Watching the ripples in the reflection of the newly waxed hull, thoughts flood in, like the ebb and flow of the tide…
For those of you who may be new to my posts here’s a little background… sorry to our regular readers but we’ve been getting views from new places. My site allows me to see what country people are from that are checking us out. This month it’s been Germany, Finland, Brazil and Austria. Welcome aboard!!
This blog is a story of an extraordinary Skipper named Hershey who is living his life long dream of living aboard a sailboat and has found his way to the West Coast of British Columbia. The 1st mate, Sideways Sally photographs and writes about our adventures. The blogs to date have taken place over the past ten years of navigating and sailing the Northwest Pacific.
We’re a couple of gypsy souls who have faced some challenges to get here. During boat projects and side jobs we’ll tell you the story of survival and overcoming both medical and personal traumas and why each day we live on bonus time.
It is the beginning of another season of summer sailing. The May long weekend started with clear blue skies and hot temps. So tempting to get out there but OMOO wasn’t ready. Instead we geared up for a short trip to warm up the engine, distribute the fluids that were replaced during the winter months (oil and antifreeze) and turn the boat around to face bow in and work on measuring the new anchor chain in increments of twenty feet.
Sideways Sally and Hershey had been waxing and polishing the starboard side hull so we were ready to start on portside. The sun set about half way from the bow to midships so the waxing came to a halt.
Time for a cockpit bbq!! With the pandemic the live aboard community had kept separated for the better part of fifteen long months. Everyone on G-Dock had been vaccinated and were adhering to local health protocols, so we felt safe to gather. With the meal came much reminiscing of collective sailing stories, laughter and cajoling as we shuffled our seating if someone needed to use the head.
It was SO GOOD to have our sailing family back aboard.
A year and a bit ago, along with the rest of the world, our lives took a drastic turn. We all have our own personal stories of living with the pandemic. When I stare into the mesmerizing reflection of ripples on the hull there is a whirlwind of thoughts. From gratefulness of surviving to the anger spawned from months of isolation cast upon me from my clients as a psychiatric nurse. With all the ups and downs between the work place and personal life, there are a billion thoughts that pummel my brain on a daily basis.
There’s nothing like the mindless physical activity of polishing OMOO to give me a therapeutic sense of accomplishment. SS is ready to go back to the trenches.
