by Ray Jason
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| TODAY'S SUNRISE |
One
of of the exquisite joys of the sea gypsy life is the fact that it
blends together two opposing worldviews. Even though most ocean
vagabonds are incurable Romantics, they are also cautious Realists.
Surely, sailing to the South Seas requires the care-free bravado of
the dreamer, but it also demands careful expertise. Out there on the
Wide Waters, far from any help, one must have many skills including
seamanship, navigation and boat repair.
I
contend that this advanced level of preparedness is also extremely
valuable in responding to land-based issues. For example, if the
current corona-virus does become a world-wide threat, I could
literally complete this sentence, go on deck, lift my anchor and
within 15 minutes be in the open Caribbean Sea far from any risk of
exposure.
My water tanks are always full. There is at least six months of freeze-dried, non-perishable and canned foods to supplement what I catch from fishing. My diesel capacity gives me about 1,000 miles range, and the sails make it nearly limitless. Books, movies on DVD and a Kindle filled with classic authors, provide quality entertainment. Solar panels and a wind generator supply tiny-footprint electricity for my fridge, radios and other power needs. I am also locked and loaded – whatever that means :-).
THE
SEA GYPSY TRIBE
About a decade ago, I realized that a well-prepared, ocean-ready sailboat is the perfect escape platform for any catastrophic possibility. This inspired me to begin promoting what I called the Sea Gypsy Tribe concept. I wrote carefully-argued essays discussing WHY it is such an excellent strategy. Then I expanded on this with several articles that described HOW one could advance from a novice to a highly-skilled member of such a deep-water tribe. (I will link to them at the end of this piece.)
These
essays were generating tens of thousands of visits to my blog, and so
I was hoping that many sailors would begin putting together Sea Gypsy
Tribes in their own watery part of the world. But that did not
occur.
This
was a soul-wrenching disappointment, but I suspect that my sea-going
prepper idea did not catch on because conditions were not quite
severe enough.
Tragically, many disasters can strike swiftly.
Having personally experienced the big San Francisco earthquake of
1989 and the horrific hurricane season of 2005 in Key West, I know
how quickly and chaotically emergency supplies vanish from the store
shelves. Sadly, the old preppers’ adage rings true: “It is
better to be two years early, than two days late!”
With
the arrival of the new decade, the realist part of my sailor’s
nature told me to suck it up and realize that my Sea Gypsy Tribe
concept either was not worthwhile enough or was perhaps ahead of its
time. The logical conclusion seemed to be a casual, “Screw it, I
did the best I could.”
However,
the romantic voice within me cautioned me to acknowledge in my
heart of hearts how magical and sane this ocean vagabond lifestyle is
in an increasingly lunatic world.
So,
even though I have not proven persuasive enough with my tribal
strategy, I still would like to evangelize for the merits of this
wonderful sea gypsy life. Who knows, if there is a slower-paced
apocalypse,
these newly-minted sailors might have enough time to upgrade their
situation with emergency preparations and a like-minded tribe of
sailor folk.
My
next few essays will be dedicated to describing as persuasively as
possible some of the reasons that this unusual living approach sings
to me so powerfully. Perhaps you too will then hear the mermaids’
song and come and join us.
ESCAPE
FROM THE SJW LUNACY
I
have lived full-time in the cruising fleet since 1992. During those
decades I have never had even one sailor try to convince me that
there are dozens of genders and that men can have menstrual periods.
Likewise, none of the other lunacies of the social justice warriors
are imposed upon our community.
The
parents of our young sailors home school their kids. They do not
take them to a Drag Queen Story Hour. Likewise, they do not have to
explain gender neutral public bathrooms to them. And these kids are
not sequestered only with other youngsters of their own age, as is
the case in the highly-structured activity culture of the misnamed
Real World.
MINIMAL
POLITICS
The
politicization of everyday life has not devoured the sea gypsy
sphere. We talk about such things as great spots to visit along the
way and which anchor sets best in soft sand. But we definitely are
not jabbering about presidential debates and Supreme Court
appointments.
The fixation that most landlubbers have with politics
amuses the sailing folk – especially since we recognize how little
actual influence regular people have on the conduct of the powers
that shouldn’t be.
REJECTING
SAFE SPACES
There
are many reasons to go to sea, but the quest for a Safe Space is not
one of them. Mother Ocean may be magnificent, but she is also moody.
One night of blasting through dark, invisible wave canyons, with
the wind shrieking mercilessly, will convince you forever that safety
is elusive on the deep waters.
BUT,
that just makes it all the more desirable. Sailors love relishing a
successful passage through stormy seas. Perhaps our genetic wiring
is all wrong, but we embrace the occasional challenge of dangerous
conditions. Of course, we prefer mixing that in with sand dollar
hunts on secluded beaches.
CONCLUSION
Even
though my Sea Gypsy Tribe idea has thus far not developed as I had
hoped, I am still so delighted by this ocean wanderer style of
living, that it seems to me that it is wise to enthusiastically spread its joy.
Sail on …
smile on ...
My
next Sea Gypsy Option essay will post in about a week. At the
conclusion of that one, I will include the links to my prior Sea
Gypsy Tribe essays. Because I have been out in the islands away from
wifi, everything is running a bit behind.