Handywomans Companion : an Internet publication adapted from the journal of Jeannine Patane

Alaska Handywoman : Euthenics through Estate Management, Home Economics- Jeannine Patane - producer of Handywoman’s Companion

Bohemian Surfing a Wave of Light
By Jeannine Patané • 20 December 2006

     As kings have their castles on land, sailors have their queens on the sea. I traveled to San Diego intent to tend to these beautiful, exotic ladies. My home improvement trade skills were easily transferred into boating, although the sailing community speaks a different language. Translation is an attractive challenge for me to comprehend as I immerse myself into the ocean world.
     The beauty of the ocean creates many an admirer who is willing to talk about it. One can quickly learn folklore as well as terminology. Stories are as frequent as yacht maintenance projects, and mates are as common as the presence of mermaids. Two mates who have shared their philosophy with me are Bryant and Julio. Bryant has spent more of his living days in salt water than out of it, and Julio has lived most of his life along a beach.
     Bryant tells me that seduction is the wind, the wave and the water, and what unifies seduction are those who believe in the ocean. Sailors are the exploratory astronomers that connect points to course destination. Whether it is points on a map or points of reference in the sky, they seek new lands and ride the winds to get there. Surfers are about the wave. They are the philosophers. They find peace in turbulence by becoming one with the element. Divers feel the lucid song of the water. They are the scientists, immersing themselves to test and research, and even when the surface of the sea can be volatile, calmness can prevail an atmosphere below the surface.

Bryant speaks of his tattoo, “I know these women will never leave me.”
The mermaids will be with him in the sea upon his death.

Surfers Erik and Julio transition across a manicured lawn to access the waves at the bottom of unstable cliffs.

A sailor's illuminated points—decorated sailboats strung with holiday lights participate in San Diego’s annual Parade of Lights.

Between the water and the land exists a transition, sometimes turbulent, and there are those who seek this transitional edge to live the boundaries. I followed Julio down the footpath to the surf one day and brought along my camera. While he went out in the water, I shot remnants of the rocky coast. Most of the images I shot were in macro. See While You Were Surfing for a gallery of these images. The more magnified objects become, the more patterns of related design I can fashion around us. In essence, Julio illuminated a path for me to see past Classical Mechanics and into Quantum Mechanics.

Changing particles back to waves, the seas are as ancient as the earth, yet we know more about outer space than our own oceans. The big blue is an enticing lure with its expansive illumination, tranquility within turbulence and mysterious depths yet to be explored.
We communicate our love and knowledge of the ocean through folklore and story, and we display our love through the committed time and work put in the water. For now, I’m enticed to tend to the most well-cared for queen of the seas that I have ever met. I can’t find a thing to fix on her; she only requires little maintenance, and that’s what makes her so lovely.