If you are like me,
you are a bit of a dreamer. How pleasant it is to leave this world of reality
and enter the realm of daydreams.
My fantasy dream world is in Peace Haven, the Harbour of
Wooden Ships. Anchored in the sheltered cove there are many beautiful and graceful
ladies of the sea. Their etched lines tell of past heroics, hard honest work,
times of jubilation, triumph over the odds, and battles with the elements: wind
and waves, snow, rain and fog.
The test of years has proven their worth, and they are ready
for more adventures. They hunger for open waters, for fine sailing and fair winds
- the Trades and palm fringed atolls, sea shanties and the laughter of happy
crews. They relish the short sharp, slapping seas of the Channel, the biting,
whining wind and the long ocean swells of testing and delight. Gales, and
wicked waves, hail and snow; nothing can prevail against them until the sun
shines again. Then, all is calm and peace. There is a gentle rolling, and the rhythmic
creaking of a mast; silence until the wind returns to take them home.
When it is all done, and back in port they rest. They
reflect and are glad. Men work. They repair and renovate, paint and varnish,
scrape, pitch and tar; patch and sew, splice and whip, and make ready for the
next adventure. They victual ship and dream.
Fine ladies of the sea are beautified again – revitalized; their
bones are far from the muddy grave in The Creek of Death. Rejuvenated they live on,
cherished by the sons of men of the sea who will die before them, their souls to
be reunited on the everlasting Ocean of Peaceful Dreams.
Links
Classic Yacht Brokerage
Wooden Ships
Half Price Pilot
Cutter ‘Carlotta’.
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter £145,000
A Traditional Falmouth Gaff Cutter – ‘Ro-an-mor’
Pure poetry Bill -- thanks for the imagery and the great blog.
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