"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are
built for."
—J. A. Shedd.
(photo credit Jocelyn Cook)
Ships, a harbor, and being out on the water are essential parts of
my life, without question. But I don't own a boat, I am not a member of a yacht
club, and I depend on good friends who welcome me on the water, and on their
boats. I couldn't exist without the ocean, the sea breeze, and the constant
noise of seagulls, buoys, and waves. I literally have gained strength
from the sailors who have greeted me and made me feel welcome on their voyages.
For me, saying to someone, "Sure, I would love to come sailing with
you," is a full-on commitment to the waves, the storms, the wind, and so
much else. I fully admit that "Hey, Sailor!" is part of my
vocabulary, and I'm not sorry for it.
Recently I had the chance to sail with James Ashton, proprietor of
Sail Satori.com (https://www.sailsatori.com/) James is accomplished on the
water, as well as in the corporate world. In addition to being a Captain and
sailing instructor, James is also a life coach and executive coach/trainer.
He invited me on the Satori,
a Catalina Capri 22, which, in my own opinion, is the bomb. James was so
helpful because I'm often unsteady, even on dry land. The ocean is part of my
very soul, but I could fall on my face on flat dry pavement, during daylight
hours. Seriously, I barely get across my living room some days without kissing
the floor; being on a boat, with waves, lines, and the pitching sea, is a whole
other kettle of fish. While I love the sound of metal lines against the mast,
the clanging halyards, and the scent of the sea, I am, with no argument, a
noob. A "plebe" as my mother, a Navy veteran, would say. While I love
the sea, I am not a sailor.
(courtesy photo via James Ashton)
Despite all of that, James took me on. Sailing is his bailiwick,
and he nails it. He is committed to teaching, to passing on his love of the
ocean, its spiritual presence, and the gift of waves and wonder. While he spent
a good amount of time in the corporate world of media, marketing, and corporate
communications, his love of sailing and open water has been part of his heart for
decades. He told me that looking at a Styrofoam boat in a catalog when he was a
boy, was his first indication that he wanted to be on the water. He carried
around a picture of this basic boat, knowing that he would sail, someday.
Eventually, he made it, from Appleton, Wisconsin and Long Island Sound, to
Boston and finally Marblehead Harbor.
Guests aboard Satori can
learn basic sailing terms, how to tack, catch the wind and hoist the jib, but
they can also take in a sunset and just be. Plans include workshops in the
fall, in conjunction with Creative Spirit, a local center for creativity and
personal training that his partner, Peyton Pugmire, owns. Satori has hosted
people on silent sails (something I would fail miserably at), and in addition to
caring for the boat and her passengers, James is passionate about
sustainability. He hopes to work with local yacht clubs and sailors in efforts
to keep plastics and other pollutants from impacting the ocean.
There simply are not enough words to describe how healing being on
the water is for me, and it was a joy to meet someone who gets that. Sailing is
a lot of work, but it's so worth it. As we cruised through the harbor, with the
sun going pink as the gloaming hour approached, it was clear that Satori is
almost magical. We are so very fortunate to live where it's possible to take to
the sea and be held, as Cousteau said, in its "net of wonder."
James can be reached via the website
https://www.sailsatori.com.