Simply saying the name Saltspring Island causes gentle breezes to whisper through my mind and fluffy sheep jump unbidden over my snob hurdles. Directly behind the sheep are groups of people stating that we “simply must” visit the “Island”. I am a snob. Attending anything that represents the “thing to do” automatically causes a shut down in my systems and drives me in the opposite direction. Never having been much of a groupie or follower period, I am sure that I have missed some life altering fads that drive the market place, the real word of course is the dollar place. This mantra may have caused me to miss some very important teachings; although I doubt it. Missing a visit to Saltspring Island however, would have been a loss. I am glad that we reconsidered. Audrey slices through the oily grey ocean this misty morning. Biting gusts of wind tormented us last night and forced a sleep over at Maple Bay. The grey sea is smooth this dawn. There is no distinction between the ocean and the sky. The Schwartz Bay ferry floats on the horizon. The swell and brake of wake behind the ferry draws a dividing line that leads towards the heavens. I am at the helm and need to get our nose through these giant swells that the ferry leaves behind. The bow rises and falls with the swell; we swish through the water gently riding the wake. Initially ferry wakes scared the daylights out of me, I am acquiring experience.