From Makkum to Canaries
We cast off in Makkum, The Netherlands, on October 11, 2021, and today, October 19, we are a few miles from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, where we will remain for a few days before leaving again to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Then we will start sailing down to Puerto Williams, Chile.
Since our sailing began, I have dedicated myself to observing the sea, the life on board, and the particular features of this vessel. Thus, during the first days at sea, I have been reminded of Bernard Moitessier, who said that his real job as a navigator was to listen to the whispers of his yacht, which, like all sailboats, spoke only in monosyllables.
Then I began to hear, one ear to windward, and the other to leeward:
The noise of the rigging; a sail swelling in the wind; the sea under the proud bow; water sliding down the hull that I can observe through a skylight. The sails are also billowing, footsteps can be heard on deck. The vibration of the engine… I hear the voices of the Vinson of Antarctica, which is alive as a puppet can be: with her lines, shrouds and seafaring maneuvers.
Painting by Cristian Abelli
There is also the presence of another philharmonic on board, made of the sea, the wind, and the infinite variations of the waves. A whole chamber orchestra, sometimes illuminated by the moon, which is a first-rate presence in the maritime landscape. I sit to observe from the bow, especially to watch the horizon as the days go by, ultimately to be able to perceive the transformations of the landscape, to be a witness of change. To be present in front of the most absolute beauty.
When we passed off Guernsey, I relived the reading of Toilers of the Sea, a book written by Victor Hugo that sets on that island the drama that occurs at the moment when sailing ships begin to be replaced by steamships. The engine appears, that is, fire at sea, and everything changes forever.
Victor Hugo visualizes early on the qualities that differentiate the sailor from the rest of the people, and creates his own Ulysses, whom he baptizes Gilliat. This solitary sailor, Gilliat, is a hero capable of speaking the very dialect of the tides; he is a being who interprets the signs of the sea and guides his own soul with a wild compass. Victor Hugo embodies all the author’s love for the ocean.
Painting by Cristian Abelli
Science, and the new understanding of the cosmos, naturally influence Victor Hugo's perception of the planet Earth, but in his long ramblings about Nature one can still perceive the belief in the God of the Sea, the God of the Wind, the Wave Goddess and the squid monster. The book is permeated with his own vision of the universe and that pantheism.
If we move to the present, I am aware that sailors need a meteorological bulletin as concrete as possible, but my internal barometer tells me that meteorology must also be endowed with mythology. We must not abandon that creative capacity spread by Victor Hugo throughout his novels. Sailing is of interest to me because it restores the original relationship we once had with the elements of this world. To sail is to transform the primitive into something primordial.
There are only a few hours left to reach dry land, and for a few days we will leave the kingdom of the sea, a place where the sun becomes a lighthouse and the waves are really a fruit cultivated by the wind.
Domingo Abelli Ossandón
Filmmaker
