13:38.471N 071:15.817W = An Instrument of your Peace
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Fri 28 Jan 2022 20:29
as a reminder that we are a team onboard Irene IV. The poem, though
religious, transcends religion and encourages a deep humanity, caring and
joyfulness in its readers.
Lord Make Me an Instrument of your Peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury pardon.
Where there is discord unity.
Where there is doubt faith.
Where there is error truth.
Where there is despair hope.
Where there is sadness joy.
Where there is darkness light.
Oh Divine master, grant that I may not seek to be consoled, as to console.
To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved, as to love.
For it is giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to
eternal life.
As we reach the end of day 3 at sea, we have gelled as a crew and move about
the constantly moving boat with elegance and ease. A little bit of
queasiness on the part of one in our number has engendered the maternal
instinct in all. I have found a willing and very able sous chef in Kevin,
which adds enormously to the quality of our vitals. We have been sailing
downwind, so the boat remains relatively level, adding to the general
comfort of its passengers. However, downwind brings with it the fear of "the
accidental jibe". The accidental jibe is a sailor's worst nightmare, in
terms of losing face and credibility. It is to be avoided at all costs, and
those costs involve rigging preventers and various other cobwebs of lines
zigzagging hither and thither across the boat. The preventer stops the boom
from snapping across the boat from one side to the other, which all jests
aside, can be deadly if ones head were to be in the way. The weather has
been kind to us and is delightfully mild, and not menacingly hot, as we had
expected. Nights are cool, so sleep is deep and full of pleasant dreams.
Each of us has taken steps to further the motto we have pledged for this
voyage: "Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints." Our motto
comes from the Kuna Indians of the San Blas Islands, towards which we are
sailing. We have since learned from anthropologist, Juan Iglesias, a native
of the San Blas chain, that Kuna is not the word for the people but for the
dialect that they speak. The people who populate the "Kuna Yala" (the proper
name for the islands) are the "Dules tribes", not Indians, as they do not
come from India. We look forward to finding out much more when we arrive in
about 3 and half more days' time.
Some weeks prior to arrival, James and Kevin were subjected to a speech from
Louis and me about being very careful when they packed to join us. Sunscreen
and soap products should be reef friendly. Carry as little plastic as
possible in products and clothing. Look out for sneaky things like dental
floss, which are full of plastic. We want to avoid having to recycle at all,
we cautioned, but to compost as much as possible. Kevin brought cart loads
of reef friendly sunscreen and dental floss aboard and James was tasked with
a carrying an enormous amount of parts for the water maker, which helps us
to avoid using plastic water bottles.
Ahoy! What's that I hear? A fish! The fishing line, a constant off the stern
of the boat, is making that welcome buzzing sound as a Mahi Mahi struggles
to free itself from the bright pink squid-like lure. Stuart, muscles
rippling, is reeling in at full tilt. Louis, James, and Kevin are abruptly
awoken from various stages of a nap, trained by their years as fathers of
young babies, and leap into action. The fish is landed, fed some Gordon's
Gin to ease her into the afterlife (we discover that she is full of eggs),
and filleted and sashimi-ed in the blink of an eye. The crew joins together
in celebration over sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi. Life is good at sea!