In general, when I think of Santa Cruz, I think of sunny days with happy tourists enjoying the beaches and the Boardwalk. This isn’t always the case, however. Some days don’t fit with the idealized vision of what Santa Cruz is.
For example, this photo was taken on a very gloomy June day. There was a bit of a chill in the air to accompany the clouds in the sky. While it didn’t rain, it seemed like it was a possibility. While walking out on the Santa Cruz Wharf, I saw a fishing boat out by itself in the ocean. The ocean was calm, and there really wasn’t any wind. However, the clouds hinted that they could become threatening.
As I looked at the boat, I started thinking about how big the ocean is compared to what was probably a sizeable fishing boat. The power and size of the ocean have always been something that has both inspired me and terrified me. I think of my grandpa, a commercial fisherman in the 1950s in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, sometimes by himself. It is hard not to think of what an adventure that would be. No GPS. No satellite. Old school radios. Probably an old-school magnetic compass. For sure, paper charts. With this, he would go out to fish to put himself through school.
There is a fishing boat on the Santa Cruz Wharf as a display. This always reminded me of the black and white pictures of Grandpa’s boat, the Alaska Baby. As I walked around it, I would again marvel that Grandpa took a boat that small up to Alaska. Then my mind drifts to the boat he built that we also took to Alaska. I realize what an adventurous spirit is found in our family… along with perhaps a bit of insanity. I will save that for another post, however.
There is something very magical about the sea. It can be beautiful. It can be terrifying. It can be peaceful. It can be violent. It will almost always be an adventure. I take my hat off to all of those who make their living on the sea. It is a hard and dangerous way to make a living. It is also full of possibilities, perhaps that is why it is so inspirational.
This morning in Southern California, it is a cloudy day. There has even been some mist! As I sit at a Starbucks thinking about these boats in Santa Cruz, I can’t help but feel the call to go on another adventure on the sea… or at least to go see a boat heading out to its own adventure with its own skipper and crew.
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