Sailing...

I was sitting at my desk tonight and something sparked a memory of the sailing trip I went on with my classmates in grade 9. We spent 8 days between the mainland and Vancouver Island, seeing the sights, experiencing the life of a sailor (we did all the work), and, at least in my case, being changed to the core from that point on.

That trip signifies a change within me, from a timid bullied young man to a growing individual with growing self-confidence. It wasn't instantaneous but it began there and has continued since. I was stuck on a boat with some of my greatest bullies for 8 days, I came to appreciate them, work with them, and laugh with them (and they with me). Life-changing doesn't come close to describing what it did to me.

After this memory came to mind, I immediately went searching for any reference online to "The Fine Madness", a beautiful 48' (I think) wood vessel which I called home for that week. A quick google search directed me to a diary of someone else who did this trip a few years later and I honestly had tears streaming down my face as I read about the parallels in that person's experiences with my own. To ride the waves, hear the creaking vessel, wash the decks, and polish the brass... what I would do for that again!

I miss it desperately. There are no words to describe how badly I want to take that trip again. The experience is expensive, and ridiculously hard to justify to friends who haven't done it before, but I will go again, one way or another. And I hope to take many of you guys with me.