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ACROSS ISLANDS AND OCEANS
(click
images to enlarge) CONTENTS
11. In the Shadow of Sumburipa
12. Highlander
(Following chapters coming soon) 19.
Cape
of Storms 20.
Emperors
and Astronomers on St. Helena 21.
Martinique
Revisited 22.
The
Blue
Highway Table
of Passages
IntroductionTo be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm
foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse,
the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea...
"cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the
wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating
a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change.
Only then will you know what the sea is all about. -from Wanderer by Sterling Hayden This voyage
I want to tell you about took two years to complete. Though I’ve written about
it before in short articles, somehow it has taken some 20 years to get around to
telling the story in more detail. It took place in 1984-86 when I was in my
mid-twenties, as close to broke as I dared to be, and hungry for the adventure
and romance of a long voyage. The premise is not so unusual: a young man,
lusting after adventure, knowledge, romance, his fortune, and finding little of
it at home, strikes out to see the world. It has taken me those many years and
thousands more miles under the keel to fill some of the hunger and give me a
more balanced perspective on that life-changing voyage alone around the world. The world
of cruising in yachts has changed in those years. For better and worse, new
equipment at more affordable prices has reduced the physical and technical
challenges of voyaging, and reduced along with it the rewards gained from hard
physical work, self-sufficiency, and the thrill of risks inherent in any true
adventure. Meanwhile, the popularity of world cruising has made the search for
untrammeled and unspoiled islands more challenging than ever. Part of my reason
for writing this narrative now is to provide a glimpse at an alternative style
of travel to which the modern backpacker or sailor may not have been exposed.
And to remind them that they can voyage now as I did then, filling their lives
with discovery and living close to nature on their own terms. Combining a
sailing voyage with a land travel adventure is not unique, but it is often
overlooked how well the two modes of travel complement each other. Compared to a
simple boat, a backpack and my boots, the thought of fussing around with
airlines, taxis, busses, hotels, restaurants, and all the other trappings of
tourist travel leaves me uninspired. When I
began my journey I didn’t realize that along the way my growing commitment to
walk across each island and climb their highest peaks was to be as big a part of
the adventure as the actual sailing. Like a richly lived life, as a voyage
unfolds it evolves and carries you where it will. My life is different enough now that as I read over my saltwater-stained journal and
tattered log book and flip through the photo albums it seems as
if it were someone else’s life. Was I really so rash to set out across oceans
possessing only a few hundred dollars on a boat with sails so old you
could push your finger through? Had I been that ignorant not to fit an awning or
dodger over the cockpit for protection from the elements? Surely, I hadn’t
been that lacking in judgment to walk into that dark cave in New Guinea and
tumble into its deep black pit. Was it foolish and selfish to look for the love of an
island girl when I must have known I would soon sail away from her forever? While there turns out to be no perfect plan,
no perfect life, I learned some things on this imperfect voyage that
shaped my whole life in the best ways possible. What better reward for a journey
of two years. May you also avoid a
“routine traverse”.
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