A Saltwater Baptism ~ by Kevin

If God formed us from the dust of the ground, and gave us life by His breath, then surely He put salt water in our veins to sustain us.

Gulf Islands (Canada) Dx - via SJI

How do I explain the depth of meaning in a week spent on a small boat with friends in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest? Starting with the airplane circling in to the SeaTac airport, and watching the sun set over the islands as we landed, it was magical.

I was nervous, I won’t kid you. I last sailed over two years ago, and that was to get my certification that qualified me to take the “bareboat” charter we were to embark on. This was to be my first venture without an instructor. No one looking over my shoulder. Two years is a long time, and I worried about what I had forgotten. I also worried about how I would handle being “captain” on a small boat with the lives of my friends at stake.

I came armed with two comforts.. ok three. One was the fact that when I got my certification, I was surprised by how much I knew about the subject of sailing a small boat.

The second comfort was the fact that I have been studying for this event since I was a snot nosed kid on an old WWII era cruiser in the Navy.

The third comfort was my ace in the hole. We would take an instructor out with us for the first day. He could tell if I was ready for this. If he saw that I wasn’t ready he could stop the show, and I could go back to my studying, and dreaming.

"Kookaburra"

The boat was a beauty, a 36 foot Island Packet. Built to cruise long term on the oceans of the world. All the best gear that money can buy, and teak wood throughout the well designed interior. A moment of insight for you: When I look at a boat, I devour it. I notice the sweep of her bow, every line, and where it goes. Every locker and what is kept where. The first night we spent at the pier in Bellingham Bay, and my senses were on hyper alert. By the time I went to bed, this boat and I were one, and I had her for a week.

Literally, from there, time just flowed, almost without effort. The first day went like a dream: full sails, a rail in the water, my friends accepting, indeed, reveling in the fact that they were now “crew”. Sherlene getting back into the groove, and fulfilling her role as “Navigation and Safety Officer”, and I… I was in heaven.

We have tried to take pictures that represent the sights and scenes of sailing between emerald islands on the dark currents teaming with sea life. Sherlene and our friends both really out-did themselves in picture taking. I can try and describe the huge ships passing, and the sea gulls crying, and the seals popping up to look around. I can tell you all about the quiet anchorages, on mirrored ponds tucked between tiny islands. I can even try to explain the “phosphorescent water” that flowed under our keel and lit up the night with magical swirls and splashes of pale green color.

Part of our beloved crew

None of that conveys the sense of “whole-ness” that each of us remarked on at different times. Being upon the sea in a small boat with good friends had the feeling of being home. When you add in the fact that each of us understood that we were there, together, experiencing all the beauties of creation, by grace, and at His pleasure, you begin to think in terms of a life changing event, like a baptism.

It is impossible to say where life will find each of us in five years, or even one. We plot and plan, and hope and scheme for a chance to have more experiences. I would love to turn the bow of my own boat offshore, and head for the open seas. As much as I love the islands, I recognize that staying there is like playing at the turnstiles while ignoring the fearsome roller coaster just beyond. Meanwhile here I am, at home, a thousand miles from the nearest ocean. It stops my heart sometimes, knowing that right now, the tides are flowing, the wind is blowing, and the water is glowing in that little bay, by that favorite little island.. without me. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sculpted Sandstone on Patos Island

One of the things you realize when you see the water sculpted rock, and wind sculpted trees, is that these things have been there for ages, and they will be there for ages to come as they wait for me or you to come along and experience them. Just knowing they are there helps me through my day, and acts as an anchor of peace and quiet. So, having been through this life changing baptism of beauty, I know that where ever the future finds me, it will find me sustained by the salt water flowing in my veins, and the memory of those wild places that wait for me.

I want to thank our friends; Craig for looking around and doing what ever he could see that needed doing, Kathleen, for jumping in without being asked and being the best “Galley slave” that ever went to sea, and both of them for encouraging Sherlene and me to start on our dreams, and Sherlene, none of this would ever have happened had you not seen something in me that you decided to believe in. I love you, I love you all.