Skip to main content

Fit for Sailing

Image
By

Good Morning! 2 degrees above out there in the door yard. I just got in from starting to heat the shop. I love to hear the snow squeak under foot as I walk on these cold mornings. I had to hike up to the crew cabin to find something and the woods were black yet at this early hour but first light should be here by the time I finish typing. Hunt and peck, hunt and peck, typist I am not. We usually get up at 0530 just to find a quiet hour before we get the kids up.

This morning feels especially busy as we start in earnest getting spring fit-out under way. Kaitlyn, a special young woman who attends a local high school, began working yesterday. She is some tough and spent the afternoon splitting firewood in a biting wind. She and I were on a run on the ambulance yesterday morning. In addition to being a high senior she has just finished her EMT license exams and anxiously awaits confirmation of her success.

Paul starts today. Paul has been around wooden boats for a while. He built his own boat, a small one which took countless thousands of hours and which he actively sails out of Belfast to points far and wide here on the Maine coast. Paul wanted to get a glimpse inside the dream that is these large sailing vessels. Windjammers seem to attract people of all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds for reasons my simple mind can’t fathom. You can call it lure of the sea but it goes far deeper than that from what I can see. Our human choices seem to go deeper on a personal level that any one who isn’t us will ever know. The scary part for me is sharing the “man behind the curtain.” As Paul and Kaitlyn will soon find out there is a whole lot more to the dream that anyone can imagine. So there are my random musings for the day. Stay warm, be well, have a great day!

I am not sure who to credit this photo to but it is a beautiful shot of the schooner anchored in the Fox I. thorofare between North Haven and Vinalhaven.
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Barry and Jen, I saw the link on your web site and had a great time reading your musings. It got me to thinking about growing up in New Jersey, my two brothers and I playing in the snow, sleigh riding all day long and into the night. Ice skating until we couldn't feel our feet. No firewood to split in Bergenfield NJ. But plenty of walks and driveways to shovel. On the very rare occasion we get significant snow here in Alabama we all just stay home, have a little fun and complain about the cold.

I also maintain a blog for my family. Feel free to check it out.

http://demellier.blogspot.com/index.html

Ed DeMellier
January 22, 2007 at 9:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...
28 comments
Read more

We are Nuts

By
Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...
11 comments
Read more

Darkness and Light

By
Good morning everyone. OK, so this blog does not have a whole lot to do with schooners or windjammers or sailing vacations so if you want to leave now I will not be offended. Today is the winter solstice, as you know, the shortest amount of daylight in our calendar year here in the northern hemisphere. Of course it is the summer solstice on the other side of the equator. So I guess if you wanted to celebrate the summer solstice you wouldn't be at all in the wrong. I would applaud your ability to see outside the box. Map from Wikipedia commons Living and sailing in the mid latitudes (remember, Maine is half way to the North Pole) as we do, we experience a balance that spans a year's time, maybe many years' time. To feel the darkness of winter creeping quietly into our homes is not as bad it may appear from the outside. This is our season to rest... emotionally if not physically. We know it takes more physical energy to live and work here in winter. But when the sun goes down...
6 comments
Read more