I’m Not Alone On A Wide Wide Sea
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Since the year that I realized that I was getting older and that there was nothing I could do about it, I read a book. It was the story of a man, Joshua Slocum, who sailed across the Atlantic alone. When I closed that book, I knew that was something I would do one day. A solo crossing.
A few days later, I was forty years older. Yes, I did get certified to sail a deep keel 26′ boat while Mariam and I spent two months in Florida a few years ago. I was given a log book where I was to keep track of my hours sailing.
There are no entries since we left Florida. I had not sailed since then. I must say that of all the things I ever accomplished, sailing was the one thing that gave me the most pleasure.
I wanted to have the experience of living for several weeks in a world that consisted of the sea, the sky and me.
Well, maybe I’ll make an attempt when I grow up.
We departed Southampton about 5:15 or so on Sunday, June 24. Before the boat left the dock, we had our first “drill” at 4.30. We assembled in our assigned area and actually put on our life vests. We were even allowed to test the whistles.
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[The sunset off the coast of Devon and Cornwall]
I am told that there are about 2,700 passengers aboard. The staff numbers 1,200. That gives a total of 3,900 people on this boat…the Queen Mary 2. According to the captain, there are people of 33 nationalities aboard. I guess they included Mariam and I, even through most of the people we meet in the bars and restaurants are either Canadian, Australian or from New Zealand.
I have made an educated estimated guess that the average age of the total passenger population is 70.6 years.
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[Constant information in our stateroom]
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[The Britannia Restaurant, our assigned dinner venue]
Tonight is our second Black Tie dinner (Gala Attire). The only thing I get to keep from this rental is the bow tie.
The WiFi is spotty and I’ll be grateful if this blog post gets to you, my readers, before we dock in New York City on July 1. I began writing this on Sunday, the day we left Southampton. It’s now Wednesday afternoon.
Sunday morning we will be docking in Red Hook, Brooklyn. We will get the chance to see the Statue of Liberty as we enter New York Harbor.
Just like my ancestors from Ireland and Mariam’s from Asia Minor did, decades and decades ago.
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