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| I took this in California, somewhere just outside of San Diego, I believe. |
Catching the Wind
Sea water splashes against the side of my white sailboat as I get my bearings and steer her south-ward toward the Caribbean. Traveling at 6 knots, I feel like I will make it to Bermuda all in good time. The wind blows back my hair, and I pull it into a tight pony tail. The bright blue canvas above me stretches far into the horizon, and I look out at where the sea and sky collide. I can see fins rising up out of the water just off the starboard bow. The dolphins jump alongside my boat for a while until they venture back under the waves and disappear completely. I check my compass again to make sure I'm still on course and then look back out at the horizon. No land in sight. I go below to the galley, quickly make a PB&J and return to the deck to grab the helm.
A few hours pass and the sun gradually dips itself into the sea. A full moon is glowing above me now and the billions of stars twinkle in the blackness. I wander down into the cabin again and check my map. Thirty nautical miles until I would reach Bermuda. I glanced at the clock above the table and it reads, 8:00pm. When I get back to the deck, I watch the black ocean below, feeling a twinge of fear at the thought of a storm making the wind violent instead of calm as it was now. I pulled my jacket on over my head and began thinking about how beautiful Bermuda would be when I arrived and placed my feet on her sandy beach.
Hours passed and the only sound came from the waves below. The wind was chilling, my face cold from the salty splashes of ocean. The sails flapped and then suddenly stopped moving. I grabbed the edge of the sail and moved it back and forth. Nothing. I wanted so badly to reach Bermuda tonight, and it didn't look as though it would happen. My small sailboat bobbed like a message in a glass bottle thrown to sea. I walked to the bow and leaned out, looking at the cold water below me. My eyes drifted up and out. And that was when I saw it; the faint lights of Bermuda. I quickly jumped up and ran down into the cabin to make sure it wasn't a cruise ship that I had seen. When I had confirmed that my position was indeed correct, and that I was looking at Bermuda, I ran down to the engine room to start my diesel. It sputtered a few times and then wouldn't sputter at all.
I went back to the stern of the boat and sat down near the helm, watching and waiting. I thought over and over in my head, "Please, please. Just a little wind. Come on you can do it, wind." I sat, hoping for wind and watching Bermuda's distant lights, imagining a festival in Saint George's. Thirty minutes had passed when I finally felt a breeze. I walked to the mainsail and pulled it back. My sails flapped and finally filled themselves with the surplus of wind. I was off again heading for the lights in the distance and for adventure.
