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Old 02-02-2012, 17:44   #16
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

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Originally Posted by rebel heart View Post
I bet there are more trysails and sea anchors out there than drifters.
LOL

I have tryed sailing, seen anchors and am drifting towards the next boat. I am not optimistic or pessimistic but trying to educate myself to be a realist.
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Old 02-02-2012, 17:46   #17
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

Great idea.

My best passage ever: >>> Samoa to Vanuatu <<<

(cue the rainbows and dolphins)

Samoa was a bit dark for me. In Suvarov I'd found that one of my two crew was a drug addict, and had been secretly dipping into the medical kit. We didn't have anything really good, I think it was just tylenol with codeine, but I guess when someone like that runs out of booze after a month on a desert island they'll do anything to run away from themselves.

I didn't want to leave him on a deserted island, for other people to deal with, so we had an uncomfortable two week passage to Samoa together. You know, you're pretty sure the guy won't try to kill you, but you aren't certain. That kind of thing.

Once we arrived I kicked him off the boat. But let him stay an extra day to pack and etc. Then I found him doing lines of coke on the nav table-- certainly bad for the varnish. So I had to make him leave immediately. And of course there were a whole mess of stupid conversations and stress. Random cruisers would stop by with concern, because he'd told them we were about to sink, or something, as he was trying to get a ride on their boats next...

A fog lifted when he was finally gone.

There was a small explosion on board, well, really more of a small fireball. But only some varnish bubbled and the lexan window went opaque. Another story.

At the dinghy dock we found a new crew person. A very happy, bubbly, and in the zone twenty something. Just like us. She moved on board from another boat in the anchorage and began helping to get ready to go.

There's another story being skipped here, something about burning sage from a religious experience on an atoll. Inventing a new ritual to clear the air immediately before a passage, a ritual that has since become a staple of our lives, a thing to let go of the dirty and lubbery mindspace of the shore world and center ourselves back on the sea. The gist is that we'd got the happy back.

So we sailed off the anchor and headed West, in a glorious broad reach. ~20 knots, completely flat seas, and our beloved boat just slipping through the water. It was unbelievable. I'd wake up forgetting where I was, thinking that I must be in a marina. And then get more awake and realize that we were still gliding through the water in the middle of the Pacific. The easy conditions, and that each of us had already sailed very far, made it effortless. One of us would start doing something with the boat, and the others would just know, because they could feel it in the boat, too, and start helping without a word.

Our world shrunk to the boat and the three of us. We fell in love with each other, as fellow humans, travelers, and shimmery moon beans resonating on the astral plane. Naked in body and soul, we would just laugh together at the world and ourselves and found such joy in all the little moments. Our eyes so bright and open and happy for the others.

Our universe was so simple, and our minds so clear, that jokes and thoughts and sentences would circle through our minds as if we were one, all thinking the same things and knowing ourselves so well that we could start completing each others sentences and then playfully change them and crack each other up.

We cooked ginormous meals and gorged ourselves. My two fellow travelers found the other kind of love for each other, and humped voraciously. We laughed when they ran out of all the condoms on board, and they had to find something else to do.

Every few days we'd stop the boat, heave her to, and jump overboard. Swimming away from the boat and looking up at her bobbing in the calm seas, our own little wonderful and compact world within the enormity of the ocean and clouds. We were so completely happy, time could have ended for the outside world and we wouldn't have known.
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Old 02-02-2012, 17:47   #18
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

Looking on the bright side, we're all going to die anyway: if the sea doesn't get us something else will, so people should lighten up about the risks of sailing!
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Old 02-02-2012, 17:54   #19
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

They grow some fine herb out that way, don't they?

:-)

Quote:
Our world shrunk to the boat and the three of us. We fell in love with each other, as fellow humans, travellers, and shimmery moon beans resonating on the astral plane. Naked in body and soul, we would just laugh together at each other and the world and found such joy in all the little moments. Our eyes so bright and open and happy for each other and to be with each other.

Our universe was so simple, and our minds so clear, that jokes and thoughts and sentences would circle through our minds as if we were one, all thinking the same things and knowing each other so well that we could start completing each others sentences and then playfully change them and crack each other up.
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Old 02-02-2012, 18:10   #20
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

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They grow some fine herb out that way, don't they?

:-)
No, it REALY just single hand sailing
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Old 02-02-2012, 18:46   #21
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

I'm more scared driving to the airport or marina. Besides if your number is up .....
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Old 02-02-2012, 19:10   #22
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

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Does anyone other than me feel we spend too much time talking about scary stuff?

All the ships at sea that get lost get posted and debated. Even the magazines are using their limited article space on these? Sailing magazine always has a story of a trip that had problems and they then spin as a lessons learned.

Anyone who finds out about my sailing/cruising plans goes right into the "aren't you worried about the storms and pirates" line of questions.

On the other side we seem to rarely hear of the good things that are the majority!

So how about all your out there doing it, of been then done it, post some good glorious trip stories etc.

Sure "stuff" happens and we need to learn from it to plan for it. But it doesn't happen as much as one would believe from stories etc or we would stop doing it!

Or ................ is the whole thing some kind of plot to scare people away to have more room for those that are left?
Maybe its because of the same reason that we look at car accidents-morbid curiosity.

Or maybe its because our news services and governments like to keep us scared and have trained us well to be afraid of all sorts of scary monsters that are going to ruin our lives.

But it does provide us with education on prevention in many circumstances. Even recently, the Costa Concordia would have taught the lesson of beaching a holed vessel to a novice somewhere and may save a life in the future.
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Old 02-02-2012, 19:21   #23
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

These scary stories are a good way to learn and prepare. And to know what not to do. I'm retired navy and the ships I was on learned a lot of things the hard way. One capsized completely twice while dead in the water trying to recover a MOB in a hurricane. Another got all the boilers snuffed out from a volcano that erupted way too close. The ash was better than a dry chemical fire extinguisher. We had a lot of major fires on that one too in my years. The last ship ran aground bad twice and crushed a pier another time. Stupid captain to blame for all that. Needless to say, I learned a whole lot of what NOT to do from my experience. I learned a lot from all the stories I heard and training I had too. I can guarantee you my boat will never be out in a hurricane or within 500 miles of an active volcano!!!!! I also don't come into the dock at full speed and expect reverse to stop me at the last second.
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Old 02-02-2012, 19:23   #24
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Lucas View Post
Does anyone other than me feel we spend too much time talking about scary stuff?

All the ships at sea that get lost get posted and debated. Even the magazines are using their limited article space on these? Sailing magazine always has a story of a trip that had problems and they then spin as a lessons learned.

Anyone who finds out about my sailing/cruising plans goes right into the "aren't you worried about the storms and pirates" line of questions.

On the other side we seem to rarely hear of the good things that are the majority!

So how about all your out there doing it, of been then done it, post some good glorious trip stories etc.

Sure "stuff" happens and we need to learn from it to plan for it. But it doesn't happen as much as one would believe from stories etc or we would stop doing it!

Or ................ is the whole thing some kind of plot to scare people away to have more room for those that are left?


During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt told the American people that they had nothing to fear except fear itself.Today things are different. A new culture of fear runs rampant in western democracies, and politicians who should be telling people to not be afraid are using fear to manipulate and control the populace. Something is wrong with this picture, and I'll explain why.I have a healthy respect for sharks when they are in feeding frenzy, and if someone is spear fishing, I get out of the water, but I'm not afraid. I'm simply using my God-given common sense. I know it's not difficult to stay out of harms way when I make a visit to Shark Land. Certain types of behavior on my part may create aggressive behavior on a shark's part. Nevertheless, I shouldn't blame sharks for their aggressive behavior, and instead, I should stop doing things that make them become aggressive. It would be stupid for me to do things that create aggression, and then expect sharks to remain docile and disinterested. The reason I'm not afraid of sharks is because I don't do things that place me at risk for attacks by sharks.

I lived outside the USA for a quarter of a century, and sixteen of those years were in the Middle East. During all those years I wasn't afraid. There was no reason to be afraid because I didn't engage in behavior that placed me at risk. Innumerable times fearful people have told me how dangerous it was to live in the Middle East, how perilous it was to sail through the Malacca Straits, and how sharks wanted to take me out to dinner, and they are right. Half-truths and quarter-truths are the currency of fearful minds. The Middle East is dangerous in specific small restricted areas, and the same is true in Miami and New York. I wouldn't go into a Seven-Eleven convenience store after ten o'clock at night anywhere in the USA. I know of people who died in a convenience store at night. The last time I checked, 35,000 people were killed with guns in America in a single year. Homegrown violence in America is appalling. Do you remember Columbine? So what is more dangerous, living in the Middle East or in Middle America? The answer is that both are dangerous if you engage in behaviors putting you at risk. Even with the handgun carnage that happens every day in America, I'm not afraid to live in America because I know how to stay out of harms way.I sailed up the Red Sea for two months and had an enjoyable trip, and I would like to do it again. The Red Sea has wonderful diving, and good people live in all the countries around its shores.Everywhere I go in the world, 98 percent of the people are good honest citizens, and there is nothing to fear from them. I have traveled extensively in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Oman, the Emirates, and Israel, and I have always been treated with respect. Without exception, the only time I have been treated rudely was in large cities by citified folks who were in a hurry, and who are rude to everyone, not just me.

Every place I visit on planet earth is extremely dangerous when I do things that put me in harms way. At the same time, every place is extremely safe, and there is nothing to fear when I turn on my brain and use it. That's why God gave me a brain and programmed it with common sense. When I turn on my brain, I can go almost anywhere I want without fear springing up in my heart.

I'm not immune to fear, and I'm not a brave person, but at the same time, I don't let fear rule my life. I sailed around the world for eleven years on my yacht and traveled where many people fear to go. I discovered that Franklin Roosevelt was right. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.In spite of sharks and their rows of fearful teeth, life still is good.


Please excuse me now. I'm going for a swim.

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Old 02-02-2012, 19:24   #25
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

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Originally Posted by rrranch View Post
These scary stories are a good way to learn and prepare. And to know what not to do. I'm retired navy and the ships I was on learned a lot of things the hard way. One capsized completely twice while dead in the water trying to recover a MOB in a hurricane. Another got all the boilers snuffed out from a volcano that erupted way too close. The ash was better than a dry chemical fire extinguisher. We had a lot of major fires on that one too in my years. The last ship ran aground bad twice and crushed a pier another time. Stupid captain to blame for all that. Needless to say, I learned a whole lot of what NOT to do from my experience. I learned a lot from all the stories I heard and training I had too. I can guarantee you my boat will never be out in a hurricane or within 500 miles of an active volcano!!!!! I also don't come into the dock at full speed and expect reverse to stop me at the last second.
WOW, some captain. Which Navy? Mchales?
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Old 02-02-2012, 19:26   #26
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Re: Too much scary stuff?




DON'T LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF NEGATIVITY.
LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF YOUR DREAMS!

You are never safe from negation. Unchecked negativity can rapidly flush the achievements of a lifetime down the drain. Negativity is an ever present and unwanted companion that continually invites you to abandon your dreams.


Everyone moving in the direction of their dreams will suffer defeats and sometimes feel their dreams are impossible. Negativity will attempt to derail them on the path of achievement, and the temptation to quit will be strong. Everyone wants life to be easy. They want either no opposition at all or opposition to politely step out of the way as they move toward their goals. This is unrealistic. People who achieve their dreams aren’t strolling through life; they are climbing the mountain of difficulty, and hard work and perseverance are the only way to reach the top.

If you ever reach your dreams, it will be because you stopped listening to the voice of fear and negation. You stopped looking at your limitations and stopped constructing barriers that exist only in your mind.

When you decide to sail around the world on a sailboat, you encounter an ocean of opposition. A crowd of naysayers and critics freely offer unsolicited opinions and advice concerning your proposed circumnavigation of the globe. Friends are sure you are having a midlife crisis. When you write the check to pay for your yacht, they inform you that you have made a down payment on an expensive funeral at sea. They tell you all of that money could have been spent on a nice house, 100 channels of cable television, and the help of a good therapist to get you over this foolish desire to sail around the world. The easiest thing to find on planet earth is someone to tell you why your dreams are too expensive, too dangerous, and a waste of time. With cheerleaders like that, it’s amazing anyone pursues their dreams.

It’s not just family and friends who question your judgment. During moments of adversity, you wonder whether you are heading down a one way street in the wrong direction. The voice of fear starts a powerful negative chorus that repeats itself thousands of time, and if you start listening to its message, your dreams will evaporate.

What would happen if you fall off the boat at night at sea? What happens if a whale rams your boat? What happens if you hit a floating log, or if a ship runs you down at night? What happens if a hurricane strikes? What happens if you meet pirates or drug runners? What if your boat is struck by lightning? What if your boat runs up on a reef and is destroyed on a remote deserted island? What if you get sick when you are at sea? What if you have appendicitis when you are one thousand miles from land? What if you hit your head or break a leg? What if your boat turns upside down? What if there is a fire or explosion on board? What if you collide at night with a floating container that has fallen off a ship? What if you become seasick? Who will stay awake at night and stand watch while you sail offshore? What if your boat sinks and you lose all of the money you invested in the yacht? What if you loose your medical skills while you sail around the world? How will you ever be able to return to the practice of medicine?

I experienced all of these negative thoughts many times before I purchased my yacht. Those thoughts could have stopped my voyage before it got started. My dreams would have been stillborn if I listened to the voice of fear.

If I listed all of the reasons why I shouldn’t sail around the world in a small sailboat, I could write a hundred page document full of disaster, difficulty, and despair. I know dozens of reasons why my dreams are too expensive and involve too much risk. If I listen to the voice of fear and negativity, I will sit at the dock and watch everyone else sail on the ocean of their dreams.

Once I hoisted my sails in Fort Lauderdale and started my voyage, I had dozens of opportunities for negativity to sink the ship of my dreams. On my first night at sea, I experienced the most powerful thunderstorm I encountered on the entire trip around the world. Surely, that must have been a sign sailing around the world is a bad idea. It was a message to stop the voyage in the Bahamas, anchor the boat in Chicken Town, and check in to Hotel California where I could never leave, but at least I would be safe.

When I reached the Panama Canal, the voice of fear again tried to cancel my dream of sailing around the world. There is no need to transit the Panama Canal and sail in the Pacific. Just stay in the Caribbean and have a wonderful cruise. The Pacific Ocean is a vast body of water with reefs, cyclones, and killer whales that could destroy my yacht. The voice of fear told me to stay in the Caribbean forever.

After I arrived in the Pacific, the voice of fear started a new verse with the same fearful chorus. It’s three thousand miles from the Galapagos Islands to French Polynesia. You are at sea day and night for three weeks. You don’t see any other humans for twenty-one days, and there’s no one to rescue you if you get into trouble. Don’t go. Stay in Nowhere Land where you’ll be safe.

After I arrived in French Polynesia, the voice of fear said to skip sailing to the Tuamotu Archipelago. You will hit a reef as you sail through the atolls. The passes through the reefs into the lagoons are too small, and once inside you will be trapped. A storm could easily destroy your yacht when it’s inside a potentially treacherous lagoon. Sailing in the Tuamotus involves high risk. Skip them and sail directly to Tahiti.

After I sailed across the Pacific Ocean, it was necessary to sail twelve hundred miles south from Fiji to New Zealand. It’s a big trip into higher latitudes and the voice of fear again rippled through the cruising fleet. The talk was of storms with special emphasis on the recent Queen’s Birthday storm in which lives and yachts were lost. Sailing in the higher southern latitudes presented new and unfamiliar risks. The voice of fear filled everyone with a sense of foreboding. Sailing to and from New Zealand is scary. Some mariners left their yachts in storage in Fiji to avoid the sail south. Other sailors loaded their yachts on freighters and shipped them home.

Several weeks after I arrived in New Zealand, I rolled the car I was driving. I broke both legs, fractured five ribs, punctured one lung and had internal bleeding. I was transfused seven units of blood, had three surgeries, and spent two months in the hospital. Surely, this disaster proved sailing around the world was a bad idea. The sensible thing would be to sell the yacht, buy a plane ticket to Nowhere Land, and start watching cable television where I would be safe and secure for the rest of my life.

Negativity can overtake you anywhere on the path to your dreams. I could have stopped my trip around the world a dozen times before I reached New Zealand.

Surrendering dreams is easy. You can do it anywhere or anytime. Most people will tell you that you are doing the right thing when you sell your dream machine and join the ranks of the Life Long Disoriented.

Negativity is a stalker that never goes away; it’s your unfailing and unwanted companion eternally inviting you to abandon your dreams.

Negativity is a dream stealer. Don't listen to the voice of negativity. Instead, listen to the sound of your dreams.
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Old 02-02-2012, 20:01   #27
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

Thats an excellent post, My sentiments entirely,

Every thing you do in life has risks, Even getting out of bed,

Common sense prevails, unfortunately common sence is not that common these days,

There are millions of boats out there, very few actually sink or get destroyed for what ever reasons,

I ride big fast motor bikes, I snow ski, Both can be exceptionally dangerous,

But every thing you do has risks, bit listening to other people who have had a crash, Helps you to understand the risks, and gives you an input to avoid the same happening to you,

Golly Gosh. The wind is picking up, Its going to be a real blow, Your in the middle of an ocean, On your own,

What do I do now, Duhhhh,

Ah, That bloke on the video I watched, did this or that, That bloke said if you did this or that, it would get you through,

Every one learns from some one else that has done it,

You pick the good from the bad and put it in practice, which can be difficult,

The first bit is picking out who has done it, and not some computer wizard that got it out of a book.

The scary stuff, is scary, But you learn from it, apply it to your self, It makes you prepared for it, when the **** actually happens,

I love listening to others mistakes, Its called experience, It may save your life one day,

I love being on the open ocean, by myself with no contacts, and no rescue if it does go wrong,

So I apply myself in such a way that any thing that can go wrong I can cope with it,

I thank all those that put up the scary stuff, Because it helped me immensely,

Get out there and do it, Its a great world we live in, Its only missing you to do it,

Cheers,
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Old 02-02-2012, 20:27   #28
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

My Dodge Ram has air bags. I have never wondered if they will work nor do I care. I have more chance of dying in this truck on a normal day than I have on my boat in a stormy sea.
My only fear of sailing is seasickness. I hate the thought of retching to the point of wishing I was dead.... After that it's all as interesting as airbags.
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Old 02-02-2012, 21:25   #29
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Re: Too much scary stuff?

One of you guys is going to run into a shipping container and I'm gonna be there to say "I told you so...."



... just kidding
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Old 02-02-2012, 21:47   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rebel heart
One of you guys is going to run into a shipping container and I'm gonna be there to say "I told you so...."

... just kidding
Only if you sail in/on a shipping container...

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