Chapter 9

Recurring Lessons

The truth is, I miss Sea Change. This is the third start I’m giving this chapter. I’ve written a poem when a wave of emotions and thoughts were flowing too quickly for sentences, I’ve written a fact filled entry detailing the days of preparation and my visit, but there was no feeling, and I am here to say it how I feel it. I miss Sea Change. She’s now in North Carolina at the Pacific Seacraft warehouse. I’ve just returned from a visit. A bittersweet and a whirlwind of days. Weeks, days, all blend into one. In the days prior to transport I wanted to soak in sails but I also had to prepare her for transport.

Do what you can. That’s all I can do, any of us really. And perhaps there is never a time when anyone is ready for anything. But the thing occurs and you do your best.

So I spent the days sailing and preparing Sea Change for transport via flatbed truck from Stuart, FL to Washington, NC. A whirlwind of days, unloading, storing, hauling out, unloading gear, strapping down for uncovered road transit. 3 days passed that felt like one. Days in the yard and nights of little sleep thinking of what needs doing. Packed up and strapped down, Sea Change made it safely to her new temporary home in North Carolina.

A week went by to get her settled and unloaded, a chance for her to be inspected. I arrive at this time, to the smiling face of Steven Brodie, the current owner of Pacific Seacraft. Time well spent. Slow slow, quick quick.

Seeing Sea Change brought an instant smile to my face. Seeing her shipped away and leaving her (although in good hands) felt like a piece of me was being sent away, left behind. But it’s for the better. I’ve written of the refit in the past and it is now upon us. Touring the facilities left me in awe. Such beautiful craftsmanship goes into these vessels. Walking among these beautiful vessels, all with a story, a past, a present, a future. These beautiful vessels meant for water resting on land. It’s an odd sight, a boat out of water. But here, you can see their beauty, their strength, all of their curves and intricacies. However, their true personalities only speak in the water. Where they can dance, show their true colors. Dance with the wind, the waves, the currents.

So what comes of all of this? Where does my mind go? Where do I land? How can I speak of the revelations this path has illuminated thus far? Lessons of self. Where my heart is. Life lessons are repeated until we learn them.

Where my gratitude lies as of late? In the fact that the lesson of self is recurring…worry not of what others think… for truth is they are thinking of themselves. Sea Change is a vessel, I, her captain..albeit temporary. Just as I/we are the captains of our own physical form. We have to steer our course, to the best of our ability, using our best judgment, prioritizing that which will guide us closest to the purpose of our journey. That purpose may never be truly revealed, but there is a voice, one that should not be ignored. For if the fate of us all is the same, is it not the individual journey that is of importance?

Voices, influences, opinions, all float through our spheres, taken into consideration. But at the end of it, we lie alone. This is not to speak of loneliness. Instead it speaks of who, at the end of the day or if we are so fortunate to reflect upon our life when the end is near, that we are happy with our decisions.

Yet the end of life we can not know…even the end of day is not guaranteed, so each moment, to keep a watchful eye. Presence, acceptance, courage. These are the lessons as of late. Of which I am thankful for.

With Sea Change on the hard and undergoing probing, cleaning, reform…I too must do the same. These are the revelations for which I am grateful for.