Jan. 30, 2011-Wordless Hours in a Remote Place
Wordless hours of peace go by on a quiet night in a remote place.
Wings lies at rest in a small harbor somewhere on the planet’s watery surface and late into the night Judy and I sit up in our cabin. It is still and quiet outside.
I select familiar, old, songs on the computer which play softly on the cabin speakers and Judy reclines on the settee reading her book.
We are sipping glasses of white wine, each of us alone with our thoughts.
We are cut off from the world outside of our cabin; the dark and still world which surrounds us. We can’t hear anything outside of our cabin and we can’t see into the darkness. Our world is this cabin.
We could be anywhere; it looks and feels the same wherever we are.
Tonight we are in Caudan Basin in Mauritius and there is barely any movement in this enclosed bay to rock us even with the utmost gentleness. We are surrounded by Mauritius’ peaks, visible against the foggy sky out through the main hatch if we look.
On another night like this we were tucked into a tiny nook in Gaciosa Bay in the Solomon’s Santa Cruz Islands, and on other nights, in other far away places where the particular combination of weather and location provided anchorages where neither wind or waves disturbed our peace, we relaxed in just the same way.
We came into this basin in the back of Mauritius’ Port Louis Harbor to flee some rough weather which seemed to be coming. On Wednesday there was something in the air and the marina was subject to an unusual swell.
On Thursday we checked the satellite photo and it showed a Low Pressure system nearby. The system was still to the north but coming towards us and the swells in the marina were bigger.
Thursday afternoon Paul Sungales saw me on the quay and said, "The weather is deteriorating fast."
We downloaded some GRIB files and they showed a pretty well defined system which was projected to become more defined by Friday and be even more defined than that on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. From these pictures we could see that the weather would indeed get worse over the next two days.
That night the marina was almost untenable. In the morning we moved to the nearby cyclone shelter: Caudan Basin.
In Caudan Basin there was no wave action. It was peaceful.
We sat quietly and enjoyed the night.
Just as we have done in countless other small anchorages and harbors in countless other places.
Click here to see today's images from Port Louis
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Mauritius
Wings lies at rest in a small harbor somewhere on the planet’s watery surface and late into the night Judy and I sit up in our cabin. It is still and quiet outside.
I select familiar, old, songs on the computer which play softly on the cabin speakers and Judy reclines on the settee reading her book.
We are sipping glasses of white wine, each of us alone with our thoughts.
We are cut off from the world outside of our cabin; the dark and still world which surrounds us. We can’t hear anything outside of our cabin and we can’t see into the darkness. Our world is this cabin.
We could be anywhere; it looks and feels the same wherever we are.
Tonight we are in Caudan Basin in Mauritius and there is barely any movement in this enclosed bay to rock us even with the utmost gentleness. We are surrounded by Mauritius’ peaks, visible against the foggy sky out through the main hatch if we look.
On another night like this we were tucked into a tiny nook in Gaciosa Bay in the Solomon’s Santa Cruz Islands, and on other nights, in other far away places where the particular combination of weather and location provided anchorages where neither wind or waves disturbed our peace, we relaxed in just the same way.
We came into this basin in the back of Mauritius’ Port Louis Harbor to flee some rough weather which seemed to be coming. On Wednesday there was something in the air and the marina was subject to an unusual swell.
On Thursday we checked the satellite photo and it showed a Low Pressure system nearby. The system was still to the north but coming towards us and the swells in the marina were bigger.
Thursday afternoon Paul Sungales saw me on the quay and said, "The weather is deteriorating fast."
We downloaded some GRIB files and they showed a pretty well defined system which was projected to become more defined by Friday and be even more defined than that on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. From these pictures we could see that the weather would indeed get worse over the next two days.
That night the marina was almost untenable. In the morning we moved to the nearby cyclone shelter: Caudan Basin.
In Caudan Basin there was no wave action. It was peaceful.
We sat quietly and enjoyed the night.
Just as we have done in countless other small anchorages and harbors in countless other places.
Click here to see today's images from Port Louis
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Mauritius
Labels: Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Port Louis
posted by wingssail at 8:28 AM
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2 Comments:
Glad to know that you are sitting easy. We are Heading north for Howard's mother's 90th birthday. A very short trip, about 8 days. Sending hugs. Oh and alternators can be a bit_h huh?
Great words, Fred. I continue to enjoy your blog. All the best to both of you, Kirk
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