Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote anything and because of that I have had time to think about what we are taking on and exactly why! Why are we doing this now? We don't need stress in our lives, who does? Having anything to do with boats again was not on our agenda or lifeplan, as we gently descended into our "third age"! We sold Britannia in 1996 because of other forces that demanded attention, but it had been a very difficult decision and for a while we were not sure whether we had done the right thing. Life was very different and quite tough at times without her, and dare I say it, a little less interesting.
Britannia had been at the centre of our lives for 23 years and she left a large hole. We had spent much energy, time and all our resources to get her to the beautiful condition that she was when we sold her, and we were proud of her. She had been our home, giving shelter to our growing family; she had looked after us when we were at sea keeping us safe; she has shown us that you can still tread lightly on this beautiful planet and lead a decent life, albeit simple, with no electricity, scarce fresh water, and learning to distinguish between the important things in life and the frills. She taught us to live in the now, in the moment, currently a popular practice known as mindfulness.
She allowed us to make a living during our years of chartering in Scotland, for which I am very grateful. She had been the catalyst for us meeting some amazing people whom we would never had met had we not lived the life that we did; she changed lives and saved lives - literally. Separate chapters are to come of the Romances of Britannia and Life-saving Skills of Britannia! She has brought people together from totally different backgrounds showing them an alternative lifestyle and the abundance of wild life in the sea that is hard to forget. The exhilaration of sailing at 10 knots with just the strength of the wind - no noise or smells from an engine, just the swish of her slicing through the waves and the wind whistling in the rigging, is an unforgettable experience. People who sailed on her had often never sailed on a boat before, let alone sailed in the wild places of the Highlands where we took them, and they loved it, and fell in love with her - as can be seen from the numbers of people who are helping to support her now when she really needs it.. and for us, getting back in touch with our sailing friends has been a wonderful experience and a real bonus in taking on this project. Another huge positive is meeting new people who have been attracted by the Britannia magnet and are touched by her story.
We sailed at night sometimes, by moonlight, watching the phosphorescence in the water and shooting stars. We were in awe of the power of the sea and the wind and sometimes fearful - but oh how it made you feel alive! The smell of a wooden boat, like an old aeroplane, is so evocative and individual - linseed oil, stockholm tar, woodsmoke from our little pot stove, delicious food and home baking in the galley, - the sea itself, so fresh and pure. But, and here is the rub, the sea is no longer the cleansing environment that it once was. In fact it is being poisoned by humanity's unsustainable lifestyles. Waste pollution, chemical pollution and now the rising sea temperatures should be a flashing red light. If the seas die, our species will have no future. The UN resolution passed in triumph last year, may be too late. We have to act now and force our governments to make unpopular and difficult decisions, for example a total ban on fossil fuels. But oil companies are very powerful, as are the countries that supply them. And some governments are in their thrall. Thomas Jefferson said "the care of human life is the only legitimate goal of good government" How true.
When Britannia came back into our lives in September 2013, Sam and I were very reluctant to get involved again. We were of the opinion that It was a chapter that was over, finished. We weren't sure what we were going to do in our retirement, but it would not have anything to do with boats we thought! But Britannia tugged at our hearts and we could not turn our backs on her once we saw the poor condition that she was in. What is interesting though, is that we now have a focus instead of being a bit aimless - a sad condition that can prevail in retirement! What we have been thinking about lately is that Sam and I are very fortunate to be healthy and fit for our ages. At 72 and 68 neither of us feel our age, and we still have energy. We don't want to waste the years that we have left being a bit irrelevant and looking for things to fill our day. So having the opportunity to save Britannia for a second time is now our focus for the moment, but also, the purpose of saving her this time is maybe her most important role yet. To broaden her influence, using her magic and the attraction she holds for people, to try to spread the word about the terrible damage that we are doing to our planet, particularly the oceans. She was built as a sailing boat without an engine a hundred years ago. We want her to sail again as a flagship, with a zero carbon footprint if we can, raising awareness of global warming and climate change, the biggest threat to our civilisation today.
We have led busy lives working to raise our family, and we are lucky to be retired now, with no responsibilities but we are in the privileged position, like many of our generation, of having time, energy and the fitness to spend the small time that we have left, (hopefully they will be years!) to do more for our beautiful planet. And maybe spread a little happiness and have some fun on the way? So thank you, Britannia for giving us this opportunity...
