RIDING THE WIND

Friends:

A little less than a week ago we showed up at Penns Landing Marina on the east end of Tortola.  It’s located in Fat Hogs Bay (love that name, gotta learn its origin, have only seen goats and chickens on the roads so far).  Our boat was waiting on the dock.   A few basics were accomplished that first afternoon (moving the bags aboard, making the berth, buying a few groceries, beginning to check the condition of the systems – water, electric, engines, dinghy, etc.).   That was Wednesday November 4.    On Friday, we assisted in servicing the two diesel engines (changing filters, tightening belts, changing oil) and learned much.  By Saturday, we were happy to leave the dock and its noise, for the quiet of a mooring ball about 150 feet away. 

Saturday happened to be the day that the latest tropical depression/storm came through.  Hopefully it will be the last of the season.  The weather consumed nearly everyone’s thoughts as the front edge of clouds and rain showers approached on Friday.  But Saturday was to beat the band!  Twice a squall line pushed through.  In a matter of minutes the winds grew from 5 to 35 mph and the rain was so heavy that we couldn’t see the dock from the boat, or the boat from the dock.  For the second of these little moments, we were caught in our dinghy, getting sopping wet, bouncing along and trying to return to our boat.  And we’re happy to report that Azure Wind rode both moments nicely.

Looking across the dock at the gathering storm

It was the day before, however, that I noticed out in the bay activity I had not anticipated seeing.  Approaching storms with growing winds are a kite-boarder’s dream.  These folks put their feet on a surfboard and they hang on to the lines of a foil kite and slide back and forth across the bays.  Apparently the east end is a favorite spot because it is the most exposed to the approaching storms that usually come from the east across the Atlantic. 

Pretty sure that's Clive

One person’s nightmare can be another person’s dream come true!  So it is with the yacht broker who sold us our boat.  Clive Allen is his name.  Such a British name, Clive.  He’s the Energizer Bunny of Tortola, we think.  For his vacation last May he and his wife flew to the southern end of the Caribbean to Aruba to do a little kite-boarding.   Clive has sailed all over the world, bringing boats across both the Atlantic and the Pacific and has wound up in Tortola.  Kite boarders and surf boarders among others are folks who, in approaching danger, see an opportunity for a great experience and will take risks to engage the moment.  I know it’s a sport.  But it’s the Gospel, too. 

Living the faith is not about safety nets, snuggling down, holing up until the storms pass, and the controversies settle out (which they seldom do).  It’s engaging with heads up the moments God gives to us and doing so with an eye for the opportunity, a heart for the joy that may well be discovered, and a trust and hope that in all things, we can work and live for God's good.   I admire the ones who have traveled to places near and far in the name of the Gospel, exposed themselves to dramatically different cultures, to share in some way the love and hope of Christ, and then discovered the common bonds of humanity and faith. 

One person’s nightmare can be another person’s dream come true!  It’s even better when our own nightmares wind up becoming God’s opportunity we never expected to encounter!

Dave

PS:  We have inherited two paddleboards with Azure Wind.  They look rather subdued compared to those kite boards.  They will be challenging enough for us.  And I can assure you that we’ll be enjoying them only in the calmest of bays, working hard to keep our balance. I promise a picture if I ever get to stay up long enough!