boating – Intuition Diaries

When we take our boat out for excursions, our devotion to the trip happens well before we leave for our destination.

We have been dreaming and preparing and practicing over the last ten years for this particular trip. When we first got the boat, I remember promising myself and Les that for boating to remain fun, we’d have to plan on enjoying the packing, the trip and the unpacking. We weren’t done with a trip until those things happened.

As you might imagine this is an important attitude to maintain as we prepare for our Alaska trip. (This summer, we hope to explore what is called the Inside Passage in southeastern Alaska on our boat.) To embark on such an adventure has taken devotion, and we will need that intention as we move forward.

New Oxford American Dictionary defines devotion as, “love, loyalty or enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.” I am sure all of these elements will be tested in our pursuit of this dream of a lifetime trip.

Even as I write this blog post, we have devoted most of this past week to outfitting, updating and adding upgrades to our beloved Intuition. As a team, my husband and I have lovingly and with some frustration installed a windlass for the anchor, made space for a hot water heater under our sink, and made a storage bench to place in the back. Today, we will be removing, replacing and repairing deck pieces in the cockpit or the “back porch” of the boat, as I like to call it.

All of this takes time, expense and a lot of strong words (or praying) to make it all work out. We have been pleased with the money we have saved, despite the setbacks, by doing our own wiring and plumbing. My job has mostly been to admire my husband’s workmanship, but I’ve also been on hand to measure, turn a screwdriver and problem solve when the process goes awry.

Pictured above is the wiring for all the electrical elements of the boat. Normally it is covered, and remains hidden above my head (on my side of the berth/bed.) At first glance it looks messy and convoluted, but really, it’s an elegant mess, which is really quite complex and necessary. If one wire is misplaced or dislodged then something is not going to work. It’s important to protect the “brain” of the boat. By working together, I have gained a greater appreciation for all the intricacies of the innards of the Intuition. As I looked at the wires, I gained a greater appreciation for the human brain, and how important and complex a gift it is. I often take my brain for granted, but today, I am more aware and ever so grateful that the Master Electrician wired me just the way I am.

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God–you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made!” (Psalm 139:13 The Message)

Paris Landing State Park Marina, Kentucky Lake, Tennessee

…and they had not even leisure enough to eat. (Mark 6:31 AMP)

Below is a conversation I overheard in the pages of Ray Bradbury’s book called, Fahrenheit 451. I’m half quoting snippets, so as to whet your appetite to read the book. (For this same reason, I often share partial quotes from the Scriptures.) Enough explaining, here you go!

Faber: Well– suppose you tell me why you came here?

Montag: I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy.

Faber goes on to tell him there are three things people need. He reiterates the first, and then reveals the second, as their conversation continues:

Faber: Well, there we have the first thing I said we need. Quality, texture of information.

Montag: And the second?

Faber: Leisure.

When I think of leisure, my step-father wearing a powder blue, polyester blend leisure suit strolls across my mind. He wore it the day he married my mom. Of course, that’s how I remember it, and he might have been wearing a white cowboy hat, however my mom or my sisters might recall the details differently. And it is common that people from the same family can and do have variations on a memory.

I have the leisure to entertain such memories, and even wonder why that particular one crossed my mind today. But since I have the time, I’m going to put that memory aside for now, and tell you that this particular trip has been marked by leisure.

I have been surprised by the ease that we changed our expectations for this trip, and literally our direction. It’s very quiet and peaceful here on Kentucky Lake, but there’s a spirit of relaxation that pervades our very being. We are meandering south towards Pickwick Lake, where we will decide whether or not it’s feasible to still spend a month near a beach in Florida.

Usually by now I have some great story to tell about how we overcame this or that obstacle. I can’t describe how I’m feeling or what this trip is like without using the word leisure. We are at leisure to cruise across the lake and stay anchored out in a bay, to swim in the unseasonably warm water with our dog, and get up the next morning to go further south.

After a couple hours of choppy passage, and feeling a bit worn down by the waves crashing into our vessel, we turned off into a marina around 10 o’clock in the morning. And to my delight, my husband suggested that we just stay here for the day. Why fight the wind? (Normally, we have a tight agenda and ports to get to by nightfall.) But not this time. We have leisure.

I love to cook efficiently and creatively on the boat. I stock our pantry with items that I can throw together, like mac and cheese and tuna. And we grill enough chicken for two or three meals. I take pictures of the food, because I can. I enjoy the colors and textures of each meal, as well as the aromas and appetizing flavors. And afterwards I don’t even mind doing the dishes.

Living in this small space has it’s challenges, like the four totes stacked in a space behind my seat, which I’ve fondly been calling the four levels of hell, because I have to move them every time I need a jacket or a can of green beans or the hose that’s stored in the storage area built into the floor. The physicality of moving stuff around and finding what we need adds to the enjoyment of these leisurely days.

We often think leisure means doing nothing, but to me leisure means having a choice about what I do. Living here on the boat affords me time to explore my creativity, and try different creative outlets, like cooking, painting a watercolor scene or making palette charts in my art journal. And of course, photo documenting as I go.

Whenever we go on a trip like this, I think why don’t I bring some of this efficiency and leisure home? And then when I reflect over the past few years, the leisure of boating has seeped into my daily life, and for this I am ever thankful.

I don’t want a life of leisure to only happen, when I am away. I want leisure and adventure to accompany me in the midst of all the comings and goings of each day.

How are you going to incorporate leisure and adventure into your daily life?