Okay, i’m sittin’ here tryin’ to figure out a title for this blog entry. And what to tell you. This is sort of a meditative thing, goin’ inside, feelin’ what’s there and how to articulate it. At the moment this is made harder by quite high winds in Puerto Escondido, where Akimbo and i are tied up to a mooring buoy. Sitting here at the nav table, next to the instruments, a moment ago i watched the wind meter register 47 knots (someone with a meter that records the highest gust it sees woke up to it saying 56). I was impressed again at how wind like that flattens the waves and the air tastes salty.
So, imagine yourself at home during a big storm – for those of you in the northwest, chances are you don’t have to imagine because it’s actually happening. In fact, it’s your storms that have sent this rain (yes, rain – albeit not cold rain) and wind here. You’re concentrating on writing something or reading a good book. The windows shake, you look up, “whew, glad i’m not out there tonight,” you say to yourself. But now imagine your home not just shuddering with each gust but coming off its foundation, that it’s actually on wheels and your lot tilts this way and that with each gust. Your house bumps over to one side of the lot, tips over a few degrees and then starts back toward the other side only to swing back again. The wine bottle you just opened for dinner slides off the kitchen countertop and spills on the floor. You decide to use bowls instead of plates tonight and to spread one of those non-skid rubber mats as a table cloth before putting them out. Whoops, there’s another big gust, the car in the garage is skidding around too. You go to close the garage door, darn, too late, the car flipped over upside down. Well, nothing to do until things calm down, try to focus on that book or whatever you’re writing for now. For life in a house, it’d be more like living in a perpetual earthquake. Can be kinda distracting, huh?
There you have last night and this morning. When at anchor i secure the dinghy on deck at night in case we have to move. On this buoy, and hoping to do laundry the next day, i made the mistake of leaving “sea cow” in the water and found her upside down at about 4:30 this morning. Flipped her back, secured her up close to Akimbo’s stern and went back to bed. Clipped a back-up line on the mooring in case the fist one chafes thru, lashed rigging variously to keep it quiet, kept an eye on things, etc… Hoping to flush the outboard motor with fresh water, change the spark plug, the oil and the gas and start it up…when things calm down…stay tuned.
Enuf of that. Last week i enjoyed Jessica joining me for a week’s cruise. We circumnavigated Isla Carmen, enjoyed three anchorages, beach walks, long talks, music and books. No moon at first, stars OUT, we had good weather, she got away just in time, was here for the right week for weather. 
She was a sport – i don’t usually like that term, but by it i mean she was flexible, willing and fearless (even grabbed a moth bare handed to throw it back out into the dark!). This despite starting out getting soaked on the dinghy ride out to Akimbo, she carried on gracefully, willing to let go of the illusion of control. Her enthusiasm for the adventure and the scenery was contagious. Gregarious, i should follow her example of making new acquaintances at every opportunity. Once again, i felt the lesson to increase my capacity to appreciate. Thank you, Jessica. Plus visitors give me a reality check – yes this reality is different than most and not for many people, but hopefully it is still somewhat sane and relevant. To what? Come for a sail and give me your opinion/answer. 
Good news, we’re catching fish again, after a dry spell. Yum!
P.S. News flash – Sea Cow lives!! Just got done workin’ with a mechanic here and learning how to get the motor running again. Whew!
No comments:
Post a Comment