Slowing Down

When Hill and I were staying at the boatyard in Florida, a German couple was living on the boat next to us as they had it repaired. We spoke to them right before we left, and I told the wife that we were going to spend the first few months in the Bahamas, but after that, I was trying not to make specific plans (I didn't tell her about the schedule I made on Google Calendar before we left Chicago). She nodded her head emphatically. "Don't make any schedules," she said. "That is the most important thing you learn while cruising."

Lesson learned. This morning, Hill and I tossed the schedule out of the window and decided that we are going to try to slow down. We are not leaving Spanish Cay until the weather is appropriately warm and calm enough for a nice smooth sail into Green Turtle Cay, our next destination.

In the meantime, we spent the afternoon exploring Spanish Cay, a private island with a hotel and marina. We walked down to the northern end of the island and watched the waves bashing the rocky shore on the Northeast side of the island. It's still quite chilly (in the upper 50s today) and looks to continue tomorrow before starting to warm up this weekend. We took some photos today and they look very untropical. But we are much more relaxed. Tonight we'll see if I can continue my winning streak in Gin Rummy. Hill hates losing...

Comments

[dargie]

Do you have any kind of heat on the boat? Are your toes freezing at all times?

Someday this too will be pleasant to remember? I just read Orwell, Homage to Catalonia, about his experience volunteering for the Socialists in the Spanish Civil War. It's a stunning book, but his experience sounds pretty miserable (think freezing cold trenches, very little sleep, body lice, and being shot through the neck). I thought this was an especially honest moment, a thoughtful passage - and maybe it will distract you from your woes:

"I had had five days of tiresome journeys, sleeping in impossible places, my arm was hurting damnably, and now these fools were chasing me to and fro and I had got to sleep on the ground again. That was about as far as my thoughts went. I did not make any of the correct political reflections. I never do when things are happening. It seems to be always the case when I get mixed up in war or politics--I am conscious of nothing save physical discomfort and a deep desire for this damned nonsense to be over. Afterwards I can see the significance of events, but while they are happening I merely want to be out of them--an ignoble trait, perhaps."

Not an ignoble trait. A human one. At any rate hotel rooms can work wonders.

[Ryan]

You have now arrived on island time. No schedules, nothing is a must, you simply take it all in and make the most of what the day offers. Enjoy.