A Glimpse of Life on Sila

N.B.:  The following post is from Amanda Good, who spent ten days with us in Panama. More often than not, we think of Amanda as the 3rd parent in the Barnes Family as she regularly took care of the boys for "date night", HMI events, and times when both Christopher and I were out of town at the same time. A talented artist,  Amanda is now teaching art full time in the Lake County School District. If you have ever been to Leadville, you have seen her art work as she painted the mural on the side of the Melanzana building and the labels for City on a Hill coffee. Here is her blog post:

Jack and Porter Barnes have been a part of my life for over six years now- so I have known them since they were five and six years old. The first two weeks of June, I (along with my boyfriend Jeff) had the privilege of spending 10 days with the Barnes family aboard Sila.

One of my favorite parts about the trip was hanging out with Jack and Porter- and I am amazed at how much they have grown in just one year.  They are two of the coolest people I know.

Over the years, hanging out with Porter Barnes has often included lots of sports, creative games, and learning about all sorts of things.  He has always enjoyed reading non-fiction books, and his love of learning is quite inspiring.  These interests of Porter's show themselves through different ways on the boat; and are shaping who Porter is becoming as a person.  I observed Porter becoming a fisherman; he is VERY knowledgeable about all of the fish in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans (yes, both oceans).  His spear fishing skills are rapidly developing; I saw Porter spear multiple fish while I was out with him.

Lobster snaring skills follow closely behind, and I watched him nearly snare two lobsters that I couldn't even seem to see on the ocean floor.  You can ask Porter as many questions about the area or experience you are having as you want; more often than not, he can answer your question.  I quickly figured this out while transiting the Panama Canal with them.  Porter could tell me all I wanted to know about the canal.

 Amanda and Porter on Lake Gatun, during the canal transit

If you find yourself snorkeling next to Porter, he will tap you on the shoulder excitedly and point to the surface, where he will tell you all about the fish you have just seen, and if it is good to eat or not. Porter's creative games are still evident, as he and Jack spent an entire day crafting a game show for us adults to participate in that evening, which was quite entertaining!  

Jack Barnes has always been a good dancer.  He is perfecting his dance moves, which he regularly practices with his mom. The nightly dishwashing aboard Sila was aided considerably by Rabbit's DJ skills.  His altheticisim is also apparent on the boat, as he patiently coached me up and down the mast of Sila, something he seems to do multiple times a day if given the chance.The Tarzan swing is another place to see Jack's spry moves, as he has mastered the upside-down hang to dive move.  This involves swinging out on the rope swing, raising your feet above you at the apex of your swing, and then letting go for a dive into the water.  I can't even get my legs above my arms.

 Jeff, much to the envy of the other adults on board, demonstrates the Tarzan swing dive.

 And the Rabbit...

Jack takes an interest in the mechanics of Sila. He can give you a full tour of the engine on Sila, and helps with its maintenance as well.  He is also quite a good dingy 'captain', should you need a ride somewhere in the dingy. Rabbit and I have always enjoyed doing art together. On Sila, we got to do some watercolor fish painting together.  

 

He has a natural artist’s eye.  He can accurately capture the shapes of objects, and his use of color is developing well.  Beyond visual art, Rabbit's creativity flourishes through his elaborate and detailed imagination of his own set of super heroes. 

One sunny afternoon, halfway up the mast and holding on tightly, I stop to catch my breath. I hear Jack’s calm voice above me, "Now you just have to unclip yourself from the mast, clip that stay, and climb up onto the last step." Just clip onto the stay? I look down the cable all the way to the deck of Sila, 20 feet down.  If I fall, that clip is going to slide all the way down to the deck! Porter is the smart one, standing safely on Sila's bow, watching me inch my way up the mast.

 "Now step up on your left foot, and then re-clip yourself around the mast above the spreader,” said Jack.  This requires balancing on one foot, holding onto the mast with one hand, and clipping with the other.  "Now, you have to sort of jump up here to get on the spreader." Um, ok.  Just jump up… while I am standing on one foot that is supported by a one-inch wide plastic step…just jump up.

Again I look down at Porter, and am momentarily envious of his logical and smart decision-making skills, standing solidly on the deck and all. I make a measly attempt to jump up and onto my belly on the spreader (which is all of 6 inches wide).  "You're going to have to jump higher," says the Rabbit. Ok, I jump up, sort of, and wiggle, rather pathetically, up onto the spreader.

Then I have to awkwardly swing my legs over to actually take a comfortable seat.  Whew.  What an awesome view of the world!

I can see why the Rabbit likes to hang out up here.  It is definitely a bit of a different world, and it feels a little like you are flying.  You can't quite hear the conversation from Sila's deck below, so it is a nice way to gain a little solitude on a 47-foot sailboat.  But my peaceful thoughts are interrupted by another, less tranquil one. Oh boy.  I have to get back down from here??? Hmmm.  Smart Porter. Silly Amanda.  I wonder how that is going to go.  I wouldn't let Jack 'Rabbit' Barnes go down before me; I needed his sound advice to get myself back down the mast of Sila using the proper steps! 

My trip aboard Sila was rich with amazing and diverse experiences.  We transited the Panama Canal- I am struck by how the canal has been functioning generally the same way for the 100 years that it has been open.  I got to feel quite useful on the deck of Sila as a line-handler for the canal transit. Traveling up the locks of the canal was the very exciting for me.  As one of four line handlers, you have to keep the correct amount of line out from your cleat to keep Sila in the middle of the lock at all times.  You alternate between taking line in and letting it out for the duration of the locks, about a kilometer long.  The water is quite turbulent as you are going up; it seems as if there are countless whirlpools all around you as the water fills the chamber and moves you up.  And then the huge ship that is sharing the lock with you, starts its propeller, and it feels even more turbulent! 

Once we entered the Pacific, we island hopped Las Perlas islands, off the Panamanian coast for about 5 days. Our amazing days were filled with snorkeling, spearfishing, dingy adventures, swimming, perfecting our dives off the side of Sila, and relaxing.

 

 My first attempt at an underwater selfie, modeled after Jack's many selfies.

 This was Jeff's first time snorkeling

 

 All of this topped off with cocktail hour everyday, sipping rum drinks and enjoying great conversation and laughter with Molly and Christopher (also two of the coolest people I know).  And did I mention the fresh lobster?

It truly was an experience of a lifetime for me.  - Amanda Good