QMusings

My entire vacation was taken with the thought of living a more passionate life. I believe that in order to experience passion, there must be some element of risk. I’m not referring to danger although that may play a part. I’m referring to what challenges us, what makes us feel uncomfortable.

I like feeling in control. That’s what makes me feel comfortable. I like being prepared, having the facts, no surprises. I’m not good with spontaneity.

Being in control kinda takes the edge off feeling passion, don’t you think?

I arrived in Cape Town with nothing more than the thought of enjoying myself and letting life unfold.

When our plans for a Huey ride didn’t work out, Laverne was ready for her other choice: the speedboat.

I experienced a bit of my usual hesitation with dealing with the unplanned and unknown. Then I said to myself, wait a minute, that’s what makes it exciting and fun!

I love roller coasters. I love speed. So what wouldn’t there be to like about a speedboat?

Speedboat here we come. We paid for an hour-long ride inflatable speedboat ride with Atlantic Adventures.

The speedboat sat 12. We sat behind the driver – less chance of getting wet. The seats were more like saddles than seats. This allowed you to straddle them and ride out the waves. At four-foot-ten-and-three-quarters my feet just reached the floor. If I raised on my toes I had maybe an inch of clearance.

Everyone at the front seemed to know each other. There was even a girl of about 7 or 8. The driver looked like a sun-cured surfer with a lot of years on the water. Lean cheeks, longish hair and wraparound sport glasses.

A silver earring dangled from his right ear. I noticed because I sat behind him.

We took off slowly from the pier. Once we were out in more open water, the driver pushed forward on the throttle. Or whatever a boat’s accelerator is called.

I gripped the back of his seat. We all gripped the curved bar that served as the backrest for the seat in front of us.

The boat picked up speed and leapt up on the waves. I leaned forward and stood as high as I could on my toes. I could smell the driver’s freshly laundered shirt. I could see his earring dancing against the wind.

Shirley was sitting next to me, Laverne behind her. We were all grinning like mad.

The driver accelerated. The boat bore against the waves and the wind was so strong I could barely open my eyes. Laverne later told us that she felt like her sunglasses were embedded in her cheeks. I’m Chinese. I have a flat face. I felt fine.

The faster we went, the higher the boat flew when it hit a wave. Speed and power. My hair was whipping across my face so hard it stung. There was nothing more than the moment.

You know what feels great? Expressing how great something feels! It makes it even better! When we hit a wave and went airborne I screamed Yeeeee-haaaa! Yeeeee-HA! I didn’t want to bottle up the experience; I wanted to let it all out in one big Yee-ha after another.

At times the driver would stop and tell us where we were, what particular beach we were viewing. He was very kind and noticed that the girl was uncomfortable up front and she moved to the seat next to him.

I happened to notice an earring on the floor next to me and asked if anyone had lost one. Amazingly, it belonged to a woman in front. The wind had snatched it away and somehow it hadn’t flown off into the ocean. We all had to laugh at how lucky this was.

The driver wasn’t in a rush and he gave us time to take photos at a few stops. We also learned that while parts of the bay were protected from new development, many of the large homes and condominium complexes had been built recently. Construction cranes dotted the shoreline. The hills were disappearing beneath glass and concrete.

The driver seemed to like his job. At one point he rocketed over the waves and then started doing donuts! Yeee-freakin’-HA! He did donuts to the right and the boat edged into the water low enough that I was able to run my hand on the water. Then he did donuts to he left.

Did I have fun on that ride? You betcha.

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