Friday, February 7, 2014

Flying the iron sail

The iron sail is a word we sometimes use for motoring. Here is so little
wind out here that we have to motor with no assistance from any sail. When
the wind does come trough occasionally, we are right and ready to hoist the
gennekar. It is now a one man operation, we have become fairly good at
raising anddropping the sail anytime day or night. Current is in our favour
and we arekeeping up a fair speed. Yesterday was the first time in seven days
thatthe skies cleared and we had a full portion of sun. It was Thibault's
turnto prepare supper, and also his turn to play music if he wanted. He had
his ipod on shuffle and quite a nice variety of music filtered through the
speakers. I could imagine myself being out on the ocean on a luxury
catamaran in good company :) Stuart had his first sea shower as well. The
water is still very cold, but he braved the chill and poured a bucket of
water over him. Thibault was filming on his gopro as we expected a few shakes
and shivers and gasping for air, but there was none.

Today the sun is out again in full force, and I am happy to see a lot of
shattered clouds in the sky as we should get some wind soon, that word we
use when we are not exactly sure when. And so the days roll on. Eight days
since we left Cape Town, and a few days from St.Helena. All three of us
has been on St.Helena before, and a little sad that we won't be stopping
there this time. I have very good friends on the island from always
stopping there over the years. There really is just no time to stop. But
the winds and currents do take us past there, so we will just wave at our
friends as we sail by. Make some radio contact and send our regards.

On another wavelength, to tie up with one of my previous blogs, a few
thoughts on freedom. I think freedom from the demands of ego, freedom from
the doctrines of religion, even freedom from what we perceive as real, that
in a way is real freedom. Every person has his or her own religion, formed
and based on that particular person's experience of life. Inbetween all the
hussle and bussle of everyday life there are also freedom to be found.
Living in the very moment is the highest form of freedom I can think of. The
past is gone, and the future is just a guess, but most of us dwell in the
future or the past, and miss out on living in the moment. There are so many
precious moments to be had if you just look around a bit. Without judging,
just observe the people you pass in the shopping mall. Not staring at anyone,
just catching little glimpses of activity. Then you can live in the moment,
experience the moment fully, make a moment you hope to never forget, just
for a moment.

Most of us use less than 10% of our brain power. Our brains are not limited
to internet connections or storage space. Our brain capacity I believe is
infinite. So all those little moments, even before conception, is stored
somewhere. Every little sound, smell, feeling, sight or taste you have ever
experienced is stored. There are some who believe that we have thirteen
senses, and I can believe that. We sometimes allude to a sixth sense, some
mysterious ability to do things we normally can't do or experience. If we
use less than 10% of our brain capacity, I can imagine how many more senses
we can develop, or inherently have, if we just double the use of our brain
power. As children most of us were aware of things around us that cannot be
measured and weighed. As we grew older and more "educated", the more we were
told these things that we know do not exist. And then comes a time, further
down the line, when these little things you were always aware of becomes
once again important to you. You have listened to all the different versions
of what the truth is. Yet you know, as I do, that the truth we are being
sold falls rather short of the whole truth. Truth is not an intellectual
pursuit, although we certainly use our intellect as far as we possibly can
to find the truth. Why do we need to know what the truth is ..........?
Because once you know the truth, you will be free. You will know that death
is just a phase we go through, so we shake off the fear of death once we
realize that we are really infinite. We were born free, and since then we
have become ensnared in philosophy, religion, politics and many other man
made institutions and laws. I guess to go forward we first have to go back
to that place in time when we were children, when life was wonderful, a
miracle. Find that voice inside again that gently guides us.

Hope you find a moment in your busy day that you would want to remember
forever.

Our position at 10h00 UTC is 21*05'S/002*41'E.

Take care

Paul

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