my love of the ocean came through me no doubt from both my parents and my family, and i have always felt i was "of" the ocean. the pull of the tides and the swells and the warm salty waters hold great sway over me and is the number one place i long to be.
i feel at one and at peace, healing in the magnetic waves of koh samui, swimming aitutaki lagoon, or floating in the warm green bath waters of florida. mesmerized by the soft undulating touch of a manta ray in the maldives, or the gentle energy of being surrounded by turtles in honolulu.
lifted and crashed in the unforgiving harsh surf and tumbling onto jones beach, wind knocked out of me, yet thrillingly still able to get up, barely, so weighed down from the wet sand filling my bathing suit. sailing or balancing on a raft with my sister in montauk bay during several summers as we were on high alert for "jaws", theme music in our heads or in our ears from teasing friends and family, hearts pounding, jumping sky high when a foot or arm lazily trailed the water and bumped a passing fish or a sting ray, or a toe was grabbed by a crab. the sheer joy of squeezing "piss clams" at each other before they were piled into our pails for the evening's clambake on fire island.
marilyn and i stretched out together in the dark back seat of an aquamarine '69 chrysler whose trunk held numerous 8' foot fishing poles and a sack of thick black eels my father pulled out of the sea late at night. holding the flashlight with both hands and keeping the boat steady as softshell crabs were scooped out of the bay, or lobster traps were hauled up with a treasure beyond delight. the utter disgust of coming home to a bathtub full of tuna, my dad fishing whenever he could. often we were put into the car half asleep, as of course, unless it was a midnight run you needed to be out and fishing before the sun came up.
for me the contentment was just being on the boat, wind in your face, gulls circling, sun on your back and wide open sea ahead, destination not important.
i happily moved from one coast to the other, to live and work by the pacific ocean, toes in sand as often as possible, the water just a bit too cold most of the year.
regina rubino
