being present

(From Mandy)

It was a great sail to Sidney, BC today. For the first time ever we had porpoises jumping our bow wave and playing alongside us! I've read plenty of blogs that talk about these playful creatures following along, jumping, then darting under the bow of a boat here in the Salish Sea - but it is always power vessels that seem to generate enough wave. The pod of about 10 porpoises stayed with us for at least 15 minutes, nearly close enough to reach out and touch. Agile as they are, I still thought they were dangerously close to our boat coming down on top of them. It's fascinating to watch, and it makes a person feel just a little extra special for a few minutes, like you've been invited to the exclusive Nature Club. Then, just like that, they are gone again.

Unfortunately I couldn't get pictures or video of them. The camera was stowed below, and when traveling at that speed in those waves, it is a good idea to be up top, not getting sick. To attempt going below could easily make for a very horrible rest of the trip. So the memory will need to live in our minds and your imaginations for as long as it can stay there.

Today during my watch I thought about how few activities we have in our lives that we must stay present with. Crossing a straight at hull speed is one of those endeavors. You don't have time to worry about a looming work deadline, you can't return that phone call, you can't make a mental to-do list. You must sail, and only sail. It takes all my attention to keep everything as it should be. Somehow it seems like there is a pure simplicity to it. When sailing, all one can do is sail.

Certainly is isn't always like that. We spend plenty of time putting along at a couple of knots. Then there is time to daydream. Lately, my daydreams have taken me across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. However, none of those abstraction get me from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic... I'll need more slow-paced sailing to figure that out.

Cheers,
Mandy