The 1000 Islands, Prince Edward County and our friends, Eli & Rivka

I fell behind on my Blog posts. In the next few weeks, between packing and planning, I will be sharing memorable moments from this past summer.

For a short weekend, we went back to visit some of our favorite places in the Thousand Islands and in Prince Edward County, but before I get to that, I wanted to introduce you to, our friends Eli & Rivka.

For several years, we crossed paths from afar, while they had their sailboat, Seas The Day, at the Toronto Marina where we had our sailboat, Micro Cat.

A few years ago, before the Pandemic, while we were on our sailboat Tranquillité, we recognized their boat at our Yacht Club. We went to greet them and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. For a week, anchored in Beaurivage, between storms and sunshine, we shared wonderful moments.

Since this summer of 2018, despite the distance, we have always kept in touch and gotten to know them even better. In 2021, they became the proud owners of our beautiful sailboat. With a few tears, but glad it would now be with our friends, we watched them leave the dock, as we prepared for our new life adventure.

We met with them in July, at the Drake Devonshire in Wellington, with their son Michael and his wife Lisa. A truly joyful and happy moment!

I had decided to tell you about these wonderful places to visit and those precious moments, but today, I have another reason to talk about it.

Rivka and Eli, both came from Israel to live their lives and raise their family. The horrific events that have been unfolding for the past weeks are so dark, that I find it difficult to look at the images on tv. For them, it is obviously personal and horrific. Their family and friends, who had been spared, now have to stay in their shelters and secure rooms, since the north and center of the country have come under missile attacks. .What is unimaginable for us, who have been fortunate enough to never experience war in our own country, is all too real for them.

The parents of Rivka and Eli were survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi camps. Eli’s father, with the help of his grandchildren (including Michael, that we had the pleasure to meet), shared his story, in the book By My Mother’s Hand, The title refers to the moment when the Nazis were calling people with skills, like mechanics and other trades, that would be used in the labor camps. Even though he wasn’t a mechanic, his mother pushed him forward when they called it. This act saved his life. He was sent to the labor camps. His whole family was sent to the death camps. He was the sole survivor of his family. He emigrated to Canada with his wife and two children, where he lived a beautiful and long life. Rivka’s parents were also Holocaust survivors.

I have always known that we had completely different life paths. And yet, from the very beginning, we recognized each other, first through our passion for life on the water, but also for many other things we had in common. We simply connected. Today, I realize that we never thought about our differences, but only about everything else we shared.

No matter our backgrounds, our lives… we have much more in common with those we choose to know, than we can imagine. That’s why, in addition to taking you on a journey with me to beautiful places, I wanted to introduce you to our friends, Rivka & Eli.

For them, for their family, their friends, and for the victims of war… whether they are Israelis, Palestinians, or Ukrainians…

Here are some images, of our friends and our blessed life…

Drake Devonshire – Wellington – Prince Edward County