Sailing
Like so many books that take place on the water, most notably Moby-Dick, this true-life account is in part another examination of the siren call to the sea that sailors hear which eludes the rest of us. A quote from a book originally published in 1906 by H. Warrington Smyth precedes the narrative. “What is it in the sea life which is so powerful in its influence? ... It whispers in the wind of the veldt, it hums in the music of the tropical night...It is the sense of things done, of things endured, of meanings not understood.” This is the metaphorical equivalent of a sailor trying to explain the siren's call to the sea. Because it takes the form of mystery hummed at a whisper, it cannot be heard by all. The author’s ear is perfectly attuned to its idiosyncratic pitch and volume and responded just as Ishmael does in Melville’s novel.
It's a Small World
Jessica describes her boat—using the traditional feminine pronoun—during the final minutes of her long journey around the globe. “Mum kept saying how small she looked between the swells. It was a strange concept for me because Ella’s Pink Lady was my whole world at that point.” That the concept of home is more than simply a physical structure, but an emotional state is further cemented with this metaphor. The boat was symbolically her whole world, but it could never quite become the home capable of filling up that empty part of her she left behind in Sydney as she sailed out of the harbor on that first day.
The Collision
On a trial run before she actually launches on her trip, Jessica’s world very nearly comes to a tragic end in the middle of the night. “The sky was a wall of black steel, towering over me and obscuring the stars.” The metaphorical imagery more viscerally conveys the enormity of both the ship her boat collided with and the nearness of the tragedy that was somehow averted better than any literal presentation of facts ever could.
