I was president of the Port of Barcelona. Toni Cruz and Josep Maria Mainat bought a motor yacht in Greece, which they rented to tourists. The vessel's appearance was impeccable: a 1950s design, a large funnel, a cruising stern, and a distinct vessel and superstructure... One little steamer: ideal for people with little experience at sea.
The ship had to be rebuilt from top to bottom, recovering its original style. Doing so was an adventure. The prologue was the transport from Greece to Barcelona. The crew abandoned ship in Sicily, and then another crew had to be found. Then, a year of repairs. Everything was new: propulsion engine, generators, electrical installations, fittings.
The following summer, the ship was finished. The maiden voyage was to Greece. Where else could I have been, if not Ithaca? Scrabble: Toni beat me every time. He was obviously smarter than me.
The crew was peculiar. They didn't work with the idea that they were there to make life more pleasant for the owners and their guests (this was their role). They were colleagues who shared everything. With an Anglo-Saxon crew, this is never the case. I had told them... but they didn't listen; they preferred locals.
It was an unforgettable few days. Because of the surroundings (Ithaca is possibly—the adverb is unnecessary—the most beautiful island in the world…) and because of the conversations with an empathetic, intelligent, and generous person. Josep Maria Mainat was going through a deep love affair at the time… Well, let's let it go.
Toni and I discovered that his grandfather could have been my grandmother's boyfriend in Sant Feliu in the 1920s. The personal chemistry had already existed between Cruz and my family for three generations.
Toni, my friend, I will miss you, but I am sure that in eternity—you are already here and I will soon be here—we will meet again to talk, between smiles and laughter, about everything we shared... which is a lot.
See you soon.
