Today dawned cold and overcast again.
Not what one expects from the weather in the tropics. The vagaries of
mother Nature!
No sun sights were possible today as a
result. We never saw the sun. The closest we got was a pale shaft of
light struggling its way through the thick cloud for a brief
moment, casting a brief moment of warmth. Only to bow out to the thick
clouds swirling all over the heavens.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring clear
weather. This will make the navigation quite interesting, having to
calculate dead reckoning over a 48 hour period. A challenge indeed.
The wind, clouds and heavy seas the last few days were not really
conducive to decent navigation either. Hence the increasing
difference between the GPS and my humble calculations.
The mood on board is upbeat. We have a Monopoly Deal card league in the late mornings, then a Uno card league after dinner. These help a lot towards making light of the heavy weather.
There is still a positive spirit on
board in spite of the bad weather. We are all looking forward to
better weather and some sunshine. And the couple crewing exudes this
exuberant mood of excitement about their adventures on board. Quite
contagious.
I have not had the best of times on
board yet, as I have been struggling with a rotten sinus problem
since day two of the voyage.
The medication has worked and it seems
to be clearing. This serves me as a good example of what to look out
for before an extended voyage. You need to keep your body healthy,
else the germs strike at sea at the most inopportune times. Hopefully
this is a thing of the past and I shall be able to enjoy the rest of
the voyage.
Needless to say, we have not caught a
single fish yet. Perhaps the fish are also feeling the effects of the
weather. Or perhaps they went on an extended vacation elsewhere.
Much like the Mole in The Wind In The
Willows. I have almost finished reading this delightful story by
Kenneth Grahame. I am sorry I missed out on this type of literature
in my schooldays. I may have been the richer for reading these as
opposed to technical manuals and textbooks.
There seems to be quite a few parallels
between what we are doing, crossing the ocean, and the travels of the
animals depicted in the story. I am now at the chapter on the
wanderings of all the other animals, where the Sea Rat is telling
about his adventures all over the world's ports and oceans. With
vivid descriptions of all the places he had been to. Very much like
us here on board at the moment. Sometimes I pray for the ability to
have words to describe what I am experiencing. The chapter is aptly
named Wayfarers All
In the song Those Were The Days there
is a line reading: “We are older but no wiser, for in our hearts
the dreams are still the same.” I suspect this is true for most of
us.
We all have dreams. Some we are able to
realise, others are more difficult to get to, so we aspire, we reach
out, but may not accomplish the dream. Here on board we are a small
community actually living part of our dreams, even if only in small
ways.
And it is not at an exhorbitant cost,
money-wise or career-wise. We are sailing a brand new boat across the
oceans, enjoying the facilites on board, even though it is limited.
The limitations are due to the responibility of delivering the boat
as new, therefore we forego the use some of the facililiteis on
board. And we eat out of the very ceapest plastic crockery because we
ditch them at the destination. But that does not really detract from
the joy of crossing an ocean with a few friends.
Getting here appears to be a life
decision, sticking to the decision, then working hard at getting
here. And planning properly, making sure one understands what is
involved in the decision and what the path to follow looks like. I
get the idea that many folks just give up, still at the dream stage,
not really taking charge and moving towards realising their dream.
And you have to this one step at a
time. It is not possible to it in leaps and bounds.
Rather like eating an elephant.
Authored by Johan Zietsman.
Last updated on 2013-10-01
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