The title of this post, and the inspiration behind it, comes from a solo sailor from Germany who bought a boat in the tropics and took an incredible leap of faith. This is her link on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WhiteSpotPirates
There will come a time where you just need to untie the lines and go. Though you’ve studied, you aren’t ready. Your provisioning is at best a guess. The ship is your survival with mysteries that can only be answered on the open water. I’m not sure I can explain it to someone who hasn’t been there. I had many false starts in my 4 ton Cal 29. Small steps from the dock, learning how she steered and maneuvered. I needed to know I could count on her systems, like understanding prop walk and how to use it.
Our new boat Odyssey is closer to 14 tons, full keel and all. Wrap your head around that difference and what it means when docking among half million dollar yachts. I can read, study and visualize till I’m blue in the face. The fact remains I won’t learn the important stuff until I untie the lines and take her out. Again and again.
In eight weeks, almost to the day, it will be time. Everything will be in place. Time to go, step out, leave for new places, meet new people. Time to sail new waters.
I work every day to know Odyssey’s systems, understand how they function and then bring them up to my standards. Raise the sails, reef, start the engine, steer. If I know these things, and know I can depend on them, Odyssey will be that magic carpet to take us anywhere.
Solar power, AIS, LED, hydronic heating, all fall far into second place as you slip the dock cleat, shift into reverse, and throttle up. As the boat begins to move your world becomes very focused. Nothing else really matters.
So our time to ‘untie the lines’ is approaching very quickly and I’m not sure we are ready. To be honest I’m not sure we will ever be ready so we might as well step off the precipice and trust our boat, she already knows what to do. Her captain and crew will learn as we go.
Our new boat Odyssey is closer to 14 tons, full keel and all. Wrap your head around that difference and what it means when docking among half million dollar yachts. I can read, study and visualize till I’m blue in the face. The fact remains I won’t learn the important stuff until I untie the lines and take her out. Again and again.
In eight weeks, almost to the day, it will be time. Everything will be in place. Time to go, step out, leave for new places, meet new people. Time to sail new waters.
I work every day to know Odyssey’s systems, understand how they function and then bring them up to my standards. Raise the sails, reef, start the engine, steer. If I know these things, and know I can depend on them, Odyssey will be that magic carpet to take us anywhere.
Solar power, AIS, LED, hydronic heating, all fall far into second place as you slip the dock cleat, shift into reverse, and throttle up. As the boat begins to move your world becomes very focused. Nothing else really matters.
So our time to ‘untie the lines’ is approaching very quickly and I’m not sure we are ready. To be honest I’m not sure we will ever be ready so we might as well step off the precipice and trust our boat, she already knows what to do. Her captain and crew will learn as we go.
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