Changing perceptions
We are 18 months into our new way of life and it’s only now that we are beginning to grasp the nub of what works for us. A relentless westerly quest, added to seasonal rhythms that draw you north and south will get you round the world in 15 months. Job done, trophy rightly earned on what I would now describe as a sailing adventure as opposed to a world cruise.
It all comes down to what you want out of your trip. Is it a mission or is it a way of life? Experience, in our case, has cleared the fog of perception and we now think of ourselves as exploring the world as opposed to sailing around it. If in that exploration we conclude a circumnavigation it will be an outcome of other drivers rather than a goal. Semantics you might say, but to us and particularly myself, having had a mission-oriented life, this is a step change in how we perceive what we are doing. Ours is to be a way of life and so many other factors begin to play a part in shaping its form.
Not least our ‘other’ life outside the sphere of Pearl of Penzance, to which we had originally allocated a return of one month a year. Thanks to modern communications I am still plugged into the outside world and I am able to continue to teach and speak around the world. My writing is expanding and brings great pleasure with thoughts of another book. We shall return as the Garcia 45 Exploration demo boat at the Annapolis Boat Show for we enjoyed it. Rather than detracting from the cruise it enhances it with variety, fulfillment and income.
Life ashore still goes on and we like being able to delve into it for important events that we could so easily have justified missing. This year our daughter, Olivia, is getting married and rather than just dropping in for the wedding we have come back to be a part of one of the biggest moments in her life and it’s a privilege. One of the added joys is that we have been able to soak up that which we have missed. Cutting the grass, getting the tools out, making things, birdsong, pasties and, oddly enough, sherbet lemons. It’s a time for reflection that makes us value our time on the water all the more. A similar pattern is emerging in our cruising life in that we like to slow things down to delve into nature and the local culture, and savour what lies below the surface. We met a couple, and I say this without criticism, who sailed through the Exumas with four stops – the extended ones in busy logistical hubs as opposed to the remote anchorages full of wildlife. A quick tick and they were off again, and yet during four months of exploring we never lost our enthusiasm for the Exumas as we became more and more intimate with them. Something I reflected on as my paddle board glided above a huge manta ray, its wing tips six feet apart, breaking the surface either side of me in one of our favorite spots.
The truth is that blue water cruising is very personal and for all the books and videos there is no wrong way; it isn’t a science. As such it is hard to predict what will turn out to be right, so an open, patient mind is perhaps the most important ingredient when those lines are finally cast off. With this more relaxed approach our two spheres have been melded into one. A holistic way of life as opposed to two worlds in conflict. Guilt at missing events at home or not keeping to a sailing agenda has been expunged. We seem to have found what fits and it’s a relief since, at the end of the day, it’s our trip.
We have missed cutting the grass, pasties and, oddly enough, sherbert lemons