7Feb12 Sunsets and dawns and skies full of stars. Never do I see so many as when I’m on the sea. It’s so easy to get cloistered in our houses, snug in our beds while the world of miracles and beauty rolls past in waves outside our door. Five frigate birds, sharp angular outlines and split tails, circled low over our mast at dusk, the clouds turning crimson above them then making way for the soft pastel greys of the approaching night. We were settling into life on board. The challenges of life in close quarters were emerging and as issues arose we had to look at them and talk about them and find ways of sharing the space and the work with mutual respect. Truly, “He va’a, he moku, he moku, he va’a”. The canoe is an island, the island a canoe. We separated our waste, recyclables, disposables(all lightweight plastic) organic waste went overboard. We monitored our food and water consumption, and above all else we did what we can to maintain our relationships. Nothing much goes unnoticed on a canoe. 15 people in a small space for a long time. The greatest challenge of voyaging is often to be aware of our own behaviour, of the little aggravations that can creep in and cause offence, the reactions when we’re annoyed that everyone sees. To maintain our inner equilibrium is an on-going job that requires maturity and self-awareness. To tolerate other peoples outer equilibrium requires a bit of deep breathing sometimes. We’re all a little cracked around the edges, but we have to learn to live together. It’s the lesson of Life really. It’s only through working together despite our differences that we will be able to solve the issues facing our planet. This is why I have hope and to a degree give thanks for the environmental destruction of our world. Without it, without having our small planetary home threatened to such a extent we could easily go on ignoring our ‘relationship’ problems. However, in the face of mass destruction we will be forced to join together, to work together and to resolve our conflicts for the greater good or suffer the consequences. And then there were Las Ballenas. 10 meters off the bow a grey whale broke the surface. “Slow down!” “Turn!” “Whoa!” the chorus came. Five meters… It spotted us and rolled. A little burst of its tail and a pectoral fin slid by two meters from the canoe. Bienvenido a la Bahia Magdelena amigos. As night closed in around us we were anchored up and sitting in counsel on our large woven mat serious business at hand. “Taki!” Muddy water splashed into coconut shells, hands clapped and slowly but steadily the tanoa was drained of kava, refilled, drained again, refilled…The ukuleles chang-cha-changed and the moon hung low over the hills. On nights like this when the sea is glass I can feel it stretching around the world, we, the sailors floating like insects on a pond, and all of us shore to shore united by water. It’s strange, but strangely comforting too.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 05:54:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015