Psst..... i gotta tell you, it's bad out here. Stuck in a little space with these folks. You know, they wake you up at all hours of the day and night and make you put on these ridiculous outfits with fifteen layers of clothes you'd never be caught dead in during a regular day. I mean, what style puts your good clothes on the inside and then puts layer upon layer of junk over it?? "Nice shirt/sweater/pants" under that big bulky jacket? i don't think so.
And the activities they plan for you at this camp are obnoxious. Hang out doing nothing but look out at the ever changing cloud formations. They do have their redeeming moments at sunset and sunrise, i have to admit. as a matter of fact, I've seen more sunrises in this week than i have in months at home. All right, they are pretty cool.
And then there's the boring ocean around all the time. just a bunch of water, really, as far as you can see. we haven't seen any big wave action which i was looking forward to, only these rolling prairies with valleys fifty yards wide that have a complicated little side story going in a different direction. A little bit pretty if you like that sort of thing
oh, there's the work they make you do. Steering this rocket ship with a spin out to windward and a bad case of the slows to leeward. Balancing the up and down moment by moment with the wind forces changing all the time and the waves and swell giving you a unique challenge each ten seconds. sometimes a lot of muscle, sometimes fingertip balance. The thrill of saving the boat from the surprise turn up into the wind and "disaster" with just the proper pressure and a masterful bit of timing on the release. When it works, it makes you feel like a big league pitcher and an orchestra conductor all at the same time. a good feeling that makes the work part of it not so awfully bad in the end.
the different noises the water makes as it rushes by, you can really notice at night. low notes from the beam of the boat in an irregular rhythm with high notes beating out a staccato next to and below your feet. kind of a shh shhh shh shhh shhh like a steel brush on the high hat. and then there is the noise you get as a reward when it all comes together in a burst of speed. A bass crescendo with soprano highlights as the splash leaps up and strikes the side of the boat. Whew, i wish i could share that part with you.
if you make me admit it, i do like sharing the food and eating all together with the folks that are trying, like me, to do a kind of cool thing and win a two week long, multi thousand mile challenge over man and nature.
OK, OK, it's stopped raining at Camp Granada. I'll be back next year.
:)
Bequia
Mid Pacific
34.53.110N by 128.31.240W
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