Some unexpected time off work. Yet, I do not seem to be able to enjoy it. Weather's nothing to write home about, family at work/school/uni, and there are only so many books you can read, so many DVDs you can watch and so many dog walks you can take without feeling lost.
Adrift on an ocean of time.
Time off is much more fun if there's someone around to enjoy it with you. Right now, not a big fan of real life and it's demands. I don't know what I want, but it's not this. But then again, what do you expect from a man who - at 45 - still doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up. If he grows up at all.
So, in an attempt to shake those winter blues - a trip to the boat. That usually cheers me up. First stop: the riggers. Strangely quiet of late, so maybe it was time for a gentle nudge. No nudge was required. Work on the boom as good as done, they're just waiting for some of the running rigging to arrive. The job 'should' be done by the end of this week. With a bit of luck, we might even get a sail in earlier than expected.
Only been sailing once this year; and whilst the sail itself had been OK, crew-skipper relations had been somewhat under strain. This meant all sides didn't enjoy the sail as much as the could have.
Guapa looked fine this morning. Usually she looks great, but she seems strangely naked without boom & mainsail. Like looking at a beautiful woman with just one eye - you're left thinking: 'If only it hadn't been for the eye'.
Otherwise she proved to be in fine fettle. Dehumidifier and heating seemed to be doing their thing. In no small part due to the intervention of XO and Chief Engineer who managed to sort our shore-power problem. Top marks and a round of applause to them.
Otherwise the old girl looked somewhat in a state down below. Not quite Steptoe & Son's Junkyard, but not exactly ship-shape either. It shows that we haven't really lived aboard for some time now. To be remedied at the earliest possible opportunity.
Checked the electronics - all OK, but I really shouldn't have. All of a sudden on the VHF: Ostend Radio weather forecast followed soon after by Gris Nez Traffic. An atmospheric quirk. And a reminder of what's out there. We haven't really left these shores this year, and it's starting to hurt. A lot. Didn't really need a reminder of what's out there. France, and the sun-kissed shores (way) beyond.
By the middle of March, the new sails should have arrived. What better way to christen them than by way of a Channel crossing? All I need is a suitable weather window. And even without - there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
I long to be once again out there... surrounded on all sides by water. Out there where nothing matters but the here and now and maybe those clouds on the horizon. Sun, wind and sea... don't need much more than that.
Been dreaming about/planning our Summer cruise. Current thinking is 'North' - last time I sailed those parts was with the navy nearly 2 decades ago. Left with a lasting memory of beauty. Norway, the Shetlands or even the Faroe Islands. Especially the latter appeal to me a lot.
I particularly like the phrase 'Out there, where nothing ought to be'. Makes me want to sail there all the more. Nothing motivates me like a 'You don't dare' or 'That's impossible'. However, being realistic, it's quite a lot of sailing ground to cover in 3 or 4 weeks. We'll see how it works out. And there's the family to consider, and their bias for sun and beaches. We may well end up in Normandy, the Channel Islands or Brittany.
I would not be heartbroken if we went that way, as long as we brake away and at long last go somewhere.