

Not for the shore, only for the sea—— me and my th
浏览次数：813次　更新时间：2018-02-07

Not for the shore, only for the sea—— me and my three sailing stories: Kun Song

By Kun Song

I had spent 315 days on the sea competing and living between 2013 and 2014. That is the largest amateur yacht race in the world. Those who join this race are not professional athletes, and they are normal people who work from 9 a.m to 5 p.m like me. There are CEO of big companies, lawyers, doctors, and housewives. But they all have one thing in common which is that they want to sail around the world with one yacht.

Yacht and racing around the world may be strange to most of the people. It has only been a decade since yacht entered China. But there was a Chinese captain who is well-known to the world, Chuan Guo. I had known him for many years. He shared many experiences with me before I started sailing. He gave the waterproof sleeping bag I used during the race. He was a teacher and a friend to me. A few months ago, he lost connection with the team on the shore during his sailing across the Pacific Ocean. After what happened to the captain, many people admired his greatness, and many people couldnt understand his big adventure.

Maybe after the three stories, I am going to share, you will find your understanding.

The first story: Boat.

In 2012, I went through a divorce which seemed to be the worst thing that could happen to me.

I felt awful. Life seemed hopeless, and I lost confidence in myself.

I joined a ship to Atlantic. I just wanted to get away as far as possible and escape from my problem even just for a while. Then the ship encountered a storm coming from ahead on the Atlantic.

It is hard to sail facing the wind because a ship is powered by wind. So it cant sail straight forward no matter how. One has to change its angles and move forward in a zigzag way

That storm was fierce. I was steering the ship at the stern. The waves were hitting the ship without mercy. I felt pity for the ship. It was like me, struggling in the storm.

No matter how much pressure the storm and waves brought and no matter how twisted the route was. She was moving forward step by step steadily. I knew it might seem that it was not on the right course, but that was the only way toward the destination.

I was touched by the ship.

Maybe sometimes there is no shortcut toward the shore, the only way is the zigzag way.

Sometimes it seems like we go down the wrong road, do the wrong thing and love the wrong person, but no matter what, just keep moving forward. Maybe it is destined that there are many turns, we have to believe that there is a big navigation map somewhere and each turn will bring us closer to happiness.

The second story: Jonathon.

There was a crew member on the yacht during the race named Jonathon. He was a serious British man. He was impatient and short-tempered. I could never get along with him, and we couldnt agree on anything. Probably we were what people call nemesis.

If there is someone you cant get along in school or workplace, at least you wont be bothered after school and work. But this yacht was only twenty meters long, so when I ate, slept and went to the bathroom, Jonathon was always within the ten-meter radius. We saw each other all the time.

Our yacht was competing for 24-hours-non-stop. The crew members were split into two shifts. When one group slept, the other group was on duty, and we took turns like this. I tried every possible way not to be signed to the same shift with Jonathon. In this way, we could communicate as less as possible.

There was a rule on the yacht that when we change shifts, we would great each other in a routine way to be nice. One said that had a nice shift and the other would say that had a sound sleep. Jonathon and I had never done that. We even avoid eye contacts in all scenarios which were like an unspoken rule between us. We would pass each other, did our own thing as nothing happened.

If we were signed to the same shift without luck, as long as Jonathon was there, I had to put up with his pickiness.

We went through many storms and spent over 300 days of sailing together.

Until the last night of the last day of the race, he said,Vicky, have a sound sleep.after we exchanged shift like we always did. I was confused, and in return, I said,oh, have a good shift." which was more like a reflection. I still could not believe what had happened when I returned to my bed. I felt complicated, and I almost cried. Jonathon showed that he respected me in his way at our last chance together. Truth to be told, I did not like him, but I respected him as well. He was a good sailor, and I could trust him with my life while I was sleeping. I believe he was able to trust his life with me who was on shift at the deck while he was asleep.

That was the last time I talked to Jonathon.

A year after the competition, Jonathon suddenly passed away.

I was shocked when I learned about this news. I remembered the good parts about Jonathon. Such as, once, one of our companions got hurt, so he gave up his comfortable lower berth and slept in the bumpy upper berth.Another time when our helm had a little problem, he and our captain volunteered to fix it at the dark bilge. In the end, the helm was fixed, but their faces were bloody due to the bumpiness. I think the world is built with people that are different from us. We all have different behaviors, values, social experiences, and religion believes. But that is why this is an interesting world. We are not bored because this world is balancing complications.

All we need is a little respect towards the people who are different from us.

If I have a second chance, I would say,have a sound sleep, Jonathonearlier.

The third story: Jellyfishes.

It was a pitch black night, and even the moon was not shining when we were sailing at the Atlantic around the equator, suddenly we saw bright things which looked liked lanterns started to appear on the surface of the sea. It turned out, and we were passing through a group of jellyfishes. The jellyfishes were floating in the sea, and they were fluorescing. They lightened the sea surface. At the end of our ship, the jellyfishes which were stirred by the wave formed a shining trail till the end of the sky. Everyone was intoxicated with this magical, beautiful view.

It was so pretty, but it was such a shame that neither cellphone nor camera could catch this view because their light was week. When the sun rose, only the people on the yacht could prove that I was not crazy and hallucinating. But all of us would be at different places around the world at the end when we got off the boat and went back home. Who would prove that everything had happened then?

Yes, no one could prove.

What would happen if I took pictures and post it to my friend zone?

Nothing would be as same as that moment when my soul felt shocked.

It was like the tears that you had after you finished your first marathon or the joy a true believer felt at the moment of enlightenment.

We do not need to prove to others that we are living.

Sometimes it is more important to know what you feel than let others understand you.

Just like the captain who went through the storm, again and again, he said,I had fear, desperation, and frustration, but I never gave up.For him, the most important thing in life was not to enjoy life but to create and to experience.

When I lie on the deck and look at the sky and the stars at night, I feel like that even earth is a small stone on the beach. We, humans, are even smaller and almost neglectable for the universe.

But the smaller we are and the truer we should live, right?

Not mimic other peoples lives and listen to your inner voice and calling. Living your flourishing life. When we untie the cable, hoist the sail and sail towards the blue.

Not for the shore, only for the sea.
