The day before we left for Tampa to meet and great our newest member of the family ( i am very animistic) i could sense JW’s reticence. He had made the decision mostly on his own and rightfully so. I know nothing of sailing, having only gone out to sea on a sailboat twice in my entire life. I knew from the inception of this idea that it was much more JW’s journey than mine as far as the logistics went.
This is par for the course of our relationship; i am the proverbial idea “man”. JW is the mechanic of dreams and i must say that he is a champ at it. If you can conceive it he can make it work.
I knew that if it was going to work i had to let the master sit quietly to research and ponder just what this dream would look like, smell like, feel like. He is quite gifted in that regard. He has the patience that i lack and the vision that takes into account all of the details no matter how small.
So there we were, battered, perhaps beaten, and for the first time in our relationship, not confident that we could pull it off. A sentiment we would never admit, to ourselves or each other. We were going to Tampa to sail a boat to the Keys. Thank goodness we had our trusty Bean meeting us there to help us sail.
I must tell you that I think when a couple enters a relationship it can be difficult to merge your friends. JW and I have been truly blessed that we have been able to adopt each others friends. We both came into the relationship with opposite sex really good friends, the kind who know your secrets and love you anyway. JW had Kathy and I had Bean. They are both truly exceptional people and great adventurers. You will hear more about Kathy in future blogs, but it was Bean who got us through this chapter and i hope we helped him as well.
The second that we decided to try this, Bean was there to answer any questions and address any concerns. I had always tried to talk to Bean at least once a month. As this plan unfolded JW began to talk to Bean two and three times a day. Bean’s encouragement and experience helped to keep us going!
10/29/08
It emotionally starts with the two of us getting ready to fly to Tampa Bay at six am the next morning and we were really quite apprehensive. JW was nervous that I would hate the boat or he couldn’t find his way to Tavernier.
I was just nervous about the work i was sure was to follow and the fact that I had to be taught almost everything. I HATE not knowing what to do, mostly because i don’t want to be the weakest link. My biggest trigger is a heavy sigh, the kind that someone who knows what the hell to do gives the person they can’t make understand what the hell to do.
10/30/08
We left for the Sunport with trepidation. We were two people who desperately wanted to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat and prove to themselves and each other that they could do anything they set their minds on. After an uneventful flight (thankfully!) we landed in Tampa.
Jan, our broker met us at the airport and took us to Benny’s house and our new boat.
I feel that Jan’s help in this undertaking was way above the call of duty. She is truly a nice person and loves to sail. She helped us over and over again even though she could NOT have made much of a commission on this sale.
Half of Jan.
So there we were in Apollo Beach, FL. Palin/McCain signs everywhere, a cul-de-sac determined in its attempt to stop gay marriage. We were in enemy territory days before the election. I made a mental note about how grateful I was that we would be on the sea when the election came to fruition. We could escape! Tortolla isn’t that far right??? RIGHT??????
We parked in Benny’s drive way, no political signs so there is a sigh of relief there (also). Heh.
Benny has his own power, he lends the boat power, i have a sense that Benny is guarded to an extent, it isn’t because of JW, it is because of me. Will I love her? Will I understand what a wonderful boat she is?? Will I appreciate her? Jan understands immediately, regaling me with information about how this boat has a rock solid hull, a hull within a hull really. This boat is safe, she is trustworthy, she is loved!
All of this is unnecessary really as i am drawn to her immediately. She is lonely, Benny only comes out occasionally to see her. She wants to SAIL! And she is so inviting. She has been loved, taken care of.
I enter the cabin, teak as far as the eye can see, teak that has been taken care of. She smells faintly of neglect and mildew, but she is thirty, so her pride is in how faintly she has been neglected.
She allows me immediately to think about how to see to her needs. I produce a pillow that I bought at 10K (an awesome music festival) and some pretty textiles I have purchased in my travels. I make her stunningly mine in the first half hour. She invites me to make her mine. We are friends immediately there is no lack of trust. I want to get her out of that mean-spirited-gated-community-with-dock as fast as my faculties can rescue her.
Jan takes her leave with Benny’s parting gift, an anon, a fruit that grows in his backyard. I am sorry to see Jan go but eager to bond with this wonderful boat. I go into the cabin and lay down on the port side settee. I am exhausted but happy. She likes us. I can tell.
JW comes into the cabin with the most vulnerable look on his face that I have ever seen. He is still second guessing, the loss of the office having shaken us to the core, we start this adventure with the only doubt we have ever experienced. After all we have always been successful, a team to be envied really, until March of this year.
I can see his emotions play on his face as if a movie real: “Lara’s a trooper, she won’t hurt me by hating it, she will be a good sport but does she love this boat like I do, because if she doesn’t I have failed, I can’t fail my darlin, you love it don’t you?”
We have always been a good team because we communicate, so he asks immediately with the tone and demeanor of someone who needs to know: “are you disappointed darlin?”
I don’t have words in my substantial arsenal to convince him of how much I love her. She is perfect, if only we weren’t at Benny’s house in this hatefest cul-de-sac. I long to be at anchor anywhere but here with her because she is ready for a new adventure. WE need her as much as she needs us.
We wait patiently for the arrival of Bradley Bean and our sail.
While we are waiting, night falls and we break her in
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