Saturday, July 3, 2010

Too much in the Moment

I remain very much living in the moment. The plus of this condition is an intense focus on the tasks at hand and an appreciation of all that is going on around me. The downside is that visions of the future and recall of the past are hazy at best. I blame this condition for not including two people ho were important to me in the Passage.

JD Shiver quit his job as a cabinet maker to share in the first two weeks of the voyage. He was an essential part of enabling me to get to Nova Scotia. Having not been on an extended offshore voyage before, JD bravely experienced all the fears and uncertainties of doing this in a 20-foot boat. There were many times that I woke him from his off-watch slumber for a sail change, a reefing task, deployment or retrieval of the whisker pole, or some other chore. He always responded without co9mplaint. He fixed a hot meal most evenings. On his watch he often performed sail adjustment tasks by himself so as to not interupt my sleep. His observations about sail trim and weather conditions were usually right on. He is a bright young man (age 26) who is engaging in discourse about life, human nature, the condition of the world, and philosophical thinking. As I left him in Lunenburg, he was introducing himself around the town looking for opportunities for more offshore travel.

Bud Taegel, an orthopedic surgeon in Houston and my traditional skiing partner in Aspen, set aside his busy and valuable medical practice for a weeki to join me in New York for the trip down the East River to Sandy Hook, and then down the coast of NJ, up Delaware Bay, and down the Chessapeake to Annapolis. Unfortunately I terminated the Passage before this segment, so I did not have the pleasure of his company. I think he went ahead to New York to visit a friend, and I hope he understands and will forgive my change of plans.

There are times to plan and times to execute. As I tidy up on the conclusion of the Passage I am opening up a period requiring a great deal of thoughtful planning. The time has come to shift my life in another kind of passage. I plan to sell my homes in Atlanta and Beaufort and move to Texas. My working career is winding down, and what remains can be done from anywhere. My spouse of 10 years, Alice lives in San Antonio where she has an active social life as well as family. In Atlanta I have evolved into a social hermit, and my kids and grandkids all live in Denver. I do not have clarity on how to execute this passage. I will be getting rid of all things non-essential except for the items that have a significan role in my self-identity. But, there is little room in Alice's home for the stuff that I plan to keep. She understandably does not want to go through all the work of moving into a bigger place and suggests that I buy a place of my own in or near San Antonio to house my essential belongings. My inclination is to buy a place on a coast where the summers are mild and sailing is an activity. I have not yet found the perfect place. So, all this has to be worked out somehow. As a general rule, without clarity about the complete passage it is better to do nothing until the entire plan can jell. That, probably, is the best path right now.

Meanwhile, Jubilee is being offerred for sale. She is set up now for offshore passage-making. I have made my passage. She sould go to a new owner who wants to make a passage as I have done. I plan to put the specifics on www.Flicka20.com .

Woody
Beaufort, SC
July 3, 2010