The Year Of Living Sailorly

"You will go on, and when you have prevailed

You can say: at this point many a one has failed." -- T.S. Eliot, Portrait of a Lady

It was a year ago tomorrow that we and Symbiosis set sail from a cozy slip on the Chesapeake, bound for the adventure of our lifetimes. We knew there would be many trials and triumphs along the way.

At the risk of sounding cliche, I think we can say that it has been worth the effort. The wonderful places we've seen and the fascinating people we've met have changed us in no small way. We aren't the same Scott and Noi who hoisted the mainsail with trepidation and let the wind and current carry us to the mouth of the Magothy River on Oct. 20, 2015.

Although we plan to turn north again for a probable springtime return to the Chesapeake -- and a doubtless less-than-seamless reintegration into society -- we are looking forward to all the new things we will experience on our homeward-bound meanderings.

I write as we sway gently to anchor in Prickly Bay on Grenada's south coast. 

Our log book and journals tell in short-hand the story of our journey so far: We have visited ten separate countries, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

We have been escorted by dolphins and sailed nervously close to humpback whales. We've watched sharks, rays and sea turtles with a mixture of excitement and bemusement. 

We snorkeled the exquisite waters of the Exumas and felt the pure white sand of a deserted island squish between our toes. We made friends with countless locals and countless more cruisers from all corners of the planet. We caught tuna and mahi mahi, barracuda and a sailfish worthy of Ernest Hemingway. 

Dodged waterspouts. Crossed the Gulf Stream. Had engine trouble ... and then more engine trouble. Yelled at each other. Kissed each other. Ripped sails. Almost ran over a floating refrigerator, an oil barrel and a buoy. Sailed past an active undersea volcano. Went swimming under waterfalls. Swam with pigs. Got seasick. Got robbed. Went to the hospital. Won a poker tournament. Witnessed enough spectacular sunsets to last a lifetime.

In short, we are accomplishing what we set out to do. To do our own thing in our own time and by our own hand. We could have been more cautious, more concerned about money, possessions, careers and retirement. Every fiber of society tugs in the opposite direction from the one we have taken. We will no doubt be made to pay dearly for our transgression against "normalcy." But the risk of doing something unconventional seems so small compared to the risk of regret over never breaking the rules. 

We took the road less traveled ... and that has made all the difference. 

Matthew On A Rampage

Wind speed probabilities for Matthew. National Hurricane Center graphic.

Matthew has passed us. We knew him as a toddler with a mild tantrum. By now, however, he's turned into a ranging teenager. Unfortunately, he is going to make lots of trouble for our friends in Dominican Republic, Florida, and especially the Bahamas.

One couple from Brazil that we met at Magothy Marina a few years ago got a very late start from Florida and are in Georgetown, Bahamas, as I write. They have taken shelter at Emerald Bay Marina, but we are worried for their safely. Matthew will likely remain a Category 4 storm when it reaches them starting this evening. The force of such a storm is almost apocalyptic and the storm surge could be 10 to 15 feet in the Exumas.

When we sailed through the Bahamas in the spring, we stopped briefly at Rum Cay, an island that had been torn apart the previous year by Joaquin, a Category 3 when it hit. Matthew could prove even more destructive across a larger expanse of the Bahamas, which are barely above sea level.

And of course our hearts go out to the people of Haiti.

Another friend is in Biscayne Bay, just south of Miami. Matthew's track looked earlier like it might skirt Florida and present it with its back side -- a better outcome than the other side, due to the vagaries of cyclonic winds. Now it looks like it might be nudging west closer to the Florida coast. Not good.

For us, things are back to normal. We dodged a bullet, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Matthew was just getting started when it moved over us. We saw no more than 35 knots of wind -- and that in gusts. By comparison, the storm is now packing 100-knot sustained winds, with gusts as high as 130 knots. There is simply no comparison.