Monday, June 12th 2023
There are times in your life when you are humbled by the people you meet. Such an occasion occurred here in ShearWater, Bella Bella. Geoff is the manager of the ShearWater Marina where we are staying. He is a friendly, helpful Canadian with a gregarious personality and an amazing story.
The journey Marlene and I are on this summer is the farthest north we have ever cruised and “already” we have had more than one or two sleepless nights. Enter in Geoff who owns a 40 Corbin 39 sailboat, “S/V Dawn Flight,” which he and his wife Mollie built. Jeff and Mollie have been living and sailing on their boats for 37 years. You heard that right, 37 years. Together they have circumnavigated the globe.
Geoff was a naval officer by training. He became a naval officer at 18th years of age, the youngest officer in the fleet. Mollie, who would become his lifetime partner, whom he met at a swimming pool when she was 16. She went on to train as a nurse. Then together they planned their adventure. Geoff entered into corporate life as a CFO for an Oil Company, but longed to get back on the sea. And so they did. They’re purchased their first boat in 1976 in Taiwan. They sailed her through the Suez Canal and into Europe. From 1990 to 1994 they sailed around the world.
In 2000 to commentate the millennium they sailed to Panama to the Easter Islands. They were the first boat in 2000 to anchor in the Easter Islands. Geoff and Mollie now spend their winters in Mexico and sail back to ShearWater for the summers.
I remember when I retired from tech 8 years ago. Several close friends advised me to not retire quite yet. “Greg, once you jump off the treadmill they will forget you quickly.” Whispering to myself I said, “I hope so.”
This year marks my 50th High School reunion (which I will not be attending because I will be in Alaska—God willing). The list of the dearly departed I have been reading about on our FaceBook page is staggering. What I’ve learned in my elder years is this: life is short, and it keeps getting shorter the longer you live. And the only thing you can take with you to your grave are your memories. With the love of my life, Marlene, I am trying to take as many memories with me as possible.
