My Love Letter to the Ocean

Dear Mother Ocean

The UN has dedicated June 8 as World Oceans Day, yet I celebrate and cherish your beauty every day.

I have loved you since I was a toddler with sand in my butt crack, squealing with delight while frolicking in the surf of San Diego’s beaches.

My attraction and fascination with you grew immensely while sailing across the Atlantic on my first long ocean voyage.

You have provided me the opportunity work on sailboats and introduce land folks to the wonders of coral reefs and turquoise bays.

When sailing far from land, my dear mother ocean, you have protected me and kept my spirit calm.

The wildlife in your waters are my favorite creatures.

My wish is to continue to protect you, advocate for you, clean your beaches, help turtle hatchlings safely make it to sea, bond with sharks as we swim next to each other with pure adoration, be in awe when a whale surfaces near me, snorkel through your coral gardens, jump for joy on the deck of a sailboat as a pod of dolphins rides the bow wake, learn from you and teach others about you.

Because of you I have met some remarkable fellow ocean lovers and sailors who share passion for the sea.

Thank you for my mermaid genes, as you have never made me ill. You have entertained me, spoken to me, you get my full attention when you are in a tempestuous mood and you are there for me when I need you the most, as you help to heal my heart.

I have placed Captain John’s ashes in your care, in the warm, soft tropical seas of the world, as I know you will embrace him forever.

There is a reason you are referred to as “Mother Ocean”. You nurture us, sustain our lives, you make the world beautiful and you bring joy to those who love you.

I will continue to fight against the greed and ignorance of humans who harm you and your creatures. For instance, when a shark’s fin is cut off and the body is thoughtlessly tossed back, it slowly sinks as it dies an excruciating death, just so some tosspot can eat a soup with slaughtered shark parts, which is proven to have zero health or potency benefits.

The only magical powers shark’s fins have is when they are still attached to the living shark!

Imagine if some cruel person chopped the legs off your family’s dog and left it in a field to slowly bleed out, you’d be outraged right?

No one sees the beautiful shark sink to the depths.

I am outraged at the atrocities bestowed upon wildlife at sea and on land, and I know I am not alone.

Cheers to my fellow ocean lovers, my tribe who donate funds, volunteer time and love our mother.

I’ve been referred to as an “environmentalist” in a sarcastic way, as if it’s a bad thing! I laugh it off, wear the name with pride, and along with my tribe, we continue to respect our land and sea for the grandchildren of those people who scoff at us and those who don’t.

Having hosted families on charter boats, the best memories come from introducing little sailors to snorkeling. Seeing their eyes pop open when they point to a fish or sea creature brings back that sense of wonder I had as a kid at tide pools.

Jacques Cousteau said it best: “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Who’s in? Who wants to go on an adventure at sea and help our Mother Ocean while having a great time doing it?

Here are some suggestions of ocean environmental organizations to donate funds or get involved with:

seashepherd.org, oceanconservancy.org, oceana.org, oceanvoyagesinstitute.org and missionblue.org

Mālama Kai