After sailing the Philippine seas, with SV Delos and the Delos crew, it’s time for me to go home. It feels a bit sad, because it has been a fantastic four weeks and I have learned so much about sailing. You know – furling the jib out, tighten the mizzen, check the fresh water supply, turn on the generator, driving the dingy, learning the different knots, the GPS, the radio … Everything that sailing is all about, right!
And then there is everything I have seen and experienced in this beautiful country when we have sailed from island to island. The ocean, with dolphins and flying fish accompanying Delos on her sailings from Siargao to Bucas Grande to Bohol to Cebu. Different anchorages in fantastic places. The diving and snorkelling – with corals, schools of fish and so many amazing creatures in all shapes and colours it just takes your breath away. I have also had time to do some land cruising, both on Siargao and Bohol. Beautiful landscapes and sceneries, the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, caves with bats and swallows, and much much more. Everything that to experience a new country is all about, right!
But maybe sailing is mostly about meeting people. All these fantastic people that we meet along the way. Friendly, smiling people sharing their everyday with us strangers in the most hospitable ways. Some just for a short minute, helping us on our way, and others for hours or days, inviting us to their homes and friends. It so fantastic when you think about it! Like the time we were asked if we would give a family the honour to attend their daughter’s baptism. Fantastic! Meeting people is what travelling is all about, right!
But now I’m going home. My fantastic experience of sailing is over, and with me, I bring all the wonderful pictures and memories of my four weeks in the Philippines. I will go back to my old life, where I will be carrying out my regular responsibilities, lazing around on my couch, and would be playing bingo for cash. No, do not think that I do not love my mundane life, I am absolutely in love with it, especially because now I will be enriched and energized for a long time to come. Because sailing is what you do on a sailing boat, right? Exploring new areas, seeing things you never saw before and meeting new people. Right!?
However, if you too want to feel the chills a sailing gives, you do not necessarily need to go to the Philippines. There are tons of breathtakingly beautiful islands around the world. You can take a ride to your nearest one. If Hawaii seems to be the closest island near you, you are definitely in luck. It seems to provide some of the best sailing experiences in the world. Once there, you can contact companies like Kai Kanani Sailing and have your share of enjoyment.
Or is sailing really something else? Something bigger? A way to live. A way to find yourself. A way to figure out who you really are and what your life is all about. And do I have to do that on a sailing boat? Well, I’m not so sure any longer! Of course sailing is about all the things I described above. It’s about tacking and winds and waters and all that, of course. But it is also SO much more, waiting for you if you have the courage to open your heart! Sailing gives you time to think. And sailing gives you time not to think. Time to be. Time to … sail!
So, now I’m sailing home! And I will keep on sailing!
I dedicate this blog to the Delos crew. I love you guys!