Fear and cruising

[dwedeking2]

I think it would be hard to define ”travel” by one definition for everyone. For me I don't connect fear with travel.

As a kid, when we would take a car trip I would see a dirt road branching off, winding between 2 hills and daydream about where it goes and what's at the end of it. This has always been my motivation to explore. I also tend to go to places off the beaten path.

[Mike OReilly]

I dunno AiniA. I think this is a very personal perspective. It doesn't quite feel true in my case. I don't think I'm looking for challenges. What drives my cruising is a desire for a certain type of lifestyle. Challenges come up along the way, some of them rather scary, but that's not why I cruise.

It's the same way I approached remote wilderness canoe tripping. I didn't do it for the challenge, nor to face any fears. I did it because living that way brought me peace and joy. There were significant challenges to overcome, but that wasn't the driving force.

I do think there are some who do it to face their fears, or perhaps challenge themselves, or even "challenge nature" (whatever that means), but that doesn't ring true in my case. In my case, I think any fear I had was around not going cruising. There was a time in my life when I feared I wouldn't have the courage to step away from the security of a more typical life.

[hpeer]

I have always had the fear of not living life to its fullest. AND, perhaps related, I’ve got “over the hill it’s.” The desire to see what is around the bend.

Simply moving through time is “traveling”, and we are all “time Traveller’s” until we are not. So there is no avoiding fear simply by staying in one place, the world moves around us, things evolve.

There are segments of society that seem very risk adverse, they might be “thrill seekers” but we want air tight assurances the roller coaster is “safe.” I knew quite a few suburban wives who were terrified to come into center city Philadelphia. I had a tenant from NYC who was uneasy in Philadelphia because there were so FEW people, she wanted to be bathed in humanity. YUCK!!!

But there are segment sir society that live in low income situations who face all kinds of deadly dangers; drugs and violence. But they may well be afraid of the quiet woods, or the sea.

Few people have sufficient introspection to view their emotions and manage them. And my belief is that our culture tends to dissuade such introspection, the constant TV and wireless connection makes many “hive creatures”, not unlike my tenant. To me that was the message of “The Matrix”, if you looked for it. The Star Trek “Borg” series also engaged interesting questions about the morality of communal thinking vs individualism. So the concepts are not unknown in our culture. But perhaps these were the last gasps of a dying breed. I don’t know.

[Tupaia]

I have always said that the only real fear I have of cruising is the little things, mosquitoes - dengue, malaria, bacteria - weils desease. Virus's Covid 19 ????? a shame because our motivation for cruising is the people you meet.

[letsgetsailing3]

I was never naturally afraid of speed, heights, water, or travel. The first time I flew in a plane I jumped out of it. (Yes, I was skydiving.)

The first time I visited Europe, I was moving there. I had accepted a job there and all my worldly goods were being shipped. It's a good thing I liked Europe, I guess.

I like adventure not because I'm afraid of it, but because I like doing things, and like to be challenged. I like mastering new skills.

When I was younger, I had more of a tendency to "wing it". Over time, I have realized that when the s--- hits the fan, it pays to have done some preparation. Murphy has a way of knowing exactly where your weaknesses of preparation were. That battery you didn't charge? That fuel tank you didn't fill? I guess you'll be sailing to the dock. Didn't bring enough food? There might be a weather delay, and you might get a little hungry.

So when I was younger, I may have been blissfully unaware of dangers.

Now I spend more time in preparation. I don't think there is any more fear, just a better appreciation for the consequences.

You know what I fear more than all of that? Other people. Sad, but I don't like big groups of people so much. I don't like that lady at the breakfast buffet who is uncaringly sneezing near the food, or picking through the raw fruit. (And I had this fear even before the coronavirus.) I'm not keen on the big family at the restaurant with the kids all running around.

Or groups of people who get on an overnight flight together. There's that risk that they'll excitedly talk about their planned trip all night when I'm trying to grab some shut-eye. But if you think about it, this is just another manifestation of natural occurrence. I guess the preparation for that is eye shades and ear plugs. Or maybe appreciating their excitement, as we were probably all there once.

[Benz]

I am afraid of many things, but usually not for myself: an ocean passage that would daunt me to imagine doing with my children aboard did not even cause an internal eye blink when I did it without them, even though it was on a leaky antique wooden boat. I think for me the necessity and toil of caring for small children aboard put all the usual risks of cruising into perspective. I believe it is something that no one who has not cruised with children can well appreciate, but for me the biggest fear; the heaviest weight of responsibility, was that one of them would come to harm. Now, it's not as though I lived consumed with worry and fretfulness, but certainly the wellbeing of the children was the biggest influence in all our cruising decisions.
It was strange, the first time I delivered a boat without them, to feel no pang of concern when we got into ugly weather and things were wet and cold and unpleasant. It was all in a days work as far as seafaring is concerned, but it was strangely like a picnic until I realized that I felt pretty much nothing because my children were miles away in their warm beds ashore.

[GordMay]

Sailors (& other 'adventurers') have always had a heightened sense of community, and have always had to overcome fear, whilst recognizing and responding to dangers.

What Will Our New Normal Feel Like? Hints Are Beginning to Emerge
Fear of others may linger long after the pandemic is over. But so may a new sense of community.
“... Research on the effects of epidemics and sieges, along with the emerging body of knowledge about the coronavirus, hint at what the coming months may look like.
Our ability to focus, to feel comfortable around others, even to think more than a few days into the future, may diminish — with lasting consequences. But we may also feel the tug of a survival instinct that can activate during periods of widespread peril: a desire to cope by looking out for one’s neighbors.
“We are incredibly capable to adapt to any kind of situation,” Mr. Bozovic, now a professor of photography in Montreal, said. “No matter how bad it is, you adapt. You live your life as best you can.” ...”
More ➥ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/w...=pocket-newtab

[hpeer]

Gord,


Our individual ability to look into the future is already pretty damn weak. We don’t need that being impaired.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I dunno AiniA. I think this is a very personal perspective. It doesn't quite feel true in my case. I don't think I'm looking for challenges. What drives my cruising is a desire for a certain type of lifestyle. Challenges come up along the way, some of them rather scary, but that's not why I cruise.

It's the same way I approached remote wilderness canoe tripping. I didn't do it for the challenge, nor to face any fears. I did it because living that way brought me peace and joy. There were significant challenges to overcome, but that wasn't the driving force.

.

I agree that this is entirely personal. I wonder if Camus' comment:

'There is no pleasure in traveling, and I look upon it more as an occasion for spiritual testing.'

is related to the search for peace and joy. Of course, what peace and joy means to someone is entirely personal. Goodness, we are getting quite into existential discussions. I guess we don't have other things to fill our time with.

[MicHughV]

When I was younger a good friend of mine circumnavigated in an old wood sloop using a truck inner tire lashed to his foredeck as a liferaft.

Thusly motivated, I embarked on building my own boat with little more than faith, hope and charity by my side and a few pennies garnered here and there.

That boat, a 38' ketch, was eventually launched, but it had no engine, no fridge, no instruments. My dink was a small fiberglass affair with oars. It also came with a mast, sail, rudder and centerboard. I would think nothing of going ashore under sail power alone.

If I had $10 in my pocket, I felt rich !!

No instruments meant using an RDF, sextant and charts. Over time, my chart collection swelled to 100's.

Though I had a few close calls here and there, I managed to sail everywhere and had the time of my life.

In later years, I added a diesel, electronics, fridge, solar, wind generator, etc and now find I'm a slave to all this gadgetry.

Just providing a perspective :-)

[Tayana42]

This thread is quite contemplative. I’ve been thinking about travel and the lack of travel now with the virus. My wife and I are sheltering at home. Not sailing, not cruising, not being with family or friends, not going to stores. Where is adventure now? Am I afraid of the risk of going outside? These are things to think deeply about. Perhaps it is because I am of a certain age now that reflection on life seems natural. Perhaps I’m in a more Zen mindset now. I don’t think I am afraid, although I am cautious but also curious. I actually am enjoying the concentrated time in isolation with my wife. We have both remarked that it feels much like our years cruising in the small space of our boat with similar planning for supplies and digital or voice communication only with family and friends.

So, for now, today I have concluded only that I am. Today I am. I am in the world. I am part of the world or the universe if you prefer. One with the Universe. Sort of Bob Marley-ish one love. Sort of Spinoza-ish, one Universe, one thing of which we each are an inseparably part. I think feeling, being aware of this oneness is what I seek in sailing, in cruising, in the adventure of life.

Okay that’s too much philosophy for today.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by AiniA

I agree that this is entirely personal. I wonder if Camus' comment:

'There is no pleasure in traveling, and I look upon it more as an occasion for spiritual testing.'

is related to the search for peace and joy. Of course, what peace and joy means to someone is entirely personal. Goodness, we are getting quite into existential discussions. I guess we don't have other things to fill our time with.

Yes, very much a personal perspective for all of us, I'm sure. I do think thrill seeking is quite a different drive compared to what I (we) do. Thrills are just a means to an end; they're part of the lifestyle package. It's is not the end.