We needed a perfect day. A sunny, windless day with a sea as flat as a lake. We had to cast off the lines, raise the anchors and swivel Sedna around in the narrow harbour to point her out towards the freedom of the open sea.
Aeolus and Neptune allowed us to sail out of Sedna Bay under ideal conditions. The gods were with us, what a day it was!
The night before, we went to the top of the mountain to dismantle the inuksuk and return its stones to the earth. Once this was done, there was nothing left of us here except the enduring memory of our presence. The rest—the tangible remains of our passage—were suddenly gone forever. Now, the only signs of our time here are the stories and the memories.
In the early morning, as we gathered in the crew’s mess room, everyone wore a smile that said a great deal about general morale. We were now ready to begin manoeuvres to set sail. Everyone was anxious to get moving and once again to experience a certain form of freedom. Paradoxically, we also know that the long road that stretches out before us will take us back to our other life, the one we left behind—and that by setting sail, we also move forward into the loss of a certain form of freedom. Whatever the case, today, more than ever, we’re dreaming of you...
Filming our departure was quite a challenge. We had to coordinate the positions of the cameras to film this great moment from every angle and convey the special feeling that reigned among us. I wanted this last great scene of the movie to be majestic, conveying the spirit of this place but also the emotion that goes with leaving. Sedna had to leave Sedna Bay under sail—a delicate manoeuvre for the navigation crew. But oh, what a feeling to be on top of the mountain looking down at the great, blue-sailed goddess one last time as we filmed her sailing out to freedom! We put away the filming equipment, then took a last look back at a deserted Sedna Bay, majestically beautiful with its last fragment of drifting ice, where Rusty, Wally and a few other baby seals, now grown, slept peacefully. In a few days, they too will be setting out in search of freedom.
Words cannot express the feelings or convey the emotions that we feel at such a moment. I will simply say that the saltwater that pulses through the veins of sailors tends to spill out at times like this, our eyes awash from an inner tide that moves with the beating of our hearts that are torn between staying and leaving. But there is no room for doubt, now. Today, we are on our way home, glad to have carried out our mission with and for you.
I think that now, without a moment’s hesitation, we say to one another, “mission accomplished!”
Well done, mariners!
Here’s wishing you all fair winds and clear sailing!
Jean
