Weekly Update — April 30, 2022
Saturday, April 30, 2022

Back. On. Land!

I'm currently sitting in a comfy chair in the "quiet reading room" of the public library in Westlake, Ohio. Technically, I think I'm not supposed to be typing on a laptop in here, but there is only one other person here right now and she is making the kinds of finger-swipes on an iPad that lead me to believe she isn't reading anything over there either. We just exchanged a glance that I'm choosing to interpret as mutual agreement to tolerate the other's illegitimate use of the space. I'm mostly just glad that the ground beneath me is stable.

Two days ago, I stepped off of SV Adiona, a forty-four foot sailboat that I had spent the previous two weeks living on as I helped sail it back to Maryland from The Bahamas. The boat belongs to and was captained by my friend Chris, who had just been living on it with his family for the past 9 months as they prepared it and brought it down to The Bahamas via the intracoastal waterway. My friend Jacob and I flew down to The Bahamas in order to help him sail it back. After some travel hiccups in actually getting to George Town, we spent about a week cruising around the Exumas, anchoring each night and exploring the islands. Then, we sailed north to the Abacos and prepared the boat for the passage back to the Chesapeake Bay. The total trip was just over 1000 nautical miles, and we were at sea for six days straight once we cleared out of Marsh Harbour.

I took notes in my journal during the first half of the trip and had vague aspirations of writing up a more detailed account of the whole adventure for this blog. But a combination of seasickness, sunshine, Bahamian rum, and a general aversion to wanting to touch any kind of screen prevented me from typing up much at the time, and now the moment seems to have passed me by. Don't get me wrong, there was enough excitement, beauty, romance, drama, danger, temerity, conquest, disappointment, and redemption to spin quite a tale. I mean, the social-psychological dynamics of the three men on this boat alone—each at various stages and inflection points of life, running (sailing) away from (or towards) their problems, their dreams, their relationships, spending hours upon hours having 'My Dinner with Andre'-style conversations together under sweltering sun, gleaming starlight, and hoisted canvas? If A24 or IFC Films wants to float a production agreement my way, I'll have the screenplay ready and I think we could have this done in time for Cannes 2023.

But for now, I'll just leave you all with a smattering of photos, headings, and a confirmation that yes, wow, the water really is blue down there.

The Exumas

Cave

Jackson Sailing

Private Island

Iguana

Wading

Wing on Wing

Mackeral

Marsh Harbour / Prepping to Leave

Hanging from Boom

Up the Mast

Looking for rigging

Weather Routing

The Passage

Pork Chops

Jacob Standing

Dink

Stove

Sunset

Eating Cereal

Chris Kneeling

We Made It