The Voyage has come to its end at Strong's Yacht Center on Mattituck Creek on the north shore of Long Island. Intermezzo and I sailed 13,400 nautical miles since leaving San Francisco in October 2015.
It feels like a lot, sometimes too much. I can hardly distinguish individual memories of all that passed, it's more like kaleidoscope of experiences that are now a part of who I am, experiences that will influence who I will be.
So much of this Voyage felt like I was going uphill. So much time enduring, soldiering along, wrestling with thoughts and feelings, as winds and waves seemed to be telling me to go back, to give up. But I wouldn't. I couldn't, even if meant I was moving away from people and places that I love. I gave up much to gain much.
Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of peace, happiness and beauty along the way that I will never forget and for which I will always be grateful. I now know the ocean intimately, as a place in which I humbly belong. Sunrises, sunsets, dolphins, birds, the motion of Intermezzo in the water, all sorts of weather. The richness of all that was can't be described in words, though I've tried mightily.
I'm to end The Voyage without fanfare as it allows me to honor the entire journey rather than focus on celebrating its completion. I'm glad Renee was with me to finish together what we started together. She's been soldiering on against winds and waves of a different nature for a long time now and the last few weeks were a nice break for her.
I'll be living aboard Intermezzo for the next month, getting the boat ready for a long period of storage on the hard. I'm sure more thoughts and memories about The Voyage will come up as I do so. I'll continue to share them here.
An intermezzo is a light performance between the main acts of a play. The previous act seems far behind me now. I have only just started conceiving the next act, the set still needs to be built, the curtain isn't ready to rise yet. But my sailing intermezzo is over.
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| Mattituck Creek, Intermezzo's home for a while |
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| The End of The Voyage, Intermezzo docked at Strong's Yacht Center. A great boat that has taken good care of us. |
