High Seas…

 

I hang out for trips away in our boat to Maria Island – summer or winter.  I love a kind of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ type of life.

Once, I could cope with any condition – swells and nasty chop, beefy nor’-east breezes knocking at the nose of the boat. Even cool southerly changes bursting up the Passage.

Whilst such things weren’t pleasant, my body could cope with them.

But things change.

Most who read this blog and who know me well, know that a few years ago I had a vestibular event which permanently wiped out nearly 90 % of my right side balance.

Much physio later and my left balance nerve and brain have been trained to take up the slack. But I’m limited in many ways.

I can’t turn quickly. If I’m tired, I can’t walk in a straight line. Pressurised cabins on planes at high altitude make me vertiginous. Steeply raked seats at the theatre, turning my head left, right and left again, traffic streaming past me. My specialist never wanted me to kayak again because he felt if I flipped over, I might have a vertigo attack under water. He’s a boatie though, and he knows what love of water is like and so he suggested to me that I wait for suitable conditions – winds of 10-12 knots or less and swells of less than a metre.

Today was one such day.

Maria Island beckoned to us in the boat.

We had company early on…

…and then just a broad sweep of silver embellished sea.

The other side was as dry as chips in this neverending summer of heat.

It seems too many others have discovered this little paradise (more’s the pity) and so we investigated little corners and nooks and crannies…

…till we found the perfect spot where we were the only ones swimming and our boat swung on its anchor in solitude.

Company again.

As we swam, we wondered whether even Vanu Atu (which we thought of if winter gets too cold) could do this any better.

We decided no.

On the way home, a delightfully large and unwanted guest crawled from the engine housing. Yikes! It was him or us…

Red sails in the sunset. Actually, we don’t expect much of a sunset today. Smoke drifted in from the west and a sea mist drifted in from the east so it’s now dark and drear. I don’t mind at all. The heat and blue skies are relentless.

Meanwhile, I’m a bit off-balance and my brain is tired from keeping me upright under different conditions. I need a good night’s sleep and the ground under my feet…