Friday, January 23, 2015

The Plan!

"The best-laid plans of catamarans and men often go awry." 
- Someone may have said this!


The plan........

I don’t yet know it, and I am the Captain! Let me explain. A very special person in my life has accused me of “not having a plan”, to which we laugh. But tonight it got me thinking.

We (Sea Angel and her crew) departed the Dominican Republic on Thursday the 15th of January. Our clearing out papers were for a destination of Panama, a 7 or 8 day sail. That was part of a broad, general plan to arrive in the South Pacific on schedule- the grand plan so to speak. When we discussed this leg of our trip there was trepidation by the crew on where we might find harbor to stop and rest, as it would be the longest single offshore transit of the trip. I threw out the reasonable options for stopping, and concluded the conversation with “we are just going to start. We will figure out the plan later.”


Jamaican Mangroves

So, I am writing this as we motor along in the lee of Jamaica, on a glass calm sea. How did we end up here!? Well, we started the leg to Panama but listened and responded to the forces greater than us. Nature influenced our plan, or the lack thereof. The winds were abnormally light and we motored a lot to keep up the pace. We used a lot of fuel. Our plan didn’t change... because we didn’t really have one. It reminded me of a scene in the movie “Captain Ron” where in the midst of a terrible storm with everything going wrong at once, Captain Ron says, “well at least we are almost at our safe destination.” To which the crew responds, "how do you know?" He says, "because when they left the last port we had just enough fuel to make it there….. and now we are out of fuel!" He got beat up by the crew.





Jamaican Police escorts Sea Angel
Again, sailing teaches lessons about life. Plans are okay, but they should not be held to fast or dearly. So much of life is out of our control. To have a general plan, a destination, goals, is good. Those set the direction to travel. But to have a plan for each step along the way is not up to us. At this point of our journey, I have learned to give that up, to embrace something bigger than myself. We sail to fulfill a purpose, and it turns out the purpose is fulfilling us.


A quote comes to mind:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9, English Standard Version (ESV):

AMEN! David.

Sunrise over Jamaica


The Sea Angel is sailing to the South Pacific for a cause- Sea Mercy is a benevolent program developed for disaster and critical care needs for remote islanders. Sea Mercy is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) charity with a simple vision and mission to "stand in the gap" with a service delivery vessel, trained health care volunteers, support equipment, and critical care services as island nations develop their "outer island" health care infrastructure, when critical health care need opportunities are present, or when disasters occur. Read more about Sea Mercy's 2014 Impact.

 

If Sea Angel's journey resonates with you, we welcome you to consider donating on our behalf to Sea Mercy - there are several ways to get involved. They especially always need enthusiastic volunteers. If you are in the medical profession, consider committing to a rotation in the South Pacific!

 

Sea Mercy's Corporate "We Care" Program is designed to help organizations attract and engage clients, vendors, and employees in the spirit of social responsibility and provide a wonderfully enriching partnership. There are several ways to participate with "We Care". Visit Sea Mercy's website for additional information. If you know of an organization or would like to involve yours, please share this information forward. The more we sail, the more we understand how important it is to foster these types of relationships in everything we do. Our journey still has a long way to go, and we thank you for being here with us. 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Tale of Three Countries

Since leaving North Carolina in early November we have traveled to and through, three separate countries, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, and now the Dominican Republic from where I write this blog. Each country has been beautiful and unique in its own right. We have enjoyed them all. 

Left or Right?











The Bahamas consist of many, many islands and small Cays, some inhabited, some not.  The communities on each were different depending on their exposure to the “western” influence and visitation. What I felt there was different than I had expected. The Bahamas lie very close to the SE United States and are within easy access by multitudes of “cruising” boats. There was a distinct feeling that we were part of a western expansion of the adventuresome retirement culture, kind of like traveling in RV’s on the water.

The view from Georgetown
The Georgetown culture in the Bahamas was built around activities and social events for this slice of America.  There was basket-weaving, special church for cruisers, women’s groups, volleyball tournaments, potlucks on the beach, etc. Georgetown is the unofficial “end” of this culture as it is more challenging to reach farther south. I enjoyed it, especially the remote islands, but I felt the desire to move on.


The Turks and Caicos were a little farther East and South and more challenging to reach by boat.  The numbers of cruisers reaching these islands is just a fraction of the Bahamas. Here we met only a handful of other cruisers, mostly stopping by as they head farther south. The Islands however are popular with the jet-set vacationers and has an abundance of lavish hotels, condominiums, and villas. Again, very beautiful and interesting but the local population was highly influenced by tourism and all that goes along with it.

Hillsides of Dominican Republic from the ground.
Setting nets in Luperon

Kitchen Sink
As I sit now in Luperon, Dominican Republic, I realize I don’t yet want to leave yet. What a splendidly beautiful country and peoples! Luperon is kind of a back water town, it is a small and simple harbor that was cut out of the mangroves and is home to maybe 40 boats. Most arrived years ago, and the captains and crew just decided to stay. The town is isolated to a great degree, not participating much in the national tax structure or services. It creates a flavor of unofficial-officialness, with clearing-in fees unique to the staff working that day. The town only gets electricity service 6 or 7 hours a day I think because they are only an unofficial-official town. Because it is on the fringe (and not an easy or desired western destination) it has little in common with the other Caribbean countries we have visited.  It is such a loving and friendly culture, much the same as it has been for centuries.  

Best friend
Christ statue overlooking Puerto Plata

The doors of the small homes on the streets are always open and at night the warm glow coming from inside just feels so inviting and comfortable.  The families are close, with the children playing in the streets, parents and grandparents in chairs on the steps.  Everybody smiles, looks you in the eye, touches you, laughs with you.  The love and kindness of these peoples was amazing.  The children are so happy, even the dogs and wild animals are healthy and well cared for.  No bars on the windows, no police.  Most of the local people were born here and have never left.   Many of those that came by boat never left either.  I understand why.  I will always remember and hold the Dominican peoples in great regard.  They have set the cultural bar high for integrity, love, kindness, generosity.   

As I wrote those descriptive words I reflected on  Paul’s words in Colossians 3;12 “Therefore as Gods chosen people, holy and dearly loved, cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” They get it. 

Amigo

We must continue to press on, however.  To stay on schedule we depart today or tomorrow for the San Blas Islands off Panama. Hope to someday return and visit the families and friends we have met here.




New world traveling friends

Jesucristo es mi amigo! 

The Sea Angel is sailing to the South Pacific for a cause- Sea Mercy is a benevolent program developed for disaster and critical care needs for remote islanders. Sea Mercy is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) charity with a simple vision and mission to "stand in the gap" with a service delivery vessel, trained health care volunteers, support equipment, and critical care services as island nations develop their "outer island" health care infrastructure, when critical health care need opportunities are present, or when disasters occur. Read more about Sea Mercy's 2014 Impact.

 

If Sea Angel's journey resonates with you, we welcome you to consider donating on our behalf to Sea Mercy - there are several ways to get involved. They especially always need enthusiastic volunteers. If you are in the medical profession, consider committing to a rotation in the South Pacific!

 

Sea Mercy's Corporate "We Care" Program is designed to help organizations attract and engage clients, vendors, and employees in the spirit of social responsibility and provide a wonderfully enriching partnership. There are several ways to participate with "We Care". Visit Sea Mercy's website for additional information. If you know of an organization or would like to involve yours, please share this information forward. The more we sail, the more we understand how important it is to foster these types of relationships in everything we do. Our journey still has a long way to go, and we thank you for being here with us. 

Friday, January 9, 2015

Progress


"Life is not a destination, it’s a journey. We all come upon unexpected curves and turning points, mountaintops and valleys. Everything that happens to us shapes who we are becoming. And in the adventure of each day, we discover the best in ourselves.”-UNKNOWN




We are just passing "South Rock", the southernmost bit of the Turks and Caicos. This is a milestone on the journey because we start heading more south than east. Since the trade winds blow pretty consistent from the east, we will now be able to sail more comfortably with the wind at our backs so to speak! Well, more realistically, the wind will be moving more behind us than in front of us, but that is an awesome step. Another milestone is the daily offshore email we do for position tracking, and staying in touch, is now easier relayed through the Panama station instead of the one I have been using in South Carolina.

We are all pretty excited to be heading to the Dominican Republic. It looks like a very neat place to explore. The island of Hispaniola is comprised of two countries; to the east is the Dominican Republic, and to the west is Haiti. Hopefully we can explore both countries a little bit before we move on to Panama. Photos to come!

I put a "note in a bottle" in the sea today. Wonder where it might be found someday? Thank you for following our travels and keeping us in your prayers!

-DL


The Sea Angel is sailing to the South Pacific for a cause- Sea Mercy is a benevolent program developed for disaster and critical care needs for remote islanders. Sea Mercy is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) charity with a simple vision and mission to "stand in the gap" with a service delivery vessel, trained health care volunteers, support equipment, and critical care services as island nations develop their "outer island" health care infrastructure, when critical health care need opportunities are present, or when disasters occur. Read more about Sea Mercy's 2014 Impact.

 

If Sea Angel's journey resonates with you, we welcome you to consider donating on our behalf to Sea Mercy - there are several ways to get involved. They especially always need enthusiastic volunteers. If you are in the medical profession, consider committing to a rotation in the South Pacific!

 


Sea Mercy's Corporate "We Care" Program is designed to help organizations attract and engage clients, vendors, and employees in the spirit of social responsibility and provide a wonderfully enriching partnership. There are several ways to participate with "We Care". Visit Sea Mercy's website for additional information. If you know of an organization or would like to involve yours, please share this information forward. The more we sail, the more we understand how important it is to foster these types of relationships in everything we do. Our journey still has a long way to go, and we thank you for being here with us.