Sail Crete

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Sunday, October 24
We’ve left! I really can’t explain why I wanted out so badly, except perhaps by saying that everyone we talked to there was either just visiting or only staying because of some unavoidable reason. No one seemed to really want to be there, there was always a mother or daughter or fish or some reason. The trip to Crete, however, was absolutely brutal! The winds were still pretty nasty, but we raised the mainsail to about half just to help with the bouncing around on the massive swells. On top of all of that, the motor started inexplicably revving down occasionally. The by word of the trip so far seems to be “catastrophe,” pronounced without the “-e”. It’s very Greek. The nice thing about all of that is that everyone on the boat can laugh about all these little things, so the whole experience is fun and exciting, instead of stressful. We have elected not to round the point and continue to Sitia, so we have found a very quiet bay with beautiful beaches and orchards on all of the hillsides. I don’t know what it’s called but I could really see staying here for a month or so, renting a little room and a moto so I could zip around to all of the towns close by, go for hikes in these really beautiful hills. The ride with Julio may have been somewhat awkward, but the freedom of the little bike was pretty sweet! There is lots of space here; it’s the first time that we’ve anchored in an in-between place, with some buildings, but no town. I like that. Somehow the door to my cabin pulled off while the guys were investigating the motor stored between to the aft cabins, under the stairs. Catastroph. It seems to be working again now, though. I finished Ambrose’s Crazy Horse and Custer today, during the crossing. I may be the only person on board that doesn’t feel queasy below decks occasionally. Much of what bothered me in that book makes sense now, after reading Jimmy Durham’s essay “Cowboys and …”. Durham addresses the American myth and how the foundation of the American Dream is inherently flawed. The whole thing is very 70’s and somewhat extreme, but it much more appealing to me than Ambrose’s casual use of the word savage, and the assumption that his description of Natives as lazy and without personal motivation. He proves himself wrong over and over without seeming to realize it. Ah well, this should make for an interesting class period when I return.

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