A life on the Ocean waves
Cat-man-do
Sat 1 Dec 2007 23:04
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Hello again from well within the
Tropics.
As I've been designated as the "blog writer" for
this good vessel I've decided to indulge myself and put "pen to paper" so to
speak and put down a few of my own thoughts.
The size of this little escapade is beginning to
dawn. I guess it hit me somewhat, when doing some route planning yesterday I
thought to compare our distance to our destination with the distance to my home.
It turned out that it was only yesterday that we reached a point where we nearer
to our destination than we were to my house. So what takes a few hours on a
plane and a days sail is now a couple of weeks away from us yet.
People often talk of trips like this giving them
time to think and take stock of their lives, I can well believe it, it's one of
the reasons I was so keen to do it. Being at sea is one of the few places I feel
truly "comfortable" I can sit and gaze in awe for hours at the rolling swells of
the ocean as far as the eye can see. Trying to get your head around the enormity
of it all, is something it's probably best not to dwell on too much.
Taking stock of what's important in your life every
now and then probably isn't such a bad thing to do. Unfortunately in our
break neck speed society it's something we seem to have less and less time to
do. For me, the truly important things are my family and the friends I have
who've stuck with me through good, and yes, even the not so good. I'm fortunate
to have some of the people on board with me in that category, and some who'll be
waiting at the other end, not for me specifically but they'll be there
anyway.
Telling people how you feel is another side to the
coin altogether. There are people in far off lands I would never dream of
telling how I feel, circumstance would not make it right and sometimes that
alone makes it best to keep these things to yourself. There may be a time when
it is right, but for now it'll be filed in the pending tray, possibly
there for ever. However, the people you can
tell, maybe should be given the opportunity to know these things.
Being here also makes you appreciate the feats of
some of the great sailors in history. We are, as I type barrelling
along at about 150 miles or so a day. Our plastic "rocket sled" is a far
cry from people like Robin Knox-Johnson who set off in a tiny 32 foot wooden
boat, alone, with less water for a non stop World circumnavigation which
took about ten and a half months to complete than we have for three and a half
weeks. He managed as little as 30 miles a day in some of his early
days. It's a great eye opener out here, that's for sure.
Thanks for indulging me my little "piece"
I'll maybe try and get the others to put something down in the
future.
We're all happy and safe, and at this moment making
good time.
To the friend(s) in far off lands
Take care
Brian
(normal service to be resumed
tomorrow)
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