Adventures of a Single Handed Sailor ! Why he left the world and ran away to Sea !
www.sailmagazine.com
by John Masefield
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
On board the ship `Garthsnaid' at sea, 1920, showing sailors securing a section of the foresail which had come free from the gaskets in heavy weather.
photo taken from https://sploid.gizmodo.com
The fight against Earth's oceans is almost as old as humankind. Through millennia, humans have battled typhoons and waves as high as buildings. " To sail is necessary, to live is not ! "
Back in 1999 the end of the last millennia, I had been living in Paris working in a B2B Startup for heavy industry procurement online. It was a good job I guess, well paid and challenging as far as my responsibility as their in house Web Designer was concerned. But this comfortably static lifestyle was taking its toll and I began to seriously doubt that the vision I had dreamed of as a child would come along. Namely one of adventure and risk. Yes, I felt trapped in this altogether calm and well yes, relentlessly boring office job glued quite possibly to a computer screen for the rest of my years.
The madness of the Dot Com " Industry " Clearly I had to make a huge life decision, whether to stay and survive my life in safe manner or, go, live and maybe die !! I truly felt I needed to break out from this mind numbing monotony which held my soul prisoner to its fold for now too long. So something deep down in me clicked, I think related to a tragic and somewhat traumatic childhood event . But I think I will talk of this story in a future post, as indeed it in retrospect explain much of my stubborn resolve to fight for myself and my beloved boat, no matter what that could possibly mean or be. But it was clear I needed to go to sea, to be a part of this legend of man and his need to walk on the ocean. To own a boat and sail to my greater adventure and spiritual bounty.
image credit TumblrSo before too long I found myself looking through countless web pages which specialized in the sale of second hand boats. But it was difficult to see the wood for the trees, as each boat that came up before my eyes was either too expensive or something which to my eye did not immediately appeal. But luckily for me a friend in my office on hearing of my desire for a boat kindly brought in one morning to my office a few magazine's which he felt would help me on my way to finding the elusive vessel of my dreams. Sure enough in a matter of minutes I was confronted by a photo of a boat for sale in the Rochelle, a beautiful coastal town set on the west coast of France.
She was a beautiful looking 31 foot classic sailing boat built in 1948 in Carantec, Northern France. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on her lines that I was in love. As I knew in one blinding moment of intuition , that she would be the one, the one to take me away to my new Life of the Sea and her majestical magic and mystery.
So in one short but excited phone call from my office with all my colleagues watching and listening to see if this crazy English guy was truly serious about buying a boat ! I arranged to meet the broker to take a look over her myself in the beautiful Port of the Rochelle .My newest and greatest adventure was just a 8 hour train ride away !! I knew right there that she would be mine ! it really was that quick and easy to buy her, nothing could stop me I felt, she would be my and nothing would stop me now !
As I knew as soon as I set foot on her deck that she would be the one capable of taking me and a few of my unsuspecting friends out to sea , her mystery and great fathomless power !
my beautiful Yori built all in wood by Moguerou Jezequel, Carantec 1948.
So things from then on went extremely quickly as my til then dream career came to an abrupt and unforeseen end when the # Dot Com Bubble Burst ! Just a few months later our super innovative high tech business to business solution to International heavy industry procurement folded in a day when all of our investors left the project leaving it totally bankrupt like thousands of others at that time !
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
In a matter of just months i had abandoned my apartment in the amazing 5th arrondisment, right in the very heart of " Le Quartier Latin " ! I gave away all which i did not need or could not possibly put in my new home and gateway to Freedom !) A new home which would teach me the sea and the importance of making your passage through it to get to where you want to be. She opened the door to a new way of living for me, of that there can be no doubting.Minimalist lifestyle based on knowledge and determination to survive any possible future eventuality the Great Universe in which we all live could throw at you
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Time to Go, Do, Live and yes maybe Die !I hope you will follow my adventures and enjoy reading them, maybe see that life can be what you dream it to be, you just need to make it real !
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May the Force always be with you All, that you feel its VibZ ! Full Steam Ahead !
This is a beautiful account of how you got started on your journey into the far and wide seas. I look forward to reading more of your experiences as it unfolds in future posts. Life closed down one door, your office job, and opened up another for you as you had purchased your boat and took your home out into the ocean. You provide a great example of inspiration for all who grow stagnant and complacent about catching their dreams and building the foundation to actually live out their visions with purpose and fulfillment. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this detailed post, from the poem, to the pictures, to the gifs, keep up the great work bro and steem on. Definitely upvoted and congrats on the success of your life thus far.
hey there Mr D !! Im so happy to hear you enjoyed so much my first installment !! ) Well my dream has become a real nightmare at times too, so not always so easy, but then what is in life? But i suppose in the balance i am definitively more up than down !! I hope you are doing good and you are enjoying being a father!! )
So that's how the story begins⛵️
Those time maybe feel crazy even for a crazy English guy like you!
yes they were crazy days then and still now truth be known !!f !! thanks @zaebars for your comment )
Good for you.
I envy you.
I've always dreamed about boats.
I grew up a thousand miles from the sea.
Now that I'm retired I'm dreaming about boats again.
Perhaps a small shanty boat to explore rivers and lakes?
Yeah sure why not @everittmickey, anything that can take your soul down to the water will bring you untold benefit ! I too spent many years as far from the sea that could be possible in my country of England. But my summer holidays gave the smack of the brine in the nostrils, the call of the gull and the far away shore !! Buy your boat and see where it takes you @everidmickey, thankyou so much for thisl comment ! ) steem On
Your welcome.
I wish Stemmit had a 'Nautical section' were wannabe sailors could talk about boat and how to build them.
(no way can I afford to buy anything)
We have a sailors chat
Feel free to join)
yeah sure we do, stop by and sling your hook some time ! )