I?m not sure if it was the fifth or the fiftieth wave when, clinging to my anchor, I heard a sharp crack and looked up just in time to witness the upper three quarters of the mast break off and fly out behind the boat. Crashing into the rough sea and taking the sail and our ability to turn into the waves with it.

We were now adrift.

Four hours pass??

The brutal front of the storm beyond us, the waves had thankfully died down to about ten feet and the rain had stopped. We?d fallen into a kind of desperate rhythm of necessity. As a wave would approach us broadside, we would all gather at the near edge of the hull and brace for the impending crush of water, trying to prevent the wave from rolling us over and capsizing the craft. Between waves we would all use our hands to bail out as much water as we could before once again holding our breath and hoping for the best.

We were tired and hungry and thirsty and scared and drifting steadily northeast. Our present course would miss the northern tip of Zanzibar with the next landmass in our path being Sri Lanka, some three weeks away. We all knew that the two bananas and one liter of fresh water we had on board wouldn?t carry even one of us that far.

Two hours pass??

The storm was almost completely gone now, or at least it seemed that way after the last six hours. We were still in large five foot swells but there was no immediate threat of capsizing, and the water spilling over the side was manageable, at least while we kept our strength up. This reprieve allowed us to momentarily reflect a little on what was happening and I remember one moment with crystal clarity. I was standing at the mast and could just make out the coast of Zanzibar on the horizon. At that moment I said to myself, ?I can make it. I?d rather die trying to swim to shore then die slowly wasting away in the hopes of being rescued.? Rescued. Heh, no one even knew we were out here. We had no idea what had happened to our professors in their smaller boat when the storm hit. They could be at the bottom of the ocean by now.

Luckily for me, logic prevailed and I didn?t attempt the roughly eight kilometer swim through rolling, shark infested waters that would surely have led to my demise. I?d noticed that all the others in my group were gathered together and repeating the Lord?s Prayer over and over again as if God himself would reach down and pluck the boat from the water and set us safely on dry land.

Although at that moment in my life I still had a lingering belief in God, rather than mindlessly chant, I decided to keep my mind busy by composing a poem about our adventure, even if no one outside this group would ever hear it. Our crew was busy trying to get the old 25hp outboard motor attached to the stern running. We all keep busy the best we could, trying to keep our minds off of what may lay ahead for us.

RyuLion · 08-16-2008, 01:06 PM

huh???????

AdultInsider Cloner · 08-16-2008, 01:06 PM

An hour passes……

I’m shaken from my pensivity by what I realize is the sound of an outboard motor briefly springing to life before passing back into inactivity. I wasn’t the only one who noticed and we all held our collective breath for what seemed like an eternity. A pull, a spark, a sputter, and the motor came alive once again, this time loudly roaring its intent to stay awakened. Belching black smoke and smelling like an oil fire, it was the most beautiful thing in the world to all of us.

The crew cautiously throttled up and the boat slowly began to turn into the waves once again. Hope renewed, we were all looking forward toward shore when we crested the first wave and the motor died. We were all crestfallen, two of the girls in our group burst into tears. But on the first pull, it started up again! Only to die on the next wave.

Most of us had grown up on the lakes of Minnesota and we suspected we knew the problem. In older motors the gas is drawn into from the tank by a siphon created from the motor sucking in water for coolant and squirting it out the back. When we crested the wave, the motor came out of the water completely, losing its ability to draw in fuel, and thus stalled. The simple solution being that when we crest a wave, someone needed to pump the primer bulb located on the fuel line between the gas can and the motor.

Simple enough. Not so simple to explain in Swahili to a crew that has probably used the motor only to navigate in harbors where the sea is calm. We eventually got the point across though and we are off again. Slowly, but finally making our way back toward land.

It took us about an hour to reach the northern tip of Zanzibar and most of us didn’t wait for the boat to take us in, but simply jumped into the waist deep water and waded the last 100 yards to sand and safety. Jubilant shouts and hugs abounded as most celebrated. I however was quiet. Staring outward at an ocean I had a new respect for, and staring inward at a new found sense of self and the awareness of my own mortality.

It was a little past 2pm. Nine hours.

As we calmed we began to think clearly again and realized we are still on the wrong end of the island and we had no idea the whereabouts of our professors.

We found the largest taxi we could, a late 60s VW bus, and after explaining our situation to the driver, all 20 of us crammed in. The driver turned out to have a love of Dire Straights and popped in a cassette. The first song to play was Sultans of Swing, and even now, more than a decade later, that song still stirs me with powerful memories of that day.

Our jubilation at being safe was short lived however as when we reached the hotel and discovered there had been no sign of the other boat or of our professors. The official port was closed and there were many boats tied up off shore that didn’t make harbor, so we agreed to give it until morning before calling the Embassy to start a search. The long night passed quicker than expected and none of us seemed to have trouble getting up before dawn that day. We were all eating breakfast, preparing to call the embassy, when surely enough, out of the tangle of fishing boats came a small dhow loaded to the brim with luggage and carrying four very wet, very grumpy, but very alive professors.

Africa taught me a great many lessons. About our origins, our commonalities and our stewardship of this planet, but it also taught me how precious our lives are and how tentatively we hold on to that life. A lesson few have the privilege to learn so early in life and a lesson I will never forget.

baddog · 08-16-2008, 01:08 PM

good luck, sounds like quite the adventure

AdultInsider Cloner · 08-16-2008, 01:10 PM

thanks... sorry for the space between posts, but the posting delay got me... you're too fast RyuLion =p

stickyfingerz · 08-16-2008, 01:23 PM

Great stuff Lance!!

AdultInsider Cloner · 08-16-2008, 01:35 PM

Thanks

Spunky · 08-16-2008, 01:37 PM

Good for you,good luck

AdultInsider Cloner · 08-17-2008, 12:17 PM

thanks all I should know in a few weeks!

Cory W · 08-17-2008, 12:51 PM

Congratulations man. Looks great.

marketsmart · 08-17-2008, 01:05 PM

where are the parts about barebacking african hookers and being chased by machete weilding shopkeepers for dining and dashing?

Manowar · 08-17-2008, 01:11 PM

Nice one dude!!!

bbm · 08-17-2008, 02:16 PM

Congratulations, you are lucky one

myjah · 08-17-2008, 02:50 PM

Congrats!! Excellent writing and sounds like an amazing adventure.

shekinah · 08-17-2008, 05:26 PM

You're really good at writing Cloner..Goodluck!

tranza · 08-18-2008, 07:46 AM

Congrats and good luck!

theharvman · 08-18-2008, 09:14 AM

Congrats! Best of luck!

08-16-2008, 01:06 PM	#1
AdultInsider Cloner Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 1,472	I am in the Finals!!! :) On urging from my parents who wanted me to submit my Africa story to Readers Digest (of all places) I told them I would look around for a decent travel writing competition and submit it. I entered the Solas Awards competition put on by Traveler's Tales a few weeks ago and I received an email today notifying me I am one of ten being considered for the Grand Prize... which is like $1000 or something and they'd publish the story. Pretty cool Anyway, I thought I'd post the story here for you to read if you're interested. Wish me luck! ................................... African Awakening 4:30 am. A warm tropical breeze helps mellow my irritation at having to wake up so early in the morning. I?m almost used to it by now. Predawn risings have been the order of the day for almost four weeks. A necessary evil if you want to arrive in time to see the loins stalking a herd of wildebeest, or witness a giraffe engage its 18 inch tongue to delicately avoid the spines of the Acacia tree to feed on its leaves, or see the almost unbelievable speed with which a cheetah gives chase to a gazelle, as both speed across the savanna in a race with the highest of all possible stakes. I?ve seen these sites and countless more during my tenure here in Tanzania. I?m here in East Africa with a group of my fellow Biology students and four faulty on a Concordia College May Seminar. It?s been the experience of a lifetime, studying everything from anti-poaching efforts in the Serengeti to biodiversity. Visiting the Great Rift Valley site where the Leakey?s discovered ?Lucy? and touching the fossilized footprints of a parent and child protohuman left here over 200,000 years ago. This is where we all began, ALL of us. Before we spread out over the planet and the superficial physical features that evolved to help us adapt to our different environments were seen as a reason to divide us, we were all here, united. One fledgling species attempting to secure its future, our present. A humbling experience and one I will cherish for as long as I draw breath. This day however would turn out to harbor a wholly different type of experience then we had had so far, although almost as powerfully humbling. Today was our last day at Pangani, a small town on the Tanzanian coast where we had spent the last four days recouping from our travels and leisurely studying the marine life in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean which caressed its white sandy shores. We were going to be making an early morning transit to the island of Zanzibar, where we would spend our last week studying the Red Vervet Monkey and learning about the political history of the region and its effect on the biology of area. To make the journey, we employed two local fishing boats called Dhows, which were nothing more than seat-less sail boats with large tree trunks for masts. We watched as our luggage was piled into the smaller of the two crafts and were informed that the faculty would be traveling along with the baggage, while the twenty of us students would be making the crossing in the older, albeit larger Dhow. Even in the darkness our concern was evident as we boarded the Dhow and immediately were instructed to start bailing out the three inches or so of water that had already pooled in the bottom of the hull. It was 5am on that clear equatorial morning when we embarked on our three hour trip, all of us hungrily anticipating the breakfast that awaited us at our hotel on Zanzibar. A breakfast, as it would turn out, we would never enjoy. As the dawn broke over the watery horizon and chased away the last of darkness? hold upon the sky, we began to take in our situation. Tanzania lay behind us, still a tall mark along the western edge of our field of view. Ahead of us to the southeast, was Zanzibar, the pencil thin line of its coast repeatedly hidden by the mildest swell of the water. The Dhow containing the faculty and our luggage was rapidly out distancing us because of its smaller size and lighter load, and was quickly all but lost from view. It was then that we noticed the stormhead. Dark and ominous, it was rolling in from the southeast and seemed to be upon us almost instantly. The wind was the first to reach us, a warm soft breeze turning into a hard gusting gale. The sail snapped taunt and the mast creaked with the increased strain, but held firm. The direction of the wind forced us to tack in order to continue forward, but move forward we did, at least until the rain hit. Blinding sheets of warm water poured down from the sky, accelerated by the wind turning every drop into a mini liquid projectile. The blacken sky and relentless rain was making it nearly impossible to ascertain which direction we were headed. The storm however would soon unfortunately remind us from which direction it had come and which direction we had to go in order to make our destination. Even with the rain we could see them coming. The fifteen to twenty foot high walls of water that rushed toward us, waves created by the push of the storm head but lingering behind the rain because of their sheer mass. We were bow forward when the first large one struck, rocketing the twenty-five foot sailboat almost straight upward. With no seating and no life vests we desperately clung to whatever part of the boat we could. I was lucky enough to be standing at the mast which provided a strong anchor point for me. We pierced the tip of the wave and headed straight back down in a descent I was sure would lead us plunging right beneath the surface to our deaths. But the bow caught the trailing edge of the wave at the last second and threw us level, where we bobbed for a few seconds before being tossed upward again. I?m not sure if it was the fifth or the fiftieth wave when, clinging to my anchor, I heard a sharp crack and looked up just in time to witness the upper three quarters of the mast break off and fly out behind the boat. Crashing into the rough sea and taking the sail and our ability to turn into the waves with it. We were now adrift. Four hours pass?? The brutal front of the storm beyond us, the waves had thankfully died down to about ten feet and the rain had stopped. We?d fallen into a kind of desperate rhythm of necessity. As a wave would approach us broadside, we would all gather at the near edge of the hull and brace for the impending crush of water, trying to prevent the wave from rolling us over and capsizing the craft. Between waves we would all use our hands to bail out as much water as we could before once again holding our breath and hoping for the best. We were tired and hungry and thirsty and scared and drifting steadily northeast. Our present course would miss the northern tip of Zanzibar with the next landmass in our path being Sri Lanka, some three weeks away. We all knew that the two bananas and one liter of fresh water we had on board wouldn?t carry even one of us that far. Two hours pass?? The storm was almost completely gone now, or at least it seemed that way after the last six hours. We were still in large five foot swells but there was no immediate threat of capsizing, and the water spilling over the side was manageable, at least while we kept our strength up. This reprieve allowed us to momentarily reflect a little on what was happening and I remember one moment with crystal clarity. I was standing at the mast and could just make out the coast of Zanzibar on the horizon. At that moment I said to myself, ?I can make it. I?d rather die trying to swim to shore then die slowly wasting away in the hopes of being rescued.? Rescued. Heh, no one even knew we were out here. We had no idea what had happened to our professors in their smaller boat when the storm hit. They could be at the bottom of the ocean by now. Luckily for me, logic prevailed and I didn?t attempt the roughly eight kilometer swim through rolling, shark infested waters that would surely have led to my demise. I?d noticed that all the others in my group were gathered together and repeating the Lord?s Prayer over and over again as if God himself would reach down and pluck the boat from the water and set us safely on dry land. Although at that moment in my life I still had a lingering belief in God, rather than mindlessly chant, I decided to keep my mind busy by composing a poem about our adventure, even if no one outside this group would ever hear it. Our crew was busy trying to get the old 25hp outboard motor attached to the stern running. We all keep busy the best we could, trying to keep our minds off of what may lay ahead for us. __________________ Fighting the hypertrophy of social cognition. Never make small plans for they lack the magic to stir mens souls. FreeNetPass v2 - IS HERE! 9 Years and still going STRONG!

08-16-2008, 01:06 PM	#2
RyuLion ClubDomCash.com Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 32,265	huh??????? __________________ Adult Biz Consultant A tech head since 1995

08-16-2008, 01:06 PM	#3
AdultInsider Cloner Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 1,472	An hour passes…… I’m shaken from my pensivity by what I realize is the sound of an outboard motor briefly springing to life before passing back into inactivity. I wasn’t the only one who noticed and we all held our collective breath for what seemed like an eternity. A pull, a spark, a sputter, and the motor came alive once again, this time loudly roaring its intent to stay awakened. Belching black smoke and smelling like an oil fire, it was the most beautiful thing in the world to all of us. The crew cautiously throttled up and the boat slowly began to turn into the waves once again. Hope renewed, we were all looking forward toward shore when we crested the first wave and the motor died. We were all crestfallen, two of the girls in our group burst into tears. But on the first pull, it started up again! Only to die on the next wave. Most of us had grown up on the lakes of Minnesota and we suspected we knew the problem. In older motors the gas is drawn into from the tank by a siphon created from the motor sucking in water for coolant and squirting it out the back. When we crested the wave, the motor came out of the water completely, losing its ability to draw in fuel, and thus stalled. The simple solution being that when we crest a wave, someone needed to pump the primer bulb located on the fuel line between the gas can and the motor. Simple enough. Not so simple to explain in Swahili to a crew that has probably used the motor only to navigate in harbors where the sea is calm. We eventually got the point across though and we are off again. Slowly, but finally making our way back toward land. It took us about an hour to reach the northern tip of Zanzibar and most of us didn’t wait for the boat to take us in, but simply jumped into the waist deep water and waded the last 100 yards to sand and safety. Jubilant shouts and hugs abounded as most celebrated. I however was quiet. Staring outward at an ocean I had a new respect for, and staring inward at a new found sense of self and the awareness of my own mortality. It was a little past 2pm. Nine hours. As we calmed we began to think clearly again and realized we are still on the wrong end of the island and we had no idea the whereabouts of our professors. We found the largest taxi we could, a late 60s VW bus, and after explaining our situation to the driver, all 20 of us crammed in. The driver turned out to have a love of Dire Straights and popped in a cassette. The first song to play was Sultans of Swing, and even now, more than a decade later, that song still stirs me with powerful memories of that day. Our jubilation at being safe was short lived however as when we reached the hotel and discovered there had been no sign of the other boat or of our professors. The official port was closed and there were many boats tied up off shore that didn’t make harbor, so we agreed to give it until morning before calling the Embassy to start a search. The long night passed quicker than expected and none of us seemed to have trouble getting up before dawn that day. We were all eating breakfast, preparing to call the embassy, when surely enough, out of the tangle of fishing boats came a small dhow loaded to the brim with luggage and carrying four very wet, very grumpy, but very alive professors. Africa taught me a great many lessons. About our origins, our commonalities and our stewardship of this planet, but it also taught me how precious our lives are and how tentatively we hold on to that life. A lesson few have the privilege to learn so early in life and a lesson I will never forget. __________________ Fighting the hypertrophy of social cognition. Never make small plans for they lack the magic to stir mens souls. FreeNetPass v2 - IS HERE! 9 Years and still going STRONG!

08-16-2008, 01:10 PM	#5
AdultInsider Cloner Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 1,472	thanks... sorry for the space between posts, but the posting delay got me... you're too fast RyuLion =p __________________ Fighting the hypertrophy of social cognition. Never make small plans for they lack the magic to stir mens souls. FreeNetPass v2 - IS HERE! 9 Years and still going STRONG!

08-16-2008, 01:35 PM	#7
AdultInsider Cloner Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 1,472	Thanks __________________ Fighting the hypertrophy of social cognition. Never make small plans for they lack the magic to stir mens souls. FreeNetPass v2 - IS HERE! 9 Years and still going STRONG!

08-16-2008, 01:08 PM	#4
baddog So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: the beach, SoCal Posts: 107,089	good luck, sounds like quite the adventure

08-16-2008, 01:23 PM	#6
stickyfingerz Doin fine Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 24,984	Great stuff Lance!!

08-16-2008, 01:37 PM	#8
Spunky I need a beer Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: ♠ Toiletville ♠ Posts: 133,944	Good for you,good luck __________________ *YOUR INFORMATION HERE*

08-17-2008, 12:17 PM	#9
AdultInsider Cloner Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 1,472	thanks all I should know in a few weeks! __________________ Fighting the hypertrophy of social cognition. Never make small plans for they lack the magic to stir mens souls. FreeNetPass v2 - IS HERE! 9 Years and still going STRONG!

08-17-2008, 12:51 PM	#10
Cory W Deeply shallow Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hollywood, Ca. Posts: 9,133	Congratulations man. Looks great. __________________ ICQ: 292310358 Offering writing and content services (mainstream). Marketing for L3 Payments

08-17-2008, 01:05 PM	#11
marketsmart HOMICIDAL TROLL KILLER Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sunnybrook Institution for the Criminally Insane Posts: 20,419	where are the parts about barebacking african hookers and being chased by machete weilding shopkeepers for dining and dashing?

08-17-2008, 01:11 PM	#12
Manowar jellyfish Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 71,528	Nice one dude!!!

08-17-2008, 02:16 PM	#13
bbm So Fucking Banned Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,710	Congratulations, you are lucky one

08-17-2008, 02:50 PM	#14
myjah Back in the harbor Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 11,482	Congrats!! Excellent writing and sounds like an amazing adventure. __________________ VP of Marketing AVN Media Network Skype: AVNJill [email protected]

08-17-2008, 05:26 PM	#15
shekinah Confirmed User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8,452	You're really good at writing Cloner..Goodluck! __________________ [Web Design \| Development \| Programming \| Content Writing ] ICQ: 238-890-469

08-18-2008, 07:46 AM	#16
tranza ICQ: 197-556-237 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: BRASIL !!! Posts: 57,559	Congrats and good luck! __________________ I'm just a newbie.

08-18-2008, 09:14 AM	#17
theharvman Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,366	Congrats! Best of luck! __________________ Email:[email protected] Site: http://TheScreamingO.com Program: http://http://www.idevaffiliate.com Skype: theharvman ICQ: 150092593