I’m feeling a little anxious, somewhat agitated at times and every now and then I get teary. It is October and the prevailing weather conditions will soon be changing. The trade winds that we bank on to spend half the year safely in the South Pacific Islands will start to become erratic and unreliable. This shift brings and end to the cruising season. Talk has moved from favourite anchorages and places visited to weather windows and clearance requirements. There is a mass exodus, almost exclusively west and south, as boats seek shelter for the cyclone season.
Goodbyes now carry a heavier weight. For the past six months pulling up anchor and waving farewell to nearby yachts has been easy. We have known with reasonable certainty that saying “See you soon” will hold true, and that somewhere, without planning, we will happily bump into these cruisers again. Friends made in Fiji over a shared experience of swimming with Manta Rays sail back into our lives two countries later. While our plans are all different and remain uncertainly written in the sand, there is a flow and rhythm to the pattern of cruising boats as they move west during the season. Nature is gently pushing us in the one direction; our paths are sure to cross again so goodbye is not weighted down by finality.
There is now a permanence to saying goodbye, so it is harder. A few days ago we waved farewell to two boats of dear friends. These are friendships forged through good times and disappointments, through disasters and wondrous adventures. They are people we have relied upon and who have turned to us in times of need. Through cruising, we have all acted upon a shared dream that not many others have or understand, and from this grows bonds that quickly tie us together and will not easily be broken. One boat departed with my home made fruitcake and some of our antibiotics, the other left us with their favourite boat game. They are small offerings but filled with meaning to show an understanding of who we all are and the connection between us. The poignancy of these gifts make the goodbyes even harder – they know who we are and we see who they are too.
We understand well that nothing stays the same; we have let go of a lot this year, but many of the gaps have been filled with beautiful friendships that we will always hold close to our heats. So farewell to our friends heading to Australia. To these people go the more difficult goodbyes – we aren’t sure if our paths will cross again. To the boats sailing south to New Zealand, we prefer to say with hope that we will see you on the other side. To all, fair winds and following seas.