Capt Teza- Conundrum

Capt Teza- Conundrum

Not to disappoint the readers of the my blog who look forward to stories of Capt Teza’s shenanigans, episodes of mayhem, chaos and moments of silliness I share this story with great fondness and admiration for this man I have loved for 41 years.

Prologue - Observation Capt Teza has no personal Spatial Awareness

Living with the Capt in a small space for the last 2 months on board Sens de La Vie has been joyous, funny, challenging and a whole lot of adventure.

Certainly, the beginning of our sea journey was very stressful with unexpected failures of equipment on the yacht which tested our resolve to continue our sailing adventure. There was a moment of mutiny by me in Mooloolaba when I requested the Capt to leave the ship.

It took about a month for the Captain to clear his mind of ongoing construction projects he left behind for his team to continue and complete without his management and guidance.

Reading 14 books in 14 days to the exclusion of everything else is just one way in which Capt Teza relaxes and clears his head. Rum, long lunches with a bottle of wine, beautiful scenery and afternoon naps assisted him also to unwind.

This can be an irritating process for me whilst the Capt has his head in a book and just wants to sit and read but I fully understand the process is different for everyone to completely shut down and reboot.

It’s the Captains way of practicing mindfulness.

In a minus 16 degrees blizzard "whats the worst that can happen"

Look no wheels toughing the ground "whats the worst that could happen"

On our third week into our passage we welcomed guests on board at the Whitsundays, an engineer Mike and his wife Kim, for a week. An enjoyable fun and social time with Mike and Kim but with 2 engineers on board who over the span of 30 years have worked together on many projects, work related conversations were inevitable but in a good way this was also part of the process of Capt Teza thinking about his years of work and looking forward to the time when he retires.

At the end of our first month sailing we were then joined by Jacqui our daughter which was a delight to have some special time with her. 

Teaching Jacqui Chart readings

Capt Teza went into “protective, guiding with wisdom, father” mode, listening to her plans for the future and encouraging her to explore all life has to offer.

The Whitsundays is well known to us having done many sailing passages in this area. 

Our real adventure began when we continued to make passage along NQ coast and the islands, navigating unknown waters and exploring. I was ever so excited to get out the charts beyond the Whitsundays and delighted by the emerging adventurous spirit, that I love and adore, of Capt Teza.

Capt Teza – “spatially Un aware”

I will probably never understand how a man who can measure his stride length, use his hand span as a measuring tape with complete accuracy, measure 12 inches with his foot who has an arm span of 2 meters and who can understand and work in complex 3D engineering maths can be so unaware of his total physical space.

It took two and a half years searching for a suitable yacht.  Inspections of yachts for sale left us sometimes thinking we would never find a yacht suitable for our needs and in our budget.

One important criterion on our list was that we had to consider Capt Teza’s height requirements and being 6ft 2 and a bit, it was indeed challenging to find a yacht with full head room of 7ft in the saloon and main cabin.  Further, his requirements for the main cabin bed were 7ft by 7ft to accommodate his “starfish” position of sleeping was becoming an impossible criteria expectation.

We found our yacht but it was very unloved, had just arrived from America and been for sale for 4 days when I made a leap of faith and signed a sale contract.  Capt Teza was interstate and had not seen the yacht when I rang him and said” Honey, I bought a Boat”

An old yacht with good breeding, being a Beneteau with the added bonus of the very rare “owners layout” which is a Beneteau commissioned construction by original owner giving the boat high standard specifications and very roomy 2 cabin layout and U shaped galley. Built to high specifications of a Farr designed Beneteau for Blue water Ocean Cruiser/Racer complete with 2 and half tonne winged keel.

After 5 years owning this yacht it is a Conundrum that I continue to hear the mutterings and swearing of the Capt as he tries to go through the bulk head doors full frontal with a shoulder width of 570cm. 

The Captains cursing is legendary when he hits his knees, stubs his toes on the companion way steps and continually hits his head in the smaller spaces (bulkheads)on this yacht.

How can a man whose working life has been all about maths, measurements and working in 3 dimension mathematics, who started his working career as a surveyor and can visually measure distances with great accuracy, who with years in construction industry can estimate the cubic volumes of earth and internal spaces by sight alone, could be so unaware of his own personal space?

It remains a mystery, even after 41 years of endearing words from me like, “oh how strong you are” and “you’re a “Big Man” and give me a “big Hug” (that completely envelopes me).

Known to be described by his friends as “the big Bloke” and feared by some to never get into a pub brawl with him. Indeed, when our daughters were dating I could see the fear in the eyes of these poor young men who were introduced to their father, Capt Teza, for the first time.

Capt Teza Who pushes the boundaries on all life experiences, challenges and relationships with those around him, sometimes to the point of annoyance.

When I had a heart attack a very close mate exclaimed “so you finally broke her”. Which is a fair comment as it sometimes very hard to live life with this man.

The not so endearing or loving words from me like” you’re a big oaf”, “Sasquatch” and “your such a Clux”, never seems to be taken personally or questioned in validity.

How wonderful it must be to be so oblivious to one’s personal space and physical appearance and to leap without fear into spaces and physical situations with a mind saying to one’s body just “do it” without question or fear of capability. Undeterred by any negative thoughts or worrying about what might happen and never questioning skills or ability. The reality is that is he is usually successful and competent in most things he undertakes.  If it captures his imagination and passion Capt Teza gives all.

Capt Teza often says “what’s the worst that can happen?” which after 41 years this is responded by me with a “raised eyebrow questioning look” and a smile whilst having a vision of Capt Teza leaping off a roof with a cape on.

So many wild adventures, crazy fun and mishaps, sometimes reckless abandonment and with  NO aversion to taking risks has resulted in an enduring love, admiration and gratitude by me for this big man.

It would be reasonable to say that my life experiences would not have been as exciting without my Capt Teza and I love him more everyday for challenging me to live life full.

After 2 months at sea in a confined space it must be said that our relationship, that is built on trust and love, with a willingness to accept who we are as individuals and as a couple, is as strong as ever.  It is a pleasure to release ourselves from the daily worries of life and just be a couple full of fun, mischievousness, playfulness and sharing our wonderful sailing experiences together, even the tough challenging days at sea.

A Big Man with an enormous Heart who loves deeply and is very passionate.

Love you Capt Teza