Jack & Jude: Seven Seas

Jack and Jude © Jack and Jude

Late in the day, their rubber ducky pulls alongside and we welcomed aboard Rodney and his 13-year-old son Nicholas. Over a cuppa, we learned a lot about the good ship Seven Seas, down from Tassie's north coast so that Rodney and his lady can explore the forests and Gordon River with their son and 10-year-old daughter. We learned that Rodney is a ship's pilot working out of Burnie.

While down harbour, Jude had been busy putting the latest photos of our grandkids on the galley gallery, alongside those taken when we sailed around the world with our sons. And while Rodney and I exchanged notes on places not to miss in Macquarie Harbour, Nicholas asked if he could look below so Jude led him down the companionway. After he explored the cabins, from the cockpit I could hear her telling this young lad about our teenage grandsons and then heard Nicholas ask about the boy holding a sextant. Nicholas seemed intrigued by the photo of our youngest son Jerome, then himself thirteen, taking a sextant sight as the dark-blue deep ocean whisked past behind him. Later we heard that Nicholas' father had taught him about the old ways of navigating.

When they emerged from the forward area, I noticed Nicholas peek aft and motioned him to follow me into our cabin, which was a bit messier than usual with piles of our latest book being readied for mailing.

Picking up a copy, I showed this alert inquisitive young man a photo of my son next to a Moa on Easter Island and mentioned Jerome would have been his age when it was taken. Leafing forward a few pages was an image of our other son, Jason, standing on Dare-Devil Ridge on Malpelo Rock three hundred miles off the coast of Colombia. Then I flashed through several more pages with images of our sons steering and tending sails before handing the book to this perky, polite youngster on the cusp of manhood. With that, Nicholas sat quietly engrossed for the remainder of their visit.

Some may think we make oodles from selling our films and books, but that's far from the truth. To make money is not why we work so many long hours. It's complicated and yet so simple. From the beginning, Jack and Jude have always shared projects. It's the glue that bonds us so tightly. For us, life is a one-time journey that we want to be filled with every experience. It's not important that we stumble and fall learning new trades as long as we get up and try again to achieve our quest. Build our own boat - never did that before starting such a massive project. Build our own home - nor that. And yes, what the downers say is probably true, it would have been cheaper to get jobs and pay someone with the skills and tools to do that work. But, that's not the point. We gain knowledge from our hard work, and like building-blocks, that knowledge helps with the next challenge, until when you're an old-timer like we are now, our skillset is amazingly diverse and our confidence sky high.

But, I digress. That is not why we toil at writing and editing. Though the learning is part of the complexity, the most part is giving back some of the mountains of kindness that has been bestowed upon us by folks like you. That's what's so special about humanity. The kindness and helping hands we can give each other.

Nicholas went home with his own signed copy of Around the World with our best wishes and we were thrilled to have added to his enthusiasm for adventure.

This article has been provided by the courtesy of jackandjude.com