Truth and Consequences

Younger & Skinnier

No Gray Hair

 
I’ve always been intrigued by those who can take everyday, unremarkable occurrences and find life changing signs and universal philosophical truths in them.  That is not one of my talents.

 Until now, I haven’t given too much thought about how our serial voyaging has affected us; how some of the incidents we’ve gone through might have given us the opportunity to grow and expand our outlook.  Mostly, our uppermost concerns have been surviving many of them.  There is a oft-told cliché that sailing is long periods of boredom interspersed by moments of sheer terror.  Whether by sail or motor, most boating journeys taken by do-it-yourself captains and crews can be included in that.  The longer you are on the water, the greater your chances of experiencing some kind of nastiness.

But now, searching for something to write about by going back through our old logs, I am pausing to wonder what and where we would be without our serial voyaging.  Perhaps we’ve never had a life-changing epiphany, but little by little we have been enriched.

Heading Out - 1988

However painful or pleasurable, one step always leads to another.  Thinking back, I can even recall the smells of our very first day of long term cruising.  It was one of those rarely perfect Pacific Northwest days with gentle breezes making it easy for our little sailboat Espejo to slip across the channel to our first Puget Sound anchorage. Quacking ducks looking to be fed surrounded our boat as we lowered the anchor through sun sparkled water in the protected bay. We spent our afternoon exploring Vashon Island and lazing on the boat.  Each day of the next two months was almost as perfect, with just enough rain between the sunshine to add a little spice.  The end of our cruise was just as memorable. Beginning our drive south, the traffic noise, congestion and fumes on the freeway actually startled us, we’d become so used to peace and quiet.  That just-right cruise set the tone for our next 23 years.

Sparkling Ducks - 1988

Without our voyages, our outlook  would definitely be limited.  By remaining at home and safe, would we understand that people are people no matter where you find them?  Underneath our trappings of headscarves or prayer caps, designer sunglasses or Ferragamo shoes we tend to be alike. Some years ago, in an under-stocked Central American grocery store, I watched a poorly dressed woman try to decide between buying a bag of beans or one of rice.  Surely, she has the same feelings for her loved ones as the well-tended women we saw exiting Paris boutiques carrying beautifully crafted, overstuffed shopping bags.

Learning about others taught us about ourselves; our limits, our capacities, our hearts.  We try to be worthy of  the small and large kindnesses shown to us by strangers over the years and we attempt to forget the truly rude people we’ve encountered.  Dwight and I are fairly insensitive so most insults have gone right over our heads anyway.

Nothing being free, what price have we paid for our journeys?  Here Dwight and I disagree.  He feels that not one thing has been subtracted from his life, on the contrary, without serial voyaging his life would have been dull.  I, on the other hand, with family I love, feel a tad guilty by having missed so many of my grand children’s early years and being away when my daughter was struggling with family medical problems.  Never once, though, has she mentioned any resentment about my absences; she’s only cheered my small successes. 

I am truly fortunate.

 Hugh McKnight's "Cruising French Waterways" is our favorite go-to book.  Have a look at it, click here

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