Yarns: Off the dock

by Cameron

Blue sky sailing to the Galapagos

Getting off the dock:

The hardest part of any journey is leaving. Getting the bags packed, making sure the bills get paid, getting to the airport on time… And so it is with sailing, times 10.

Imagine all the minute details it involves to plan for a month in the mountains, or alone out to sea… Once you set out, there is no stopping at the 7-eleven. One must not only have all the food and fuel to last the duration, but medicine and books and water and sunscreen and fishing supplies and spare parts for every conceivable emergency. The communications and electronics must be working, the sails in top form, engine oil and filters changed, extra fuel strapped on deck – don’t forget spark plugs, toilet paper and some extra line for the spinnaker… Did you buy the batteries?

And since, on a boat the work is never done, a balance must be struck if one is to ever arrive at “ready”. Too many people never even leave port, believing that they are not fully prepared, forever glued to the West Marine catalog, and the next project… If one is to leave port, and not just dream of sailing, the umbilical cord must be cut.

The famous author Jack London took 20 years get off the dock with his boat – 20 years! And this is not un-common. The vast majority of boats in the world sit comfortably in some marina, taken out on weekends perhaps, by men who dream of the day when they will sail over the horizon - but this day rarely comes.

The percentage of people actually out voyaging the world is extremely small. They are also wildly eccentric. Let’s face it: it takes an unusual character to leave the comfort and security of land for the unknown open ocean. It takes a loose screw or two… It also takes money. One would think sailing would be the domain of the rich and affluent, yet this is oddly not so. The wealthy tend to be the most dependent on the material world, unable to leave the very projects that got them where they are -their stock reports and board meetings... No, the community of cruisers is made up of gypsies, and misfits.

“If you have dream of sailing, and have the means, abandon all hope until your fortunes change. For a voyage, like a life, must be built on a firm foundation of financial unrest” – Sterling Hayden

Thus it is that after many months in the boatyard, and many thousands of dollars later, we have finally succeeded in getting off the grid: out of the marina, through the Panama Canal, and to the islands! I could chronicle here the monumental effort it took, but like a mother giving birth, I have already forgotten the pain. It will suffice to say that it was with a huge sigh of relief that I sailed away from Panama City and the continent, back into the element I understand best – the natural world.

Stepping off into the great unknown ocean can be daunting, sure, but I find I have almost more anxiety about coming back to land. At least out here the cars don’t beep, the phone doesn’t ring, and we have no one to depend on but ourselves.

This is a huge moment for me - a return to a lifestyle that I left over 8 years ago. Ever since selling my last boat, every effort I have made has been motivated by my desire to return to the sea, off the grid, and the friendly islands… But I was not always sure I would make it again. Time has a way of getting away from us, and I nearly lost my way once or twice - a house, a job…

But now - pinch me - we are here… watching the sun go down in the Galapagos islands, and it’s even better than I imagined… I see that all the things that led up to this moment were necessary, and that it couldn’t have happened any other way, or any earlier…

Right now, anchored in Isabella island, Galapagos, watching the sunset. Penguins and seals visit the boat daily, and even sometimes crawl up to spend the night in the cockpit. At once, like turning on a light switch, we are back, immersed again in the sensuous world, the flowing matrix of life, the food chain.

Happiness feast in calm sailing seas!

Our sail to the Galapagos islands went better than expected - I had anticipated lightning and thunder, which is the norm on this route and one of my biggest fears, but it never materialized. On the contrary, we were blessed with sunshine and dolphins much of the way, and even stopped for a swim at the equator.


Mahi-mahi

Both crew, Cash and Cibele, adapting to the sailing routine well. Attitudes are positive and spirits high. We have purchased a mini stair master, which fits nicely behind the helm seat, and makes night watches more inter-active. We have a host of good books, movies, and enough beans and rice to sail all the way to Brazil (the long way)…


Malia healthy way of life!

Someone once said that once a mind is opened, it cannot be re-closed. So it is with fear: once you do something you were once afraid of, and realize that your doubts were largely in your mind, there is a gain of confidence which is permanent.

And so it is with the voyage of life - once you get off the dock, it’s un-thinkable to turn back.