Contrasts

Being back on Brainstorm has me thinking about contrasts. The continually shifting contrasts I´ve found in sailing--windy and calm, comfortable and uncomfortable, luxury and work, wilderness and civilization--are what help me to remain present with the experiences we have aboard Brainstorm. What I have remembered is that being out on the ocean is a wilderness experience--we find extreme tranquility and peace in this wilderness, and we are also vulnerable to the impulses of mother nature.

This picture, to me, captures the most idyllic aspects of sailing.

Just in the last four days, I have been gently rocked to sleep by movement of calm waters one night; kept awake nearly all night by howling winds at another anchorage; rolled nearly out of my bed by swells passing under us another night (because the wind had stopped); and last night wore ear plugs to drown out the sound of a nearby resort´s disco. I offer these details only as an example of the ever-shifting experiences we find while sailing.

One of our anchorages was next to an inspiring surf spot named Ollie´s point, named after Oliver North (there is an airstrip nearby that was used during the Iran-Contra scandal in the 80s). Ryan got to surf his heart out, and I got to ease back into the surfing thing (a bit timidly, I must admit). It was beautiful there, and also very windy. One would think wind is what we want, when sailing, but there is a point when it becomes too much for safely anchoring. We were safe, but for me, it can become a bit unnerving when the wind exceeds a certain velocity.

Ryan paddling in after an evening session at Ollie´s point, with the surf all to himself.

For today and tomorrow, even stronger winds have been forcasted, so we have tucked back into the marina and are making a plan for the next couple weeks. Right now, for Ryan and me, the best part is getting to spend this time together. We have been enjoying hearing each other´s stories from the past few weeks, and are focused on playing together here in Costa Rica.

We´re happy to be together, obviously.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Jim and Laura, as they head back to Oregon. We feel grateful to have shared time with them down here, as it is wonderful to be in the presence of loved ones. We hope you, too, are with your loved ones, playing as much as you can, and enjoying the contrasts that life is providing for you.

One of our day anchorages was here. Beautiful! When we tried to pull the anchor, we found it was wrapped around a concrete piling of some kind. Ryan had to dive down and untangle it, which was kind of an ordeal. He saved the day! I love it when he does that.

This is the second-largest non-commercial sailboat in the world (I think 305 feet or something), according to what we´ve been hearing, and it is docked in the marina where we currently are. It is a beautiful boat. Speaking of contrasts, Brainstorm is 40 feet, so picture it as this boat´s dinghy.