Bob Bitchin
Security is a Kind of Death Did you ever notice the first thing a nonsailor will ask an experienced sailor is, “Have you ever been in a bad storm?” I would have to guess that is probably the most asked question I get when I meet people who don’t sail, and they find out I’ve sailed across a few oceans. What this points out to me is, there is an intrinsic fear that people have about going to sea. Thinking back, I can remember thinking I was about to die the first time I ever sat in the cockpit of a small boat when a gust hit the sails, and we heeled over to where the water came up over the deck. I think most people feel something similar. That may actually have led me to the sea as a way of life. It’s probably just something inside me, but I have always felt that a life lived in fear is just half a life. You know those silly 11
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