CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE :
Have you heard of those three sailors who got stranded on a desert island in the South Pacific Ocean after their boat capsized ?
Do you think they felt in utter despair and just waited for their last hour to come ?
Not at all ! Those modern Robinson managed to gather dark palm leaves and used them to spell a huge 'HELP' sign on the white sand !!
Boy, can you believe that ?
Three castaways marooned on a tiny uninhabited island ( no survival kit, of course) who, thanks to their cleverness (and their lucky star,as well) could ,against all odds ,come back home safe and sound !
Those tough guys really deserve praise,don't they ?
Jeez, when I read that 'robinsonade', I was flabbergasted !
All the more as, in such a situation, I would have been a real drag for the others !
I mean I am stressed out easily, and in risky situations I turn out into a good-for-nothing in a wink !
Actually, to be honest, I should say in ' might-be-risky ' situations.
Yes, believe me ! Even though I always try to look on the bright side of things, I often happen to see danger everywhere,even where there is none !
In terms of anxiety, I guess I am second to none !
You see, when asked the spoof question " What would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live ? ", I always answer " I would cry " !
But let me give you a more striking example.
The Summer I met my husband (yonks ago), once, he offered to go on a sea-excursion on his grand-father's small sailing boat.
In those days, my vivid imagination already played tricks on me. I thought it would be a kind of " The Love Boat " episode : you know that TV series from the 70's set aboard a cruise liner with the captain, the crew and some passengers having romantic and humorous adventures.
So, I immmediately accepted !
Well, first,a cruise liner is not a ' 4.20 ' sailing boat, then,a Caribbean cruise has nothing to do with a ride on the Iroise Sea...
Even though the weather was set fair, hardly had we left the harbour when small waves started lapping the boat. As I was getting a little high-strung, my favourite skipper said there was nothing to worry about.So, I snuggled up and tried to enjoy the landscape.
Yet, as we were moving away from the coast ( Gosh, how tiny people on the beach looked !), I couldn't help peering into the murky water.
How deep was the seabed ? No clue !! What about the threatening lines of white foam around the hull ? Was it normal or was it a kind of warning of stormy weather on its way ?
The sea was getting choppy,wasn't it ?
My carefree spirit was just ' stardust memory ' !
My idyllic day of cruising was turning into a real pain !
I guess I was just looking like one of the shipwreck victims on 'The Raft of The Medusa ', cause my husband said we would sail back to the haven.
Had he mispronounced it or had my ears played tricks on me ? I understood ' heaven ' ! I uttered a sigh of relief !
Then he told me the boat would rock a little, but all I had to do was to stay where I was not to be at risk of getting caught in the main sheet or hit by the boom.
He started turning away from the wind and that's when everything went wrong ....
The boat was leaning a lot (quite normal during such a manoeuvre, but frightening for a budding sailor like me !) and a sudden overpowering feeling of fear overwhelmed me !
I thought we were about to capsize and .....I jumped overboard and started swimming as fast as I could.
Neptune would not wreak his revenge on me ! Thanks to my lifejacket I would swim to the seashore.
Well, I couldn't see it in the far distance, but never mind, I was a pretty good swimmer.
The only thing required was stamina and cold blood (Cold ? No problem,
in the Iroise Sea !).
So, I tried to pull myself together : I managed not to pay attention to the sneaky seaweeds tickling my calves, I slowed down and breathed deeply.
And then,I could hear my husband shouting :
" Come on ! Don't panic ! Get back onboard ! ".
" No way ! ", I yelled out of breath, " I'll swim all the way back to the
haven ! ".
" OK, then ", he replied, " but listen a sec, Christopher Columbus , if I
were you, I would swim the other way round, cause right now you
are heading to America ! ".
Then he steered the boat towards me and fished me out.
To blow away my shame, he told me I was the most beautiful catch he had ever had !!
That's definitely when my crush on him turned into a love story (still going on !).
Anyway, since then I have never been sailing, but never say never..
But, by the way, are panicky sailors welcome onboard ?
Time will tell ...
That's all for this week ! Have fun !
Dany The Perky Busy Bee ( formerly known as 'Dany The Landlubber ')
