Holding hands with Mrs B

Date & Time 25-12-2011 0000hrs (GMT +10) 
Yo Ho Ho Merry Christmas 
Position:- 04* 45’.2 S. 133* 14’.4 E 
Course:- 285* 
Speed:- 3 Knots 
Wind:- NW 30 Knots (Force 7 Moderate Gale) 
Sea State:- Rather Rough (5 to 8 feet, Sea heaps up. White foam form breaking waves beginning to be blown in streaks along the direction of the waves) 
Weather:- Overcast(Complete cloud cover) 
Temp 80F 
(Wind Sea & Weather are all taken from the Beaufort notation to indicate the given conditions) 
Distance to go:- 2020 nautical miles 

We have been encountering strong head winds all day (in gusts up to 50 knots) and this has been holding our speed back. Also our assist tug has had to reduce power for a while due to an engine cooling problem which tirned out to be a plastic bag taken in through the sea suction. 
Although all clear we have had to slow down due to the slamming effect of the larger waves that have built up in the windy conditions. 
Our position specific forecast is for reducing wave and winds 
We are about 35 miles north of Nuhu Cut island which is just above the center of the chart 

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/NGAViewer/73020.shtml 
The music of the day is this because I adore this track, the sheer drama of it and her soaring voice. 
Dont forget to sing along.  
Loud and proud  
Don't be shy just sing as though no one was listening. 

I will give you a clue to see if you know what it is before you open it 

And I cry sometimes, when I'm lying in bed 
just to get it all out, whats in my head, 
And I'm feeling a little peculiar. 

Can you tell what it is yet? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc








Holding hands with my wife when out shopping, browsing, or just strolling along, never fails to lift my heart and provide my face with the distracted half-smile of the content.

I find the simple and unconscious way our hands find each others, the smooth fit of them together and the natural feeling of warmth and love we extend to each other through the connection, to be one of life’s great joys.

It is something we started on our first walk when I offered my hand to help her up the slope of the Chesil Bank at West Bay 26 years ago, neither of us blushed and it seemed correct so we didn’t let go. (We hadn't even kissed then)

It is one of the many things about our togetherness and love that I miss when I am away at sea. The physical joining of hands with the one I love and the sheer pleasure and comfort it brings.

We are quite a tactile couple and one reasons is because of our regular separation, due to my work, and our willingness and desire to be “in touch” for the entire time I am home. Holding hands is a manifestation of that shared want.

There is a sense of reassurance for us that this is not our imaginations, or dreams, but a very real and vivid moment that we have both been eagerly anticipating. We are together, as one, so it makes perfect sense to be in physical contact when we can.

As I write I realise that there comes a time when your partner is the only person (and vice versa) you can both comfortably feel at ease with to hold hands as you walk, although in some cultures that is different.   

It is a feeling completely apart from the nurturing or protective holding hands that you do with your children when they are young.

That sort of holding hands gives a different feeling and has an altrntaive importance for you both. For them it is knowing that they safe by your side and for you the satisfying and instinctive knowledge that you are looking out for them.

Sadly (and all to quickly for you), and as good sign of healthy confidence and development from them, there comes a day when they no longer reach for your hand out of habit, or they no longer make their hand available when you reach for it. They are saying “It’s alright dad I’ve got it”.

I remember the day when I realised that neither of my children held my hand anymore when we went into town but I cant remember the day that it stopped happening. It just evolved.

I know that it instilled in me a sense of loss, or worse still that I had missed an important event in their lives, but I didn't beat myself up over it as I also understood it was part of the growing up process that all parents have to endure.

What I do remember is when I was going up into town with my daughter, just after her 18^th birthday, for some shopping and she slipped her arm though mine as we walked. Although it was easy and natural I nearly burst with pride and joy and she still does it now if we are off out anywhere together.

It is the same feeling I get every time my son and I perform our special handshake.

At the same time I am sure we would all appear (and feel) a bit weird if we held hands when we walked. In fact I am laughing about how it would look as I type as I know they will if they read this.

I have never seen it occur so I wonder if I am alone in this, or do other people hold hands with their grown up children when they walk?

The good news is that I can content myself knowing that when my wife and I hold hands it is an unconscious, yet for us delicious, expression of our happiness and love.

This is for you MrsB if you are reading form the time when we first starting holding hands .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_brLP-PSCNk

Love and Peace

Bentley