I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.

Using an extended sailing metaphor, Ashe frames life as a difficult crossing in which progress is possible even without clear visibility or favorable conditions. “Middle passage” suggests being between departure and arrival—no longer at the safety of the shore, not yet at the destination—while “wind and the dark” evoke adversity, uncertainty, and fear. The emphasis falls on disciplined agency: he cannot control the weather, but he can keep the boat “steady” and the sails “full,” i.e., maintain balance, purpose, and effort. The quote’s significance lies in its stoic resilience: perseverance is defined less by triumph than by the ongoing practice of steadiness under pressure.