“And the birds still sing the old song of freedom.”

“And the birds still sing the old song. A tame one sings of freedom, a wild bird flies.”

Do you know the feeling of dancing in the rain?
When you sail, it feels a little like that.

Do you know the feeling of missing a step and stumbling?
That is what it feels like when the autopilot fails.

Do you know the feeling of getting stuck with your whole leg in deep snow?
That is roughly what it feels like when the navigation instruments go down too.

Do you know that feeling you had as a child before birthdays and Christmas?
When you have a night with 8 Beaufort behind you, without autopilot, with the navigation failing along the way, then you manage to get it working again and finally lie safely secured in harbour, it feels like both at once. Birthday and Christmas together.

Our first really proper storm passage was madness. It was already a while ago, and since then we have learned a lot. Still, that day stays in memory.

When 35 knots of wind suddenly become 55, the rudder is hard to port and you still keep going straight. When you see nothing anymore and only know that you must hold exactly this course to get through safely. When you sail straight into the thunderstorm and the lightning ahead lights up the horizon. When you finally have the wind behind you and it almost lets you float over the water. That moment when the beeping tells you everything is working again, and with it the wind starts to ease. The sea calms down and you no longer have to shout to understand each other. When the sea no longer breaks over the boat and you stay dry at the helm. And then we drink coffee together again and look at each other. Everyone is whole, everyone is on board, nothing is broken, and then we all burst out laughing.
We laugh because we know how it could have been and how it finally was. It was indescribable, and yet worth a story of its own. When you have a night like that behind you and you know: this is exactly where I belong. This is my place on earth.

After that passage, our trust in Kirana grew once again by a big step. It also showed us that, with good preparation, we are capable of mastering the unexpected. Had we not been ready for it, things could quickly have gone very differently. For us, that ride felt like flying, pure freedom. But there was also a good portion of luck involved.
It showed us how small and tiny we are. How quickly something small can become something big when the circumstances change. We learned a lot from it and appreciate even more what we have. Long afterwards we were still completely jittery with excitement and joy.

Have you ever experienced something truly exciting?

Feel free to tell us in the comments; we would love to read your stories.

Have a beautiful day.

Your Kirana crew ⛵️🐶