A Final Word

I haven't paid too much attention to our old sailing blog. Over a year has passed since the last entry. It has been a very busy time -- again -- in our lives. There has been a few times when I wanted to do a final posting but never found the time.  In some ways I think waiting a whole year is a good thing. Time for wayward emotions to settle down. 

Songline has been sold. There is a lot of truth to the old saying that the two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day he buys and the day he sells. I loved Songline, she was a very big part of my life. However the very act of keeping her tied me down in a way that overwhelmed any freedom she empowered me with. One of life's many paradoxes. So now she becomes someone else's dream. Better than sitting and dying in some marina while we move forward with our work and studies. My best wishes to Fred and his wife of Juneau Alaska, the new owners of Songline. May she take to all the places -- emotionally, spiritually, physically, geographically -- that you ever wanted to go. 

The trip pushed me in ways that I'd never experienced. There are so many memories that are forever etched on my brain. I'll never forget how amazingly blissful it felt to lie down after reaching Crescent City in California. We dealt with an awful lot prior to getting there and just 6 miles out I started the engine after the winds had finally calmed, and the it stopped 15 minutes later. I wanted to run to the bow and just scream. It was a simple enough problem, I forgot to turn on a fuel pump and the day tank ran dry. But that single event seemed so daunting at the time. Almost impossible to deal with. Then you get some sleep and dry out and start thinking it wasn't so bad. Next thing you know you're off again. 

It's really a shame we didn't get to do the trip as planned but I know we did our best at the time. There's always the should ofs and could ofs that creep in later. But if I think about it for even a short while I realize it was a grand experience as it was.