Arrived in Barcelona at 10pm. The harbor is loaded with megayachts as there is a boat show in process. One yacht (ship?) was 250' long.
The harbor is peaceful and quiet with lights all around. The W hotel is an amazing landmark at night.
Pete decided he had had enough and decided to depart. We're all sad to see him go but it's a deeply personal thing to make such a decision when attached to a long held dream.
My view is to (try) not to make decisions during the low points in life but let time bring clarity to those decisions (if time is available).
Sailing is a continuous series of highs and lows with a generous portion of boredom sprinkled throughout. The question of whether the highs justify the pains of the lows (both physical and mental) is an equation that every individual needs to solve for themselves.
Taken most of this lifetime to come to much the same conclusion about making decisions during the lows, alas, seasickness has a debilitating effect on the mind as well as the body, and being below 100% before we even left Canet was the body blow that seasickness wouldn't let me away with. It was like going 12 rounds with Tyson and Ali - at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIt was a surreal experience to arrive in the main harbour at night, surrounded by the truly massive 'yachts', and it's a positive image/experience that I took with me when I reluctantly jumped ship.
Lesson: make sure you've previously tested your own seaworthiness before undertaking such a big trip, and take the tablets early - even if you don't think you need them.
Thanks for adding your comments Pete, it's good to have input direct from the source. Most of my life I've had the good fortune to not have had much physical adversity and have been able to believe that my mental capabilities and mental state were independent of my physical well-being, but it's times like these that make it very apparent that that is definitely not true. I know you've fought back from what were probably some very low times while on the long recovery from your motorbike accident, so you're no stranger to this concept. I suspect if the "reset button" were hit and we could start anew without you being sick before we departed, the result would have likely been very different.
ReplyDeleteThis event was a low time for me also. The bond we had built leading up to this trip while getting acquainted with each other over Skype, and many, many emails, made it REALLY tough to not have you continuing on. Certainly I understood, but feeling that comradery slip away so soon was a blow to what I had idealized as I prepared for this adventure.
I have a feeling our paths will cross again someday.
... until then, fair winds and following seas Pete.