SeaLight is Home

Middle of Lake Ontario to Newport Yacht Club  - 113 nautical miles sailed

My last sunrise on the boat. At least for a while.

I took over the helm at 4:30 am and relieved Magnus who had done his first solo night run and done it well. To the unititiated, the idea of piloting a bouncing and rolling sailboat across an ocean-sized lake with land a distant 20 miles away on either side of you could seem daunting. But Magnus has done these night passages many times, (although usually sound asleep in his cabin) so this was the first time for him alone at the helm, and he had been looking forward to it.

As the sun peeked over the horizon it brought that early morning chill and stronger winds that strengthened to 20 knots from the north-east, giving us a substantial push and allowed me to put out the head sail and turn off the engine, which pulled us along at a respectable 7 knots.

While Magnus slept, I watched a movie on the tablet. It is called "The Way" and is a story about a father who loses his vagabond son to an accident while in the French Pyrenees on his first day of walking to the Camino de Santiago - an 800 kilometre ancient pilgrimage route that runs across the north of Spain and ends in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in the region of Galicia. This pilgrimage route is also called the "Way of St. James" as the Catholic apostle's remains are said to be interned in the cathedral. This Christian pilgrimage route was established in the 9th century and has been used consistently since then, now drawing hundreds of thousands per year, some walking, others on bicycles or horseback.

Ana and I have seen this movie once before, a long time ago. It is not a fantastic movie - the dialogue sometimes comes up flat and the characters are overdone. But the story penetrates, and today this movie hit me like a freight train and brought on a torrent of emotion I have not felt in a very long time. The movie is a custom made summary and reflection on our own adventure this year. It is about the enduring bond between parent and child. It is about setting out on an impossibly long journey, not knowing what you will find, and not finding what you expected. It is about facing challenges and not always winning. It is about friendship and tolerance and the differences between people. It is about the power of nature and the healing effects of movement. It is about serendipity and fate, love and loss. But for me, the primary message from the film is that it takes a great deal of time to change oneself, or to even know what needs changing, if anything. It doesn't happen in a day. It doesn't happen in a week. You need to suffer through your failings and acknowledge your flaws and intrinsic human weakness. It requires bravery. And it requires help from other people.

Watching this movie was time well spent and made me appreciate this journey of ours even more.

When Magnus awoke we had a hearty breakfast of soft boiled eggs on sourdough bread then I got to work cleaning the inside of the boat while he watched the helm. I needed the boat to be in top shape for the Admiral's return so I cleaned the bathrooms, vaccumed and washed the floors, wiped the walls, and made the beds with tight corners to army cadet level precision.

As we neared the west end of the lake, the waves built higher and higher. The Environment Canada marine forecast predicted wave heights of 0.5 metres building to 1, but we were rolled by many waves that had to be close to 2 metre monsters, providing for a very bouncy and rolly ride. Magnus has historically been prone to motion sickness so today he wore the electrical pulse watch we own and behind-the-ear tabs that our friend Kira left on board. He was pretty solid, and only had to lie down for an hour or so when the ride got exceptionally rolly.

We timed our arrival to Newport Yacht Club with Ana's, as she had to drive down after work through jammed traffic. As we pulled into the marina channel, nearly nine months after beginning our journey, she was standing at our slip, waiting for us, and waving us in.

Magnus and Ana secured the lines, SeaLight breathed a huge sign of relief, and we were officially home.