TAKING RESPONSIBILITY: 5th International Marine Debris Conference…Words from Roz Savage
When I set out on this trip, I thought there would still be places where I could see what the Earth looked like prior to human impact. Sadly, I think I was wrong. Every place I have sailed has borne painful evidence of humanity’s maltreatment of the Earth. The coral is dying, fish populations are […]
May There be a ‘Pipeline’ up there…
With a heavy heart I readied Swell for sea again this week, mourning the loss of friend and underground waterman legend, Sion Milosky. I often reflected on stories about his boating adventures during my tough moments at sea. I’ll try to live on in the light of your courage…My deepest love and sympathy is with […]
Photo Roll, New Zealand
After 10 days or so, only certain twisting movements still hurt my knee. If I maintained mostly lateral movement, I could go without pain…so I put off seeing a doctor, and instead did my own rehabilitation which included icing and elevating, hot baths, arnica massages, and bike riding…and a rake treatment by the DJ at […]
For we never know how long we have…
My thoughts and love and heart and prayers are with all those affected by the events on Thursday…I cannot put sense to this kind of tragedy. From afar, the most positive way for me to deal with sorrow is to transform it into motivation. For those who won’t have the chance, I can further seek […]
Surf it for me, Katie!!
I limped off the plane and found myself in a new land, New ZEALand!! I limped onto the ‘people mover’ and the escalator, contemplating the bewildering speed of air travel. The Auckland airport was cool and neat, and the Queen’s English leapt boldly off the lips of airport officials, tickling my ears… When I saw […]
POP! A case of the back-leg blues…
A day before my flight, I jumped on my a friend’s boat who was headed toward the airport as an island version of ‘carpooling’…After a lovely passage, we dropped anchor and headed out for a sundown surf at the nearest pass… The afternoon crowd was thicker than my liking, so I decided to float on […]
Surrender to Impulse!
Every now and then, I find it healthy to succumb to urgent spontaneity… All points have converged on a small town in New Zealand, where two of my best friends BOTH happen to have ended up with their significant others, totally by chance…I’ve been telling Katie (my fondest female surf buddy) that I’d be arriving […]
Bilge Babe versus the Sanitation Hose…
Meet standard marine sanitation hose, my dreaded nemesis: At first glance, you don’t think much of it—it’s a blandly white, 1 ¾ inch-diameter plastic hose reinforced with wire. How evil could it be? It serves important plumbing functions, usually the dirtiest jobs aboard boats. But despite its beneficial qualities, the task of removing it or […]
From a day in the ‘Vortex’
Somewhere in my subconscious, I know its dawn. Force my eyes open, I roll out of bed for a peek…What? It’s pumping, again?! So much for sleeping in…Part of me hoped it would be flat after the week or more of non-stop swell… I wonder if my arms can take another day of this? Of […]
The First Rule of Sailing…
“You know what the first rule of sailing is? …Love. You can learn all the math in the ‘verse, but you take a boat to the sea you don’t love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she’s […]
