Passed through the Straights of Gibraltar last night along with about a thousand fishing boats and container ships. Pretty incredible really, on one side you are looking at the hazy lights of Africa, the other Europe. My watch is done at 12am, but I stayed up nearly all night sitting up on the fly bridge listening to hundreds of random people speaking dozens of languages on the VHF, imagining all of the boats that have sailed these waters before me. Thousands of years ago, millions of different kinds of people! It was the same feeling I had while walking down the cobblestone streets in Florence, Italy. Just knowing that my feet were taking the same steps that people like Michelangelo took. Now, I have also sailed with the same winds that filled the sails of Columbus and Magellan, Odysseus on his mythical voyage, and the legendary sailors of Phoenicia. Pseudo – profound thoughts after spending too much time at sea, but like I said, pretty incredible!
Now my second Atlantic crossing is almost over, and I still cant believe how different it is from my first. This time I almost don’t want it to end! Being at sea is so peaceful; the whole world is your boat, and the people on it and endless miles of blue desert. Two weeks ago in St.Martin I had no clue of what to do with myself, no idea what to do next. But then I went to sea, and there was no hurry to get anywhere, no need to have a plan really, just sailing on a big beautiful boat towards the Mediterranean Sea. The closer to Italy I get, however, the more I have to think about the next steps, where to stay in Viareggio while the boat is hauled out in the yard? Where next? Palma de Mallorca? Antibes? San Tropez? Monaco? It is an absolutely amazing feeling, having this many options in life. For the first time I am really on my own out in the world and the only thing that matters is what I want. Realizing that I feel free.
