Last summer I rode in a catamaran sailboat from Carriacou Island in Grenada to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and back. It sounded like fun for our family and it was! I didn’t realize how much I would learn about life on a sailboat, but also about life.
At first I was a little nervous as the boat rocked back and forth. I hung on tightly as my 16 year old son took it all in ease, climbing all over the boat. After awhile, especially when watching the boat owners, Gi and Lien, I started to relax and enjoy myself.
“The water is calmer in the bay” Lien told us on our first night. She said they always try to find a place to spend the night that is protected by land, such as a bay or harbor because the waves are not as rough. It was a little piece of info that I picked up and dropped in my pocket.
On our last night we sailed into Carnash Bay on the North end of Mayreau Island, the smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines.
While we were there we swam in the bay over to the beach. This beach was part of a narrow strip of land that runs from the main part of the island to a much smaller piece of it. From the boat we could see it had some vegetation and trees running along it and could also see water and the sky beyond that, but it was hard to really get a good view of the other side of the strip – at least when I was not wearing my glasses!
When I got to the beach I walked the few steps across it to the center of the strip of land so I could see the other side better.
Here, I stood, halfway between the two beaches, and looked from one side to the other side over and over again. I was surprised how different the beaches and water behavior were.
It wasn’t like a major storm on one side and glass waters on the other. Most people looking at it may not have noticed a big difference. However, at that moment it made all the difference for me. On the ocean side, the waves were choppier with sprays of white on top and on the bay side the waves were more like a soft blanket gently tossed up on the sand.
I began to think of I all I had ever heard about harbors. The Oxford English dictionary defines harbor as “a place on the coast where ships may moor in shelter, especially one protected from rough water by piers, jetties, and other artificial structures.” Intellectually, I knew what “safe harbor” meant any time I heard it, but until that point the definition didn’t mean anything to my heart.
Now I felt the meaning behind the words. I understood so much better the peace that comes from staying in a harbor. The rest you can get away from the rough waters. My eyes and heart were opened to how much deeper the meaning went.
This website is your internet harbor. A place sheltered from the rough waters of financial troubles, political bickering, family struggles and personal trials. A place where you can find rest or hope, or compassion so when you head back into the choppy waves again, you are strengthened and ready to man the boat. Until then, this is your cove, your safe place, your respite. This is home.