I listened to this conversation during an hour spent provisioning our boat (ie stuffing a 2 month supply of non-perishable food into every possible stowage cavity) for our first sailing adventure with Bryn. As Bryn slept and I willed him not wake up till the chaos of cans, packets and tetra packs was cleared away, it was strange to listen to the story of a father who absconded with his 2 sons aboard a yacht bound for South America. Some of the details are a bit hair raising given the ages of the two boys, and the lack of preparation and safety precautions made me shudder to listen. Interesting that Petar, the eldest son who tells the story, now sounds like a very un-adventurous adult. I love Richard's comment at the end about the Pacific being right at his doorstep, as if he's egging Petar on to break out of his settled-down adult life and return to the adventures of his young days!
I would love to hear this story in more detail, it felt like it was cut short and wrapped up too quickly.
Richard Fidler conversation with Petar Belic
An incredible story, told in such a measured way. I'm so curious as to how they found this story, Petar doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would look for opportunities to tell it. I reckon it'd be a traumatic adventure in lots of ways. I wondered about Marco the younger brother, and how much responsibility Petar faced helping his dad. I also shuddered a little at the thought of that uninhabited island, covered in bird skeletons. How funny that they should find mineral water there!
ReplyDeleteYou will be fine VM. You were talking about packing toys months ago!
This story has burrowed its way into my subconscious. The image of Petar being left at the helm of the boat while his dad went ashore really troubled me. I had a bad dream that we launched Bryn off on his own in a little sailboat, and when I realised what we'd done and we brought him back ashore he was thin and ragged, and had a wild look in his eyes like he could no longer trust us. Pretty traumatic dream!!
ReplyDeleteOn a brighter note, I liked the fact that Petar and his brother had to make their own toys! Even though the traumatic parts of the story are what stick with me, I had the impression that Petar also valued the experience and found it formative in a positive way.