by Ray Jason
It
was a “chilling realization.” As my brain processed those two
words, I chuckled quietly. More accurately, it might be described as
a “frigid, terrifying realization.” That’s because I was in
the Far North – the High Arctic - on-board a fragile, fiberglass
sailing boat, trying to make it through the Northwest Passage. It
took 86 days from Newfoundland to Nome, but we did persevere and
prevail.
The
realization that had disturbed me was the possibility that I might
not make it back. One misstep and I would slide into a watery
grave. It was so cold that the Sea surrounding our boat was
frequently turning from liquid into slush on its way to becoming
solid ice.
The
question that I had asked was “What would happen to my essays if I
did not make it back?” The stark clarity and elemental reality of
the high latitudes, imposes a need for no-nonsense truth. And so, as
I stood my midnight watch while the rest of the crew slept below, I
answered honestly. “They would probably be dust in the wind.”