My love affair with the sea

Rainbow over Dragon Bay

The MV Berlin

I did not see an ocean or sea until the summer before my 17th birthday. It was not an auspicious introduction.
We had boarded the MS. Berlin, a passenger liner which had regularly ferried people between the Old World and the New. Though by today’s standards she would be subpar, for 1958, she was luxurious.  Once all luggage was stowed, cabin assignments sorted out, on board rules & regulations explained, drawings of the various parts of the ship, stores, eating facilities, library, bars, swimming pool, etc, I immediately went below to our cabin & lay down. I don’t now remember where the rest of my family members were, but I was the only one in our cabin. After about 15 minutes, a knock came & one of the ship’s officers told me to get up & get on deck, no matter how terrible I felt. He assured me that if I did not do this, I would spend the rest of the crossing in my bed. I heeded his advice & the scene on deck was not pretty. Many were leaning over the railing, doing what my mother called “feeding the fish”.

However, the officer turned out to be right & the nausea slowly subsided & as the clouds cleared & the sky brightened, I felt much better. I could now marvel at the vastness of the sea, the gulls that followed us, the hum of the engines & all was well with the world.

The passage took 12 days with a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On-board life was wonderful, with any number of activities, shuffle board, swimming, dancing at night, lounging in the cool sun on deck chairs, with drinks being served by stewards.

​There was one other storm to weather but by then I had my sea legs & could only be amused by the storm’s effect. I was swimming & suddenly all the water sloshed out of the pool, overflowing the surrounding tiles & I was on my stomach in an empty pool.

​The arrival in New York was suitably impressive with Lady Liberty on guard.

We settled in Chicago & it was another 7 years before I saw the sea again. For my second encounter it was the Pacific Ocean in Acapulco, Mexico where a friend & I had gone on vacation. This sea was magnificent with deep colors, a white, sand beach & a great variety of sea birds to watch. Swimming was so easy, the salt water so much more buoyant, the water warm, compared to Lake Michigan waters. I couldn’t get enough of it.

The next year, another friend & I went to Mexico again, this time to Puerto Vallarta, which then was just a sleepy village with 2 hotels. By now I was truly in love with the sea.

  Two years after this trip, in 1968, I went on a Windjammer cruise to the West Indies & saw the Atlantic as well as the Caribbean Sea. It was pure magic, with snorkeling over pristine coral reefs, lazing on powdery white beaches & I was hooked for life.
In 1971 I returned to the West Indies, where my then husband & I ran a large sailing passenger boat for 8 months until it  was sold.
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Our cruises went from the south, the Grenada Grenadines to north, the St. Vincent Grenadines. The seas were kind, the colors magnificent. My crew worked hard to allow me the most time to swim & snorkel, we had lobster every week, life was grand. While negotiations were going on to sell the boat, we were anchored in Trinidad, the Gulf of Paria, with Venezuela visible on clear days. After she was sold, we went to England & I met a very different sea. The North Sea is dramatic, restless, cold, temperamental but awe inspiring to watch. Swimming was a shock to me after the warm waters of Mexico & the West Indies, but that was not the only North Sea experience. My then husband & I bought a coasting freighter to carry general cargo to the Scandinavian countries, Poland, Holland, Belgium & England. We did this for the better part of 9 months.

​The North Sea demands great respect. It can be the roughest, most frightening monster or it can be a marvel of nature, from pancake ice in the Norwegian Fjords to the placid green of the open stretches to the northern lights. When rough, you just hope to either die on the spot or pray for stepping ashore the soonest possible. I remember one particularly bad storm, sitting in my cabin, watching through the port hole, the violent peaks and valleys created by the powerful waves; the pitching of our vessel, making a mockery of the horizon line.  And yet, I loved this awesome sea.

And so, in 2013, we retired & chose Grenada as our permanent home. I now look out at the Caribbean Sea from my house. She is placid, but never the same on any given day. I sit & watch her moods through all seasons & she soothes my soul. Several times a week I go swimming. The water carries me, caresses me, restores me. The beach is ideal for a long walk, people watching, watching boats of all kinds come & go. I look at the tourists & think, they pay thousands of dollars for this & it’s mine any day of the week. I never lose sight of the fact that I’m very fortunate. The sea is my restorative medicine; my friend for the rest of my life.

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