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.....The Big Trip!!!
Untying the lines
The most difficult part of sailing away on a dream, is
untying the lines to the dock. Even after 25 years of wishes, hopes, saving,
planning and executing; nothing prepares you for the trauma of actually leaning over the side of the boat, and freeing your self from all that ties not just your boat, but yourself to shore.
Yup, I should be a real man and say it easy, but it wasn't. First there was the actual moment that I decided that it
was time to go. (I say "I" when I mean Joni and I, in fact if
you want the actual mix it was 75% "I", 25% Joni.) What do we
tell our parents... this is not a socially responsible thing to do. What do we do with our house!!!! Sell, rent, buy a vowel?...you
get paranoid! The "what-if's" will enter your life far more than
you expect...more than you'd ever dream! What if the house doesn't sell. What if we can't find a
job after. What if the weather turns bad. What if people and animals learn
the recognise the look of fear in our eyes!!!!!! Trust me, there is no easy way to untie your lines. All
people tie to shore different. As opposed to giving a check list, I will do what I am
good at...giving vague feelings to guide. First, as I've already stated, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HOW
HARD IT IS TO LEAVE THE DOCK. THE IRONY IS THAT THE TRIP IS EASY. READ THIS AGAIN!!!!THE TRIP IS EASY, LEAVING IS HARD!
IF YOU RECOGNISE THIS, YOU CAN GO!!! I will even write you a note if that
will help!
The other major hurtle we came up on was people who were either "experts" or "gravely concerned".
"Experts" tend to be people who've got all the answers. They'll tell you exactly what you need for the trip and why you aren't prepared to go. They'll tell you that your boat is too small, or that you have to have a brand new life raft (we haven't even got an old one), or that you tie you knots a funny way.
"Go on the boat you own now!!!!" Most sailboats 27feet and larger are capable of some form of longer term adventuring. Maybe our CS27 can't safely sail around the world, but I KNOW that it can sail the Caribbean!
The other often unexpected problem you may encounter when you try to "untie the lines" is those who are truly "concerned". usually it's your family who may be uninformed about the world of sailboat cruising, and who only hear about sailboats when Gerry Roufes disappeared at sea, or who's only memory of a Caribbean sailing trip was the movie White Squall, where a huge boat sank and took several crew to the bottom!
There is no easy way to assure your parents and loved one that what you are about to do is sane. All you can do is try to assure them that thousands of people actually do this, that you are ready to join them, and that you'll call them whenever you need cash (just kidding, if you did that, you'd spend the whole trip on the phone! Call them collect now and then, just to let them know how much a 3 minute call from Grand Turk costs).
