Sailing, again. by John

I only really noticed the gap in my sailing when I looked at my log. And with my son at little over a year-old, I know why I stayed closer to home. Still, it’s funny how a body of water, or water itself can actually exert some unseen magnetic force. Having read much Moitessier lately perhaps it’s just some idealized vision of some alternative vagabond life.

But actually being on the sea, even today for 20 miles in the Atlantic is both a gentle and firm reminder that it’s there, the Sea. Not far. But on a boat, you’re really at its mercy, and it commands respect. And sailing can be quite a test. For me…

And Moitessier on returning to England, “…but leaving from Plymouth and returning to Plymouth now seems like leaving from nowhere to go nowhere.” And he didn’t return, he sailed on. Alone. His wife and family to join later. By not going back he lost the race but what he kept was much more valuable. To him…

For me, sailing the 1200 or so miles to Panama from St. Lucia was in many ways a miserable trip. In more ways much more than that. I took about twenty minutes of video of just really nothing (a part of that is on this site, set to music by Max Richter’s, “Maria the Poet”); so just the wind and the waves; and I took the video to remember that part of the trip that took up the most time, but had no edges to distinguish one moment from the next. On most days all there was were the three of us rotating watch, trying to eat together and mostly nothing else.

And now sitting at this computer, one might think great, fine, read a book. But in reality all that time can be filled just thinking and looking. Or just looking. Each wave slightly different, the boat bouncing along pushed by the wind. Same sounds over and over. Sun rises and sets. Sail through the night. By the grace of God the boat doesn’t hit anything drifting below the surface, and worrying doesn’t do any good. And on and on…

That trip in particular without any satellite phone was very much hidden blessing in retrospect. Because rarely do we have that type of uninterrupted solitude. And probably most don’t want it. But it’s so rare…it’s a very special reintroduction to one’s self. For me…