Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dreams of the Sea

I have been dreaming the past few nights about kayaking. I have absorbed myself with sailing in the past year, buying a boat and learning to sail, equipping her for short journeys; so I have neglected kayaking, and like a jealous lover She is angry and she keeps me awake at night with her love and need of attention. I was never ´introduced´ to kayaking by anyone, I bought my sea-kayak before i ever sat in one. I fell in love with the idea of kayaking, it was my transport, instead of the road my traveling companion was the boat, and the motorways of the world the tide. I am not a river person, although I love all types of water, my affection is for the sea as it is a real lover - dangerous, forever changing, supportive, constant, beautiful and unpredictable. I spent the winter of 2005 searching for my kayak and when I bought her I paddled her the first day in the small river next to my house. I capsized of course and trapped her between the two banks of the river as she was too long to turn, the water flooded into the cockpit and I had to jump out in freezing water and pull her around before she snapped in two. The next journey was from that same river down to the sea. I thought it would take a few hours but it took me all through the night and by 5am I had reached the sea and saw the dawn greet me and I slept by the incoming tide. In the years that i have kayaked I seen many dawns, and many beautiful places that I would not have seen otherwise, kayaking is a window to the world and a new atlas to open. So it is time I started kayaking again and revisit those times that were alone but not lonely.

(The music to this video was played by myself and friends, myself on mandolin)