The departure for the last leg of my solo sailing across the Atlantic Ocean was set for Sunday. I was expecting headwinds for the first miles out of Horta. 900 nautical miles of ocean waters separated me from an unknown yet exciting future.
Sara became increasingly insistent and concerned about my departure. That sounded a bit strange, as until that moment she had been very patient with my slow pace. Why suddenly all this fuss?
Continues from Part 1 and Part 2 When I notified the Marina da Horta of my arrival I learned that I wasn’t allowed ashore until I took a Covid-19 test the next day and waited 24hrs for the result. This was hardly unexpected. Sara thoroughly researched the matter and kept me informed through our texting …
Solo sailing in the ocean is an exercise of patience. More high pressure brought days of calm and difficult progress. Meeting Sara again after months apart is the only commitment I have left. It is a sort of push, in a way making me a little anxious about the slow going progress.
I started filling the pages of this journal on the third day in the passage. I struggled in finding enough comfort to write while I adapted to every movement on the boat on the ever changing surface of the ocean. The first days are always a transition. What follows are thoughts coming from my journal, quotes …
I have been a bit absent on this channel. My last post was a farewell to the continent that gave me so much for almost 10 years and then silence. I want to confirm that I am alive and well, I just have been adapting to a new environment and a new life, and sailing …
Way overtime, overbudget and over any attempt in predicting, controlling and scheduling boatwork Tranquility and I finally hit the water. We dance with the natural change of the tides and the winds in a quasi stationary equilibrium tethered to the muddy bottom of the North River. Here we are merging again, as she is back …
Finally I completed the editing of a small film of my single handed passage from Puerto Lindo in Panama to Saint Simons Island in Georgia, USA. It is my longest solo sailing to date and I look forward to more soon. I want to thank my good friend Meta to provide the soundtrack with her …
Every Tuesday I connect with the kind and fun bunch of Rebel Writers. They meet face to face in a secret location in Hong Kong and write. I used to take part in those meetings face-to-face while I was living there. Now I can only connect from afar but I still enjoy to participate. In …
Building the hard dodger for Tranquility is a project made possible by a chain of events that stretches several months in the past. A key element to this transformation was the dinghy, also knows as auxiliary boat or tender. Looking at this older picture of Tranquility you can notice that the plastic Walker Bay dinghy …
Some 10 years ago I moved from a life where I was transforming reality with the use of my mind and language to one where this transformation mostly comes from the use of my hands. Today I don’t see any difference in using these two apparently separate tools as ways to learn and mess with …
I always suffered of identity problems. It seems self explanatory that identity is the sum of the qualities, mostly beliefs, that define a person’s image. The role this person has in society also feed the sense of identity. It is a common human perception to feel we are individual, unique beings, and we look for …
Beneath spanish moss and up in reeds My soul runs over moments of wonder Communion of intentions breeds A place unifies souls Another tears them apart The recursive spiral path From tender love to brawls Whatever longing I trace Cools down and dies Where the huge owl flies And the storm takes place Binding metal …
It is forty days since departure deadline, and things start to look busy here at the boatyard. The Covid-19 arrived in the US in full blown mode as it is in the rest of the World. Italy just confirmed that school will be closed till April 15th. They have been closed since February. Friends from …
“THERE IS NO WAY OF WASTING TIME BECAUSE WHAT ELSE IS TIME FOR EXCEPT TO BE WASTED?” Alan Watts Some friends made me notice that I am very well equipped to face a quarantine lockdown during a group video call. Italy and other countries are in lockdown and people cannot leave their homes if not …
I don’t feel I am alone in life, but I am definitely alone on my boat, planning and working for long distance sailing. For many people and culture facing challenges alone is regarded as a horror story experience, the Robinson Crusoe’s tale of isolation from his fellows. American individualist heroes like Emerson and Thoreau, whose …
When Life Hits My sails are a small handkerchief, I pack belongings in a watertight place Heat up my emergency soup When Life Hits I venture outside only with prudence Hold tigh to the lifeline Wear boots When Life Hits I retreat inside I am happy if I kept a tidy ship Sad if everything …
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely” Carl Gustav Jung On a flight to Hong Kong / January 5, 2020 A song called 2020 plays in my teenage memories and collides with this chapter full of unexpected desires and new territories to explore. The fears gradually fade away but still take hold of …
“La cosa più terrificante è accettare se stessi completamente” Carl Gustav Jung Su un volo per Hong Kong/ 5 Gennaio 2020 Una canzone dal titolo 2020 suona nei mie ricordi adolescenziali che si scontrano con il presente capitolo pieno di desideri inaspettati e nuovi territori da esplorare. Le paure gradualmente svaniscono ma fanno ancora presa …
News have been scant from this medium lately. When so much time passes between blog entries it becomes hard to give reports that would not feel overwhelming for both the writer and the reader. I will try my best to fill this gap as my desire to put out thoughts about the life I am …
Here in Hong Kong I joined a Meetup group of writers that gathers weekly to write and share their work. To help the process the group starts writing and sharing props. I randomly picked the one in the title from a coffee mug, and of course I started writing a fantasy piece on Beta. If …