Fuel is finite, water is precious (even with a desalinator) and electricity ebbs in and out of our batteries. All these resources are key to a safe passage and our isolation makes them scarce. However, there is something that we have in abundance, and that is time. With Squid and Dolphin away from QuickStar and living it up at Rancho Relaxo, this passage affords me a lot more time. We expect that we will be at sea for ten days, not including the two we hope to spend at Lord Howe Island. While there are bursts of activity when we are refuelling, changing sails or preparing meals, the voids in between are waiting to be filled.
I spend a lot of time gazing out towards the distant horizon, it’s amazing how much time can evaporate in this pastime. The sea and sky are always changing and moving; after a while we start to read them like a book. And of course, there is reading books. The cockpit these days is littered with books and kindles. There is no greater luxury in a rushed world than being able to take guilt free time out to read a book, simply because it makes us happy. Every now and then a reference book appears in place of a Google search to answer questions that pop up. What is the name those long clouds we see on the horizon and what do they mean to us? What type of whale is that swimming by? We don’t have books to cover all topics and we find that sometimes the best questions to ask are the ones for which you have no answers, as they can take you to places you never thought to go. We sit in the cockpit and revive the art of storytelling and conversation. Having time to get to know the people around us is a gift.
I have been diagnosed by the Captain as having OCD, or obsessive crocheting disorder, as I wile away the hours making things. This passage I have taken up cross stitch as my crafty amusement. I think I am making a belt, but that may change. At least with cross stich, the OCD title is still applicable. There was a brief tangent to my usual craft today, when One Shot suggested we use sock puppets to crate crew briefing videos. So, we now have two socks with pompom eyes preparing their informative performance that will illustrate the importance of not flushing the toilet while the desalinator is running. It seems that a little bit of creativity is good for the soul.
By night, when I am sitting alone in darkness with only the warm glow of the red cockpit light, I can make an hour vanish in an exercise session, counting off push ups and sit ups until I reach my target number. I then give myself over to star gazing and listening to podcasts. By day I bake. Yesterday it was bread for dinner and a chocolate cake for Running Man’s birthday. Today it is muffins and muesli slice. With relatively calm conditions for the first half of our passage the crew has been eating well, so there is pressure for supply to keep up with demand. Baking yields tangible results that reading doesn’t, so it feels like time well spent, even if the output has only a transient existence on the boat.
Time is an endangered species when we are living a land life in the city. I know this fate awaits my return, so I use the time to ponder the dilemma, something the Captain and I discuss often as we recall the competitive business that was an accepted part of our other life. We talk about ways of cutting back, trimming the edges to remove the things we can do without that don’t bring us enough happiness. We hoped that this year would give us the distance to allow us a different perspective on our lives, which it has, but just as important has been the allowance of time to think and put into words what we want. A picture is emerging of where we want to be, so we are thankful for this time.
Oh, and this passage, I also pass time by writing.