8/3/2026 — Kármán vortex street, knockdown, and lost oars. We got caught in a von Karman vortex street! We’ve been battling this rare system for three days, caught between a counterclockwise circulation and a clockwise one, with last night bringing the worst of it—57-knot gusts and 5–7 meter seas pounding Spirit of Waubun. One oar snapped in half, and this morning I watched the broken blade section fly off into the waves 🌊; luckily our grab line kept it from smashing into the cabin doors. Around 10:00 UTC, a huge wave knocked us sideways about 120 degrees. It happened so fast that I was thrown onto the electrical panel in my stern cabin, turning everything on—the boat suddenly lit up like Christmas! Ran and I were both safely inside, and the boat quickly righted herself, but we lost another oar, my rowing foot pedal, and several splash guards. By 19:30 UTC we saw a narrow chance to escape southeast before the clockwise system could push us southwest and away from the UK. Ran and I went on deck and, like the practiced team we’ve become, retrieved the para-anchor in under ten minutes. I switched on the autohelm, the bow turned southeast, and I saw Ran smile.