The hardest thing about coming home from the south and from a boat that is in the water is, well it’s winter. The visit to the warm has reset your brain to ‘warm’ and ‘boat’ then you come home and you can’t even visit your boat because the barn door is frozen. I gave up quickly as well because the cold reality (pun intended) had set in…you are trapped in winter again. I just wanted to visit my boat. I saw a few Whitbys while I was south and wanted to compare the little tricks I learned and saw and to put them in perspective on Fracas. I couldn’t get in and just as well because I think I’m getting a cold. I managed to make it through the five weeks south without a sniffle. Likely the five planes and associated germs. Sharing air with all those folks; crying babies, sneezing, coughing and the snorting masses. JEEZUZ
I made notes while I was away. I made notes about things that went right, things that went wrong, things that could have gone better, unexpected things that happened and things I didn’t know enough to anticipate happening. I learned a lot on this trip. I learned how much I didn’t know and that lead to the dreaded realization that I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew. A friend reminded me that you have to be humble you have to readily admit and face your shortcomings. However, you don’t let your shortcomings keep you ashore because if we wait to be perfect and know everything…we’ll never go. We do the best that we reasonably can and we prepare to the best of our abilities. Things will happen and those things will make us stronger.
Since I’ve come home people have asked what the scariest time was? My biggest worry was that something would happen to the boat or the weather wouldn’t give us a chance to get out to sea. By the time we got away from land we had learned to trust the boat and we had comfort with each others abilities. The weather, the wind and the seas were something I had not experienced before. Fear was transformed to excitement, vigilance and exhaustion. The two hour sessions at the wheel were tiring because you had to be ready for those things that happen instantly and require quick effective problem solving.
Would i do it again? You bet your ass!