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This is a favorite little "ditty" that both Bob and Tania enjoy
reading and
"re-understanding" from time to time:
From: Blue Water
Sailing May 2004
Captain's Log
"A Cruising State of Mind"
This is something that happens to us when we put down our normal
work-a-day tools, get on our boats and head off cruising. It doesn't
matter whether we are going for a long weekend or for an open-ended
world adventure. the effect is the same.
As we settle into the boat, unpack, stow away the groceries, check the
weather, unfold the charts and note the state of the tide, we begin the
transformation from a land animal to a pelagic creature. The whole
process of getting ready to head off seems to nourish every restless
molecule in my body, the way I suppose the birds feel when they know it
is time to head south for the winter.
Casting off the mooring lines and making for open water -- a big lake or
a big ocean, it doesn't matter -- is always the biggest step because we
know we are going somewhere and we know that from here on we are
basically on our own, in charge, self-reliant and responsible for our
own fates. Some skippers and crews feel knots in their stomachs and some
feel elation, but either way once the sails are set and drawing, once
the boat is leaning to the breeze and the wake is bubbling purposefully
along the hull, we all share that sense that we are better where we are
that where we were -- which most likely was stuck in traffic somewhere.
Out there, we are just about free.
But it is a freedom with definite dimensions because we have put
ourselves at the mercy of the weather and the vagaries of living on the
water, and we have to adapt to whatever comes our way and make decisions
on the basis of safety instead of schedules and expediency.
To get along out there we have to give up a little bit of the
hardheadedness that we need to get things done ashore and go with the
natural flow. If the wind pipes up from the direction we are going,
well, maybe we should change destinations? If there is no wind, maybe we
should just stop and swim for a while? And if the breeze we really need
to get us where we are going suddenly appears at midnight, well, we
probably should get the hook up and get underway to make the best use of
what we have been offered.
That is cruising and the cruising state of mind. You are ready to head
out for parts unknown. You are self-reliant and you trust your own best
judgment. You are able to sit still when you would rather be sailing,
or, conversely, you are ready to claim a fair wind when you would rather
be sleeping. You go with the flow and with a smile as you enjoy every
moment for what it is; and you don't get bent out of shape because the
schedule has to be chucked out the porthole.
Once we adopt the cruising state of mind we tend to be in better harmony
with the natural world. And being in harmony with the elements helps us
to be better sailors and better cruisers. In the end, it probably helps
us to be better people, too.
- George Day
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