SWIM by VANESSA WEBSTER at JAKES Jamaica

“I built my life with a man who loves the ocean. I had experienced him at his most masculine when we were together swimming. During our early love, we would swim together in a backyard pool, nude and intertwined. Several years later we took a trip to a Jamaican fishing village. Knowing the ocean was his home, I found a small room for us with a deck built on top of the water. We had a week there, and every morning, he would wake up and go to the deck, to just sit, or drink, or read, or stare. Beyond that we spent most of our time at the beach together. The Caribbean water was warm, and he did not hesitate to go in. I followed, when normally I would be too timid. He swam out far, in a way that was confident and fearless. I felt protected with him there and completely at ease. In the water I recognized myself as an islander. He had brought me to his home and I had become my most feminine.”

STAY: Jakes in Jamaica

~Vanessa Webster

Vanessa Webster is the co-founder of Chadwick Bell.

December 2013