Sailing Fiji, Vanuatu and into the unknown

 

Plans made.  Flight purchased.  Butterflies in the stomach.  Excitement in the air.  I'm off to join the Nola for another South Pacific surfing/sailing voyage!  Length of journey and final destination unknown.  The feeling I have right now is as good as it gets... this is what gets me amped, this shit right here, making big life-altering decisions in the blink of an eye, just going for it!  Life is getting shorter every day, gotta take advantage of the time left.

 

A tattoo on my shin says: Abenteuerlust, which, in German, means spirit of adventure, similar to the more common term: Wanderlust, the urge or desire to wander.

This ideology has got it's roots firmly planted in my mind.  I have trouble staying in any one place for long periods of time.  Unsettled restlessness.  My soul needs to see new things, meet new people, just experience newness... and there's a calling for me to be somewhere other than the place I ever am, but at the same time I crave security, organization and a place to call home where I can put down roots.  I enjoy feeling settled... for a while, then I get the itch.  There's always an internal conflict going on.  It's a vicious but enlightening cycle of madness.  The little Devil on one shoulder is yelling at me, saying screw it and go, move, travel, seek, explore, fly by the seat of your pants and create the adventure of your life and never look back.  The little Angel on the other is whispering things about keeping momentum in my career, planning ahead, getting in a comfortable routine and settling down in one spot for more than 6 months.  It's way more fun to listen to the little Devil but as with all things in life, I have realized there has to be a balance.  A Yin and a Yang.  So, I figure I might as well go party with the Devil for a while until the Angel speaks up a bit louder.  But then again... is the Devil really the Angel?

And with a little irony, I leave to join the Nola on the exact same day, one year ago, where I stepped foot back onto good ol' New Zealand soil after being stuck at sea for 20 days in The Crossing from Hell.  And as I write this, a year ago, I was probably saying goodbye to Nola and her crew in Tonga for what I thought might be the last time as I boarded the French vessel bound for NZ.  But... life is full of pleasant surprises.  Nola (and Cloud Break) here I come!!!