Up There Again

Again, I sit on top of the first spreader. A light breeze ruffles my hair. A ray of light lays itself across my face as I look around. When I am up in the rigging, I don’t really think; I just be, lost in the world of nothingness.

You may be wondering what a spreader is. It is a long, flat piece of aluminum that spreads the stays off the mast. The stays are long cables that go from the top of the mast to the deck to support the mast so it remains vertical. Also, spreaders come in pairs, one on each side of the mast. On Sila, we have two sets of spreaders (four in all). The first set is about one-third of the way up our 66 foot mast.

To get to the spreader, I first need my harness. Once it is on, I step onto the granny bars, then onto the winch, and grab the halyard. I swing myself onto the boom. The feeling is amazing. When I do the swinging motion, my hearts skips and the momentum hauls my body upward sending me onto the top of the boom.

We have fold-out steps up the mast to the first spreader. I unfold all the ones in reach. Then I wrap my harness leash around the mast and clip it to myself. The leash might get caught on the steps, so I make sure it goes around each step. I put my foot on each step then a hand. Sometimes gravity pulls me backward and I have to hold on tighter so my knuckles whiten. On the last step, I put my feet together and balance carefully on it. With one arm wrapped around the first spreader, I put the leash around the mast above the spreader. I swing one foot onto the flat thin surface. Then I use all my muscles to haul myself up onto it. I bet I look funny from other boats in the harbor – A kid lying with his belly on the spreader like a beached whale. I hold onto the halyard as I swing into a sittfing position on top of the spreader. I sit on it with another warm feeling spreading across my body.

When I am up in the rigging, I like to look around. I can see the coral reefs and fish from up there. The view is better because the angle is better than it is from on deck so I can see more. Also, the water is really clear so it is easy to see all around. I like going up there because I can be alone and I like to be up high in the air as I might have said in other blog posts. I love sitting up there.  – Jack Rabbit