Some words from José
There are many things in life that we cannot change, things are what they are, the easiest example being weather: Today it’s raining!
So we are inside the boat watching the rain, drops falling from the sky. There are some snowy peaks and trees. There is an intense shade of green.
Today the stillness returned, we tied ourselves to the dock again so we belong again to a place, even if it’s for a few days, a few hours, an instant.
The journey began in slow motion, sailing against the wind and the current; then the wind calmed down and everything got better. Even the wind pushed us!
We had to break with the laziness of going out. On land I was comfortable, you begin to make friends, acquaintances, you get to know familiar places. And so we settle down and relax.
It was an incredible journey.
I travel to meet people, discover cultures, tastes, colors, flavors, smells, to see how the sun sets in different places. See how people live here and there, that there is not just one way to live.
I also like to see what’s what people enjoys.
Among the few years that I have been traveling and living there is one thing that I love to see in people: what they are passionate about, what they love.
It can be a carpenter, a baker, a mother who prepares food for her son before going to school. When people do what they really love they have a sparkle in their eyes, their energy is completely different, boundless.
Ever since I got aboard this boat I have this feeling of being close to people who are doing what they really want to do. Here and now.
Everything changes when people are present, comfortable with what they are doing.
A welder that I knew told me once with the ship in the shipyard: You cannot weld thinking about anything other than welding. The same can be said of the carpenter who has to pay attention to what he does with the hammer.
Passion leads us to get the best of ourselves regardless of our age. There is no age to do what we like, energy comes from within.
There are thousands of people who make every day what they are passionate about: artisans, musicians, poets… People who surrender to their love of art without going beyond than doing their work, for others, to share, to make this world better.
Those people inspire me how to live.
Sailing for several days is always good. I recommend a long voyage a year: At least 10 days away from all human presence, the crew on board aside.
It is relaxing to see how much there is that we do not really need from land. To remember that we do not belong to any country, simply to our ship, because yes, the ship comes always first, ever vigilant to everything that happens to her: how much is that reef working, if it’s making the sail suffer, always present a little cleanliness, order and empathy… “now it moves less, now it is much faster.” These are the kind of things that go through our minds during a journey. After all it is our home.
I don’t know what all this has to do with sailing. I can assure you that you cannot pretend that you like to sail to remote places: It is cold in Summer, it rains, there are many hours of light, and there’s a lot of wind.
The truth is that I like this, and I return even if the conditions are not the best. Today I am where I want to be. I do not think of any other place than here in this boat moored to some truck tires to a floating pontoon, on a sky that never darkens
José Gritti
Tromsø, 29 th June 2021.
