Her, as the sailors call her, for that feminine quality that is attractive much as a woman is.
Although when one is a sailor, it probably changes a lot.
On land you leave behind a big piece of your heart, and the other piece you take with you in order to keep living from that which you yourself have chosen which fills you with passion. You clamber up the boat ladder, always counting the same fifty or so steps (*see note at the end) and the first few days it´s quite difficult to leave behind millions of memories joyful knowing that you will soon to live them out.
And you look at the perfect line of the horizon… It´s always so far away! Sometimes the sky and the sea seem to be sewed together by the dolphins jumping in and out of the water, as if they were stitches in a great fabric. The dawns are unforgettable, and sailing through the mysterious night… Its is deductive and magical to know that those same dolphins sleep with one eye open, perhaps to take in every detail of our passing, or so my tuition tells me. I often wonder how one must feel in the absolute darkness of a night during a new moon in the middle of the ocean…
For days upon end the only thing that you can see is water all around you, and other ships, transporting sailors, each one with his own history, an moreover, of course the sailing colleagues that move about here and there, diligent to their labour. The working hours are intense depending on the seas. The duty time on the bridge demand your constant concentration which quite often leaves one exhausted. The ship is in your hands. The sensation of handling something so big and powerful must be imposing. Absolute responsibility on the bridge with dozens of apparatus to control, hundreds of buttons to push, a course to maintain and problems to solve.
I believe that very few people have put themselves in the shoes of these people who spend months on end in salty waters. Sailors, soldiers, etc. Hard work yours is… But exciting and precious at the same time. I would like to give thanks to the whole crew who have the arduous task and courage to be away from home for so long.
You are always welcome. We are waiting for you.
And the sailors, with the big desire to meet you.