As I awake this morning, safe and secure aboard my 12-year-old magnificent catamaranl, I feel compelled to reminisce and share my memories with others. Most of us are living and experiencing an unprecedented and challenging time in our lives where the impact of human interchange and bonding has never been so dramatic and important.
Papillon was launched in 2007 from La Rochelle, France, aka my favorite Disneyland, and circumnavigated the Mediterranean, in time to join the ARC 2007 Atlantic crossing leaving from the Canary Islands. Final destination, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Having prior cruised under sail extensively I cannot emphasize the satisfaction of purchasing one’s sailing vessel at some distant part of the Globe and plotting a course for home
Papillon is configured as the ‘owner’s version’. Who would have known that “living aboard” was to be an inevitability sometime in the future? With the flick of a switch on these chilly mornings in the Pacific Northwest my factory installed heat pump kicks in and within 20 minutes, warm air is circulating. I feel blessed to be isolated in the waters off Thetis Island, British Columbia, Canada, amongst our First Nation people who will go the distance to offer up fresh prawns, Dungeness crabs, clams and salmon. Perhaps we should take note, as North Americans, of Michael Moore’s documentary, “Planet of the Human”. Is economic growth at any cost really worth it? Social growth, as Europeans appear to embrace, might encompass our collective thoughts as we spend these times to reflect and reminisce.
Casting my mind back 12 years I found myself in the company of an amazing individual, as we toured France, seeking out the origins and manufacturers of multihulls. Yes, I was smitten, after an exchange of e mails with www.aeroyacht.com and absorbing the details of his first book, I met the ‘Patron Saint’ of multihulls; Gregor Tarjan. His tireless energy, knowledge of multihulls and endless enthusiasm, left little doubt I was in good hands. If I was to recall one of his most notable attributes, it would be; Gregor never “bad mouthed” a design, configuration or layout of a multihull, he only pointed out the great features. I subsequently made my own choice. It occurs to me that this “creed” could also be applied to our fellow human beings.
If you run your finger West along Latitude 49, towards the Pacific, you will find Papillon, as this political boundary dissects my living platform…a coincidence or subliminal positioning?
Keep the Faith.
Lawrence
