Tonight I think I can squeeze out the tale of the first adventure, though not so much with words. My friend Bill, one of the participants of the week of sailing off the Croatian coast in the Adriatic sea, wrote me earlier today:
Thank you for one of the most amazing, fun, incredible, beautiful weeks of my life. What an interesting mix of fine individuals. Being a part of the group you had assembled was an honor and a privilege. I learned about sailing, Europe, traveling by train, language, etc. It was too much experience to attempt to capture into one email easily so I won't even try.
Nor will I. These pictures below with only the simplest of commentary will summarize it best.
By the late evening of June 28th, seven of us had gathered by various means and by various routes in Zadar, Croatia, and had moved onto a 37 foot boat.
The key instigators (besides myself) were German, from Spain, who provided irreplaceable sailing expertise, and Jamie, from the States, who provided the driving energy behind a vague idea German and I had last fall of renting a boat somewhere warm and inviting for a week in the summer.
To this mix we added mother and daughter Gay and Beccy from Australia...
...my daughter Raine from the States...
...and Bill from the States as well.
Each night we would dock, often at a small harbor such as this, one that provided only the barest of services.
By day, we would sail a bit towards the next night's destination, always stopping midday for lunch on board and a swim in some forgotten cove.
Then we'd sail on again...
...and dock once more, sometimes at a larger city.
By design the days of sailing were short and we'd linger in the towns, strolling, sipping coffee and tea where it could be found...
...or just exploring ancient streets and magnificent sights.
Only in one larger city did we spend an entire day...
...exploring it with more devotion and inspiration that usual.
Then it was off to the sea again, where the natural beauty of the landscape would captivate us for hours...
...claiming vast stores of digital media amongst all our cameras.
Always, though, the theme was to move at the pace we wanted, which most often was quite slow and relaxed.
While Gay stretched and did sun salutations above, Bill found a huge cliff that look like a promising jump. German rowed the small dinghy around to the face of it and used a mask to check the depth and safety of the water. Once German signaled it was safe, Bill leapt. His point of departure is just above the top edge of the photo here. We estimate it was at least 60 feet, perhaps more.
His landing was safe enough but when a twinge of discomfort later appeared in his neck, Gay, a massage therapist (as is her daughter), offered her gifts.
German's skills, knowledge, and experience were indispensible.
Even so, everyone who wanted one got a chance to take on any role.
German came up with the idea for one of the simplest and yet most profound experiences of the week; a swim in the open ocean, miles from the shore, with no discernable bottom below.
Bill wasted no time in leaping into the opportunity.
It was breathtaking, almost mystical.
Besides wind and water, the other constant was food and drink.
Sometimes it was a casual ice cream during a stroll.
Sometimes it was a dish prepared on board.
Sometimes it was a fabulous meal on land. In this one particular location, it was a fabulous server. We grew to love Lena so much we returned to this island for two nights, mostly just to see her again.
We got to share two dinners and two breakfasts with her. Of the experiences with people, she was by far the treasure of the trip.
Finally it came time to have our last meal out...
...and our last day on the boat.
We'll be back.
