Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
off limits to passengers. We were fascinated with the swimming pool and couldn't believe
how fast the water could be drained in the event of rough weather. We particularly enjoyed
the crew's antics celebrating King Neptune, the sea god, when we crossed the equator. The
sailors all had powerful arms emblazoned with exotic tattoos, and some of the ladies on the
cruise would always be laughing and joking with them, feeling their flexed arm muscles
and being captivated with wild sea stories.
Riding my bicycle home on my final day of school one year, the vision of that pirate
schooner appeared before me again. Puffing up the hill, I saw the yellow, shiny rails,
wooden masts, and powerful, long bowsprit thrusting up proudly in front of the big, black
hull. I could see the black, tarred rig running web-like across the sky, with its jaunty bunt-
ing slapping in the wind. The blue sky, pea-green sea, and white clouds were as real to me
as my childhood days spent with my twin at the bottom of our garden, and in that moment
I glimpsed into the future. I saw my boat clearly: I could smell the wood and rope and can-
vas and the salt of the sea spray, and I could hear the sound of creaking deck planks and the
swish and rustle of a gently sailing boat. I knew then that I was to become a sailor again;
the signs were there; the traces of my past life were evident, and I felt an inner peace and
strength with this knowledge.
It felt right, and it gave me great strength. I was to need great strength as well as patience
and wisdom. Where would all this come from? I had not done well at school, leaving al-
most two years early. I had not enjoyed competitive sports, finding the other boys stronger
and faster than myself. The rugby games and boxing left me bruised and with terrible head-
aches. I was not terribly ambitious either and had not the urge to accumulate or collect
things. Money to me was only a necessary tool, and I could never understand why people
spent so much of their precious time acquiring it. I was not a very sociable boy either, pre-
ferring my own company or the close companionship of a good friend. Indeed, my twin
was my best friend as well, although he was well into discovering his own path by then. I
loved to daydream and spent most of my school days in a trance. Rasping away at a block
of wood, I would shape out the hull of a small sailboat at my father's workbench. Knowing
instinctively her shapes and curves, the size of her mast, and the cut of her cotton sails I
made them from old bed sheets. I would devise automatic rudders that would steer the boat
into the wind and hold her on course as she scudded across small lakes and ponds. I was
fascinated with gooseberry leaves as they glided boat like across puddles in a breeze.
My other love was guitars, and at an early age I delighted in the noble sounds of the vibrat-
ing strings on beautiful, wooden bodies. I would spend tireless hours figuring out chords
and melodies; the soothing sounds were food for my old soul. My guitars would follow
me faithfully throughout my adventures; they would bring peace and harmony to my world
and would help me understand the fabric of life.
