sailing through the 10,000 islands

I’m not a philosopher or really even a great thinker; I dream mostly, though whether or not I’m awake or asleep at the time has baffled me on occasion. Here, I sail on the lonely waters of the 10,000 islands where civilization is held at bay by brackish water, mangrove swamps, mosquitoes and lack of internet.

The wind blows across the shallows bringing with it the distinctive smell of isolation and makes me long to wander through it all. Nu Trix has all of her sails up and we are banking off a northwest wind, riding the waves and I hang on for dear life!! I absolutely love being on our boat, but when the winds kick up and catch the sails, Nu Trix shows off by heeling WAY over and my panic button starts to pulse a little loud for my comfort.

I have heard so many people’s harsh words about my fear but they just fall off like my boat when we turn her from the wind!! I have a car that can go 120, but I really do not want to drive down I-75 that fast, and I am not going to sell it and get a bicycle because of it!! I have my comfort limits so kindly get off of my boat if you do not understand!! Ray, being a great captain, knows exactly how to adjust the sails and we had such a beautiful run up the coast chasing the wind in, literally, EVERY direction possible!! The NOAA reports said that it would be out of the SE, however, as usual, they were wrong. The crazy wind even blew out of the north today!! Mother Nature did not get the memo about it being summer and all!!! Our sails were on the port side, on the starboard, wing and wing and rolled in and then out again!!

It certainly kept the time passing quickly and never gave us a dull moment. I pushed my fear aside and Ray smiled as we caught a puff and I gripped the starboard lifelines just a little too hard, but smiled right back at him. The water danced a dark brown and kicked up on the hull as we moved through the Everglades doing 6.8 knots. Pushing limits makes me stronger and maybe a little braver too. I probably will never be a great sailor like Ray, but I am happy to settle for being out WITH a great sailor like Ray!! I often wonder how something that captures my imagination so deeply can also bubble up fear into my throat like a hangman’s noose!! Maybe it is the same reason climbers venture up El Capitan or Mount Everest, not because it is there, but because our fears tell us that we cannot do it, but our hearts say, “Just watch me!”

We usually set our anchor off of Indian Key just before the sun dips into the water. My job is to locate the flashing markers that will guide us safely through the shallow spots to where the depths are 7 to 8 feet. As long as there is light, it is an easy job. One year, we came in the dark and what I thought was a tree was in fact the green flashing marker that had been damaged, probably by a boat. I was screaming for Ray to turn hard to starboard because we were going to go aground. He grabbed the spotlight and we realized what was really lurking in the dark. We didn’t run aground or hit a tree, but it now makes for a funny story!! Then it made for a glass of wine and a couple Advil….

When we find the perfect spot off of the channel, Ray drops the anchor and I set it! We are then “home” for the night! The sound of the birds poking along the shore and the dolphins scaring up some dinner, is the only noise that reaches our cockpit. The sky catches fire beckoning us to look on, and we, in awe, give nature what she wants!
The colors dance from a burnt orange to a deep purple playing from the sky down into the darkening water. On the bow, it seems as if the sun dives to the ocean for a quick dip to cool itself off.

Soon the surrounding air is dark and wishes start to blink about one by one until the entire heavens are bursting with twinkling hope. I like to try and find the big dipper and Ray looks for Scorpio, his sign. Lying on the deck, snuggled together with nothing around but ocean and sky, is an intimacy that is unexplainable!! The darkness wraps its arms around the anchorage and thrusts us into a different world of perfect mystery. We try to figure out sounds and shine the flashlight around getting a glimpse of red eyes floating along the edge of the small mangroves. They could be alligators or raccoons but they will stay a mystery because no one is going to go check!! In the quiet stillness, I ponder again on the journey that was this summer. It seemed to go so quickly but each day, we filled it with exploration, swimming, snorkeling, diving and dreams come true!!

We still have four days left on our sailboat and I know that we will find lots of trouble to get into because such is our story!! Even when Nu Trix reaches the dock, the story won’t end, only that chapter. Ray and I will fill as many pages in this love story as possible before we close the book. I enjoy waking up each day for that very reason!! Life is such a wonderful story just waiting to be read……I’m trying to make mine a best seller!!!!