The Stowaway and the Lock
We are anchored off Manjack Cay when he says, “I have a project for you.”
He hands me the heavy brass lock and explains the situation. It is a wordlock, meaning that the combination is derived from 4 letters rather than numbers. However, with this particular lock, someone has reset the combination before they returned it to the store at which he bought it.
He says, “You’re good at puzzles, you can figure this out.”
True at First Light
At sea, in between the periods of high-adrenaline adventure, clinging-to-the-bow-trying-to-pull-down-sails moments, were some of the most amazing and beautiful experiences of my life.
“In Africa, a thing is true at first light and a lie by noon and you have no more respect for it than for the lovely, perfect weed-fringed lake you see across the sun baked salt plain. You have walked across that plain in the morning and you know now that no such lake is there, but now it is there absolutely true, beautiful, and believable.” ~Ernest Hemingway, True at First Light (more…)
And the adventure began…
The morning arrived.
We cast off of the dock and head out of the harbor, and I realize it is the last time he will ever see my boat, this harbor and town where I live.
I am, as always, pre-emptively nostalgic.
He grins at me and says “This is really happening!”
I put on my sunglasses to hide my eyes, bite my lip, and just… let the adventure begin.
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