Woman Of The Sea
Learning To Sail as Relationship Recovery
Fuuuuck. “Take the wheel”, he tells me, “Now! And steer straight between the markers.”
I’ve never been aboard a sail boat before. The only Boats I’ve been on are Manly Ferries and Brisbane Citycats. It’s my first time EVER aboard a sail boat and I thought I’d be, you know, sunning myself on the deck, watching the dolphins.
“Steer to port”.
“Whaaat?!” Port, isn’t that some delicious adult beverage?
Apparently not.
Earlier, there was the “Oops, I’ve just dropped something in the water”. Nothing important, just the thingy that attaches the side wires together so one doesn’t fall overboard. Oh well.
Then there was the boom and head incident.
Not to mention the fun (panicked!!) moment when I dropped a rope (“line”) in the drink and….oooh, the boat’s moving away from the sidewalk thingy…. 😱.
Breathe.
There were no dolphins. There were, however, abundant blue jellies with purple frilly skirts. There was light play like sequins. There were the sounds of the breeze in the rigging and the splooosh of the wavelets against the boatsides. There was the Whooop of Joy as the foresail (the little one in front) rose and the wind caught and filled it. And, there was the rock-a-bye baby of the ocean movement. Soothing. Like I’d been waiting for this all my life.
As I stood in the bow (the Front of The Boat), and felt my femurs and tibia roll through my fascia with the water beneath me, I knew I’d come Home. Where I belonged.
Narelle, “Woman of the Sea”. What my name means, in an Indigenous language from the south coast of NSW. Walking on water. I am.
Saltwater Songlines is a multimodal Project serving you in support of your sacred relationship with the land.
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