A Week Later, You Miss the Sea

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When you come back to stable ground after a time away, you miss the sea. Maybe because it's all new to us, or each day out there has something different. A new high, a new low. Engine trouble, the perfect sail trim, the bow bursting through waves taller than the boat, or cutting through the shallow blues of the Caribbean. While living in the same quarters your front yard changes every day.

It's calm and clear, two feet and coral with thousands of fish below the keel. It's tall, and deep, and dark purple mixed with blue and thousands of feet underneath.

Every day you see dolphins, or tired birds that find the pulpit for a nap, sharks, tuna, squalls or sunshine.

You look forward to the early mornings, shutting down evenings with the sunset and a glass. Tending to sheets and winches while underway, watching the weather and killing time finding that extra half knot.

I would live on the sea. Not in marinas or even on the hook, but out to sea in the big stuff. We can't just yet, we have our work and our lives to manage. For now it's just something to visit, and something to miss when you step ashore, and look forward to returning to as soon as you can.

Soon, To the Rio

In the last week we have been moving from one three bedroom house to another, provisioning the boat, installing the new halyard, mast light, windex, new barometer, new autopilot bracket, replacing the head discharge hose, gasket, running three businesses, and fitting in some route study sessions between it all.

With everything going on, we pushed back the departure date 24 hours. Thursday morning at the first sign of light, we are out of here and cannot wait to be out of range of emails, notifications, trips to the hardware store, phone calls and everything in between that the land beckons. 

15 days of swimming, fishing, sailing and drinking at anchor on Edward Blair can't come soon enough.

Sailing the Ionian Islands, Greece

Ryan Clarke, a London based videographer and editor recently put together this beautiful edit of sailing with his family in Kefalonia/Ithica, Greece.

I can say with certainty, that by pressing play on the short film above your day will instantly become better off for it. Play. Press play, then come back and say, "It's a fact! My day did instantly become better off because of it!"

Every element of this makes you feel good inside. The family aspect, the animals, scenery, the colour treatment, cinematography and the sailing of course.

The Mediterranean is about as high up on the list for us as a place can get. We've wanted to go for ages by any means of transport, and now that there's this whole boat thing involved, it may just be closer to happening. Maybe not on this boat, maybe another, maybe not next year, maybe another, but the Mediterranean is sitting comfortably right at the top of the list and between drinking every patio empty and walking every street through so that we will get to know each other well one day. 

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Details from Ryan Clarke

All shot in Kefalonia/Ithica, Greece.
All handheld and shot on 60D, with 24-105 lens.
Music by Michael Giacchino - UP and Arcade Fire - Photograph.

Shot, edited and graded by Ryan Clarke at POST89.

Winner of "Vimeo Staff Pick" December 2014
Winner of "VOTD Video of the Day" January 2015