Musings on a Life at Sea (interlude)

Wed Aug 24


Eight years ago I flew out to re-join this same ship in Mallorca Spain.  I was in much better shape and I had no real idea what the next 6 months would be like.  This time I have a pretty good idea what is coming, but I am a typical computer techy couch potatoe with soft hands and only a vague memory of how everything works.

So why bother?

Good question that.  I am very much enjoying the trip so far. There has been an immense amount of "hurry up and wait" as is typical of a ship tied to the hard. Seeing the ship cocooned in her movie paint make up, with messy decks and everything adrift  was a bit of a shock. Now a week later, and most things put right and on our way to the open sea,  any ship's natural element, I'm beginning to get back into the swing of life on this fine ship.

I see the ship I sailed in my memory almost like a ghost, a bit of double vision, overlayed on her as she is now. I see my shipmates from 8 years ago in the faces of the young sailors I am working with. Yet each is a new person with different life experiences and views. Some have been sailing since April, a double crossing of the sometimes stormy North Atlantic, others are old crew members from previous voyages and passages, and some have only sailed on the Picton Castle for a few weeks at Tall Ship events etc. But every one of them  WANTS to be here.

While we were docked at Clayton an older lady came up with her young grandson in tow. She asked if she could come aboard since she had sailed with the ship before.  All old crew are welcome to do so, which is cool.  She proudly took her grandson around to see the ship, a ship she obviously felt very strongly about. He was less impressed, I got the feeling it was more of a "let's see what Grandma was on about" thing :-)

But her sparkling eyes and pride in her ship is something I can definitely relate to.

I hope people see that when they come into my office and see the pictures of the Picton Castle on my wall, and listen patiently to my sea stories from 8 years ago.
I already have some new stories to add to my collection.  As we get closer to the sea with every passing hour the old familiar feelings of excitement and panic come back.  The resignation as well, the resignation that any sailor must have to endure the long night watches and the heavy labour of keeping a ship in shape to pass through whatever comes her way.

That is more "living in the now" than I am capable of at home.

Perhaps that is the reason for doing this. She is a hard to work physically, frustratingly complex, and beautifully elegant machine, carrying me through both space and time in a good company of men and women.

This small slice of a "Life at Sea" may be all I can get for now.

But it is enough.

Thanks for reading.
KJ