Another night, suspended in time

I just spent three hours under the starry sky, moments suspended in time filled with memories from the past and plans for the future. The purity, clarity and depth to be found at sea is amazing. I even seem to be awake in my sleep, connecting, understanding, searching, growing and longing for wisdom. In silence, I await my own thoughts to come to me, I introduce myself to myself and we talk. There is no interference, no pollution, no distraction, just me in the universe. It is fascinating to get to know oneself.

A dear friend of mine asked me today to think of her when I see something beautiful. I was moved to read her wish and made me think of the onshore perspective. I've been already doing what she asked for. I do think of all of those I've known, loved and continue to love. I even think of people I thought I'd forgotten, but no, nothing seems to be lost. I see many beautiful things like tonight's sunset: a blue sky with white clouds growing yellow then orange and pink and purple on the sides with their form changing every second, shaped by the wind. I see white birds circling above the water and rainbows in the distance. I see clouds reflected on the surface. I see light shining through the waves and dolphins playing. There is more beauty here to embrace than can be expressed. I'd like to find ways to share these moments with those I love... but many times, I don't have a way to say it, but many of you, now reading these lines, are present with me on my journey... a rock in my pocket, a...

We are now 14 degrees South and 56 degrees East on the southern hemisphere sailing towards Mauritius on the west coast of Madagascar. It is fascinating how we've crossed oceans since we left Canada going down and up and left and right on the globe: what a different perspective this is on our planet, all of the sudden it seems to be at a human scale. I am learning new things every day, challenging myself: I am learning carpentry and try to fix things that broke, learn to recognize new stars and cloud formations, run longer and longer in the bow while hanging on to a rope to be safe while I get soaked by oncoming waves (this was not the best idea because I got my ipod wet up there and it doesn't work anymore) and I am challenging myself to retain myself from writing all the time and try to think instead. Maybe some of these new practices will be fruitful, I certainly try to make the best of my time onboard. We'll stay a couple of days in Mauritius, I'll try to write next from there.

Location: 16° 21 S 56° 59 E
Monday 01.22.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 16° 21 S 56° 59 E at noon on January 22nd. We were under all plain sail, making 6.2 knots in nine knots of wind from the east. We have come 717 NM from the Seychelles and have 229 to go to Port Louis, Mauritius. The weather, both locally as well as in the rest of the Southern Indian Ocean, remains good. We should be in Port Louis by tomorrow afternoon.

Last night's delights were celestial.

Owen and I sat up the first part of the evening watching Venus, our evening star, set with the two day old moon not far behind. Then during the night Saturn was pretty much overhead, watching our progress. Finally, when Hannah came on deck to relieve me at 0300, we admired Jupiter rising out of the eastern sky, looking like a locomotive headlight roaring right at us.

What we are reading:

I'm working on Conrad's "Lord Jim," the story of a merchant marine officer who panics and abandons his ship and its passengers thinking it was sinking (it doesn't) and then later seeks redemption in the Far East and is killed. Owen is reading Jared Diamond's "Collapse" about how nations fail. Hannah is reading "The Butter Box Babies" about a Nova Scotia institution which engaged in infanticide, baby selling and child abuse. And Bori is reading "101 Alternatives to Suicide." (The Captain's "spider sense" went to 100% alarm on hearing the title, but supposedly it is uplifting...). This may sound depressing, but we are also sharing Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion Comedy Theater, burning the CD's into our iPods, and watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail and A Fish Called Wanda on DVD on the laptops. So giggles and guffaws are the Order of the Day.

Sunday and French Toast

Despite today being Monday here and in most of the rest of the world, we declared it Sunday so that we could start the day with French Toast (Pain Anglais for our French readers). Owen was at the controls in the galley and got an A+ for taste (Madagascar vanilla, cinnamon, and crushed cashews) but, alas, a D- for execution as most of the batter went into the reefer, spread over 30 days of supplies. But he got up, dusted himself off and got back in the saddle and the second round was a great success.

All is well.