Re-Living the Voyage

Pan Pacific Hotel, Rm 1214 (Melbourne)

Thursday 7 May 2020

Over the past few days, I’ve been uploading photos and captions to the earlier parts of this blog. In particular, the first 14 days of March, just two months ago, when Linda, Matt and James came aboard Chimere at Bluff – at the very botton-end (I’m guessing the people who live in Bluff don’t describe it that way…) of the South Island.

Memories of Milford – 12 March 2020

**There’s Only One Milford Sound**

Our quest was to explore the rugged and remote fiords and sounds along the South West coast, the most well-known of these, undoubtedly being Milford Sound.

Most of my daily blogs from that time were up-loaded, minus the photos. Not ideal. But whilst Fiordland is known and appreciated for its near-pristine beauty, it is also known and perhaps, NOT appreciated, for its lack of internet and phone connections.

Now, with lots of time on my hands and free WiFi, compliments of the Pan Pacific Hotel and the Australian taxpayers, I’ve been working through each day’s post and making amends. It’s been a lot of fun, sorting through the many photos, taken by John, Linda, James, Matt and me – reading the blogs again and then adding captions to each photo as they’re uploaded.

Stunning from any angle, 12 March 2020

**There’s Only One Milford Sound**

It was certainly a spectacular day when we entered Milford Sound

**There’s Only One Milford Sound**

To be sure, there’s been a bit of re-living all the magic times and moments. Which I suppose, is all part of my purpose in recording the events in the first place. It reminds me of a quote I recall from somewhere … and up until a few minutes ago, I never knew the source. But after a quick web-search I’ve discovered that it’s actually attributed to a woman called Anais Nin; an American-Cuban-French essayist, who was born in 1903.

The quote is … “We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection.”

Which is pretty deep when you think about it. A good memory could probably achieve the same result, but to quote Homer Simpson … “every time I learn something new, it pushes something old out of my head…” Well, maybe I’m not quite that bad. But there’s something about writing … “in the moment” … to capture feelings, events and circumstances that can vividly be re-kindled months and years later .

When I think about it, the idea of “living in the moment” … is one of the things I like so much about sailing. In a world (at least our reasonably comfortable western world) where most things are laid on and easily accessible – water, food, electricity, gas, communications, transport, security etc – we can drift along, turning taps, flicking switches, pumping petrol … doing lots of daily tasks, but rarely thinking hard, or going deeper into what holds it all together; or needing to take responsibility for it. We assume so much about the present and the future, or it’s taken for granted.

Preparation and planning are key to managing the bad days. 4 March 2020

**A Big Day*!**

Sailing is a good way to live in the moment

**A Big Day*!**

No doubt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on everyone’s daily life, in our community and the world, is forcing a re-think of many, once-certain aspects of life. And of course, many of us now have time to reflect and really think differently about the here-and-now, as well as the future.

“NOT just a time to DO, but a time to BE” … which is a quote that should be attributed to Yoda, but I haven’t been able to find the reference. Having mentioned Yoda, some of his other quotes are worthy pearls of wisdom, such as… (Not sure how to reproduce the distinctive voice in text)

8 Powerful Quotes From Yoda, the OG Wellness Guru | Shine — Yoda

“You must unlearn what you have learned.” … “Do or do not. There is no try.” … “That is why you fail.” … “Named must be your fear before banish it you can.” … “Fear is the path to the dark side.” … “The greatest teacher, failure is.”

That’s probably enough Yoda for one night. (That’s not one of the quotes)

Looking back to Anais Nin, here was a woman who maintained a blog, they called them journals or diaries back then, and there are a few more quotes attributed to her that are worth taking on board … three in particular …

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Returning to … “living in the moment” … sailing, like so many other physical pursuits, requires you to first, plan ahead, then second, test yourself. The testing, and the extent to which you succeed or fail, in large part, depends on your prior planning and of course your decision-making and endurance, throughout that time of testing.

It’s at these times where you have no option but to live-in-the-moment, because the consequence of NOT, can result in what hospitals and the medical fraternity generally refer to as … “adverse outcomes”.

It’s probably why “sail training ships” are so beneficial, particularly for young people. It builds resilience and confidence, plus the necessity of being relied upon and of working in a team; relying on others.

Isolation on a boat, might also help in preparation for something like … for example … isolation in a hotel room. Just a hypothetical example of course?!

This afternoons video session with friends . Igor’s egg collection is now up to nine; pushing for the even dozen

It got me thinking this afternoon of a young woman, Jane Cooper who in 1971 at the age of 17, ran away from her home in Canterbury, Melbourne in order to live on the extremely remote and rugged De Witt Island, off the SW coast of Tasmania. (also known locally as “Big Witch”)

I was prompted to recall the story of Jane Cooper, because I received an email out of the blue from the UK two days ago. It was a chap who wants to do some out-of-the-way trekking and exploring down that way in the future, and somehow found a link to me from last year’s “Freedom Sail” blog, which I did while sailing around Tassie.

Jane Cooper’s story gives another dimension to what it is to be “isolated”. For her, isolation was the inner sense of helplessness and desperation she felt in observing the war, racism, poverty and greed all around her; surrounded by others in suburbia. Her desire was to have nothing whatsoever to do with it. Whilst becoming a hermit on De Witt island might seem like ISOLATION to many, to Jane, it was a path to liberation from the mental and social isolation she felt in the “normal” world.

It’s probably much the same now – oe thousand “Friends” on Facebook but no one to talk with. Sadly, for many, “escape” can mean a destructive path of dependence on drugs and other things, but for Jane it was a real, physical escape to a place that is not quite the ends of the earth, but I’m sure if you were to climb the hill at the far end of the island you could see it from there.

What seems like isolation to one person might be liberation to another

In a letter to her mother she wrote: “Because of the beauty of this island and its wildlife, I am growing in happiness
and a sense of stability.” She catches fish and dives for lobsters, and the fishermen call in occasionally to keep a fatherly eye on the girl.
“If she won’t come off, I’m afraid she will have to be moved,” said the Tasmanian Minister for Lands. “She could be in extreme danger if there is an emergency.” “I love my island – they will never take it from me,” said the girl.

Said a fishing-boat skipper: “I just wish everyone would leave her alone, because when I mentioned the
Government’s plan she broke down and cried. She is an intelligent girl, doing no one any harm out there.”

And so Jane Cooper, 18, of Canterbury, Vic, is to be allowed to remain.

She is on an island on which no one has ever lived before, the one the fishermen call “the Big Witch” on the maps, De Witt Island, five miles off the wild south coast of Tasmania. The Minister suggested a “more suitable” island, but said she would not be forced to leave.

Fishermen landed Jane on the 4000 acres of rock and dense scrub on August 22. She said she wanted to cut herself off from civilisation for a year – “to get away from it all and find myself” and would spend the time writing poetry and music, studying the wildlife, and getting her food.

Jane Cooper age 17, in 1971 “escaped” to live on DeWitt island, SW Tassie

Girl Friday Lives Hermit Existence (News Story, 1971)

I Go Further Under

Maybe you remember the story from the time. I was busy trying to finish Primary School back then and only came upon the story much later in life, but it’s well worth having a look. There’s even been a film made recently, loosely based on Jane’s experience – I Go Further Under.

Meanwhile, back in Room 1214, things are ticking away as expected. Today marks 10 days down, 4 to go, which must mean I’m well and truly in the home straight.

Looking very much like pureed banana … breakfast was yummier than it looks … as unlikely as that sounds

Lunch today saw a return to just one butter sachet with my roll. And so much for full-size chocolate bars, we’re back to mini-me bars … today is was a tiny, Cherry Ripe that did indeed say “NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL SALE” on the wrapper … I was able to defer eating it until just now, when I consumed it while having a video chat with a close friend.

They don’t get any smaller – at least I don’t think so

Some people have asked about Room Service and access to other hotel services while I’m here. Well, the key over-ride to everything is that no one will come in, and I’m not allowed out (except for the 10 minutes of “fresh air” two days ago, or was it three?) The information sheet talks about leaving towels and sheets in a designated bag which must be “knotted at the top” and left outside my room for collection. Likewise, rubbish can be left in a bag outside the door.

But to date, I haven’t needed to make use of any of the above. I bought a bottle of dish washing liquid in my Woolworths online order the other day and so I’ve cleaned all the food containers and plastic cutlery for future use in my potting shed at home. (when I get out) The chic, brown paper bags with raffia handles, are all neatly folded and will be re-birthed sometime – I’ve got an awful lot of them. And as for the sheets and towels, well I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I change my sheets every-other-day?! Certainly on the boat it was more on a 4-5 week cycle, but maybe that’s a bad example …

Thank you again everyone for your encouragement about the blog. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading along because I enjoy musing away on the computer. Not sure I would have said that when I was back in high school. And not just because there were no computers then. Back then I could barely scrape a Pass in writing essays and English assignments. It might have been useful to have known exactly WHY my homework only scored 11 out of 20, when others in the class were regularly getting 18s and 19s. I suppose we all have suppressed memories of “school days” that are best left … suppressed?!

Don’t forget to check out the blog-links below. If you’ve read them before, then you’ll enjoy the photos and captions, and if you haven’t read the blog yet, then hopefully there’s a treat in store for you – it’s actually about sailing!

Smooth seas, fair breeze and re-living the voyage

Rob Latimer

A Day for Good-Byes

Saturday March 14, 2020, Deepwater Basin, Milford Sound