Waiting For Weather

Stuck in Islamorada, waiting for fair weather to permit a comfortable crossing to the Bahamas is probably not the worst thing in the world. We could be in Minneapolis or Buffalo or Boca for that matter. Among the diversions are Jocilin and Simone (pictured), who have become great friends and traveling companions.

I don't really form friendships quickly and easily. But among sailors there is often an instant chemistry, Not always, but often enough. It has to do with being ever so slightly "off." Simon assigns it to people who living under the radar. People who reject normal rules and patterns of behavior and who live by their wits. For me the "off" part has to do also with how people react. Sailors, by definition, choose a life in which they are vulnerable...to weather, to failed equipment, to bad decisions, to social/legal proscriptions, etc. Then, they spend most of their time either trying to avoid "bad things happening," or to react well when bad things do happen. Cheated death again.

So we are bound by a shared psychology (shit happens), shared stories, a shared attraction to future dangers, and shared advise/experience on how to avoid shit happening though we know it will and that's why we want to do it.