To be by the sea
One of the things I love telling people about Adam is about his job as a professional pirate.
Yep, I’ll just put that one out there and give you a chance to think about it…
In reality, although he does have to pretend to be a pirate on occasions, he is official title is in reality an engineer on a boat which acts as a training platform for the Navy and MOD. They do all sorts of various drills, but some of which are specific piracy training (and yes, involving the crew all being pirates).
I’m surrounded by people who love the sea. Maybe that’s part of living in the south west and surrounded by some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Though saying that, although my Dad spent a huge amount of his childhood and teenage years sailing, I’d actually only sailed a handful of times before I met Adam.
I’m not going to lie, one of the things that really attracted me to his dating profile was that fact that he volunteers for a children’s sailing charity. I’m also fully resigned to the fact his other love of his life is very much a curvy and high maintenance beauty.
Mvu (in South African, this means Hippo apparently), his Hurley 22, is a wonderful little white and blue yacht. Though requiring far more time off the water maintaining her than hours spent sailing her on the sea, he does love her. (Though someone did describe yacht ownership once to me akin to standing in the shower ripping up money, and they weren’t far wrong!).
I spent a wonderful few years living very close to the sea in Falmouth, and in that time tried to spend as much time in and around the water as possible. Gig rowing, wild swimming, SUP, kayaking and some rather failed attempts at surfing to name a few…
However, since having access to a boat, a proper sail powered boat, it’s brought a whole new meaning to spending time by the sea. I’m still no expert, in fact, I’d feel pretty useless even in comparison to most of the kids Adam coaches, but I really enjoy it and I’m keen to learn more.
We even had the opportunity whilst in Turkey to hire yachts for some bearboating whilst Adam was working on flotillas, though drifting around in blissful sunshine and skinny dipping in the warm bathwater-like sea out there was not quite like it is here! I’ve teamed up with Elma Humphries to talk about what makes the sea so special to me, as I loved those holidays, and hope we can have some rewarding few weeks on the high seas again. Perhaps drifting around the Med, island hopping from place to place, or seeing more of the Caribbean? I would love to see the Fjords, Iceland and the Arctic too, can you imagine that from the vantage point on a ship?
Whether you’ve spent time just paddling, walking along cliff tops, or sailing the world on a luxury cruise, I’m a great believer that salt water is a cure for many ails and in moments of celebration or sadness, as a family we’ve always headed to the nearest beach.
The sea, to me, has been the focal point of many of my favourite memories, and long may that remain.
***This post was a collaboration, but as ever, all content and opinions are my own***
