[I'll play along so long as no one minds my not tagging anyone else....]
...about EL-- within a single sphere of interest...
1. EL is fascinated and enthralled by the sea. She calls to him even now....
2. The best job EL ever had was on a crew-boat off the Louisiana and Texas coasts
3. EL's dream vacation would be two weeks on the island atoll of Hikueru in the South Pacific.
4. EL, while cruising the intercoastal waterway in Louisiana saw a porpoise mother nudging her newborn to the surface. The calf was unresponsive and she was crying.
5. While out in the middle of the gulf on a clear moonless night, EL discovered it is possible to read by starlight.
6. Piloting a 110 foot vessel through 35-40 foot swells is the most afraid EL has been on the open sea.
7. The smell of the sea makes EL feel safe, warm, and welcomed home.
8. EL hasn't been on the water in 15 years... a lifetime ago...
Just call me Ishmael-- it's only a matter time.
I've always enjoyed movies like "Captain Blood" that showed life aboard a tall ship. It seemed both a miserable and adventurous existence. But even modern vessels hold a fascination for me. I should have joined the Navy. For a great tale of the sea, I recommend "The Bounty-The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty" by Caroline Alexander.
I swam in the Carribean in St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Gulf of Mexico at Padre Island, too.
The weather was perfect in St. Thomas, but in Padre Island, I was there one week before Hurricane Hugo hit, and it was rainy and windy the whole week I was there.