Hope for the Best

Bob Bitchin

The Common Bond I envy people who are just getting into sailing. I really do. Every year at the boat shows Jody and I talk to thousands of boaters, but the ones with the most enthusiasm, the most joy, are those who have just discovered what the sailing lifestyle is all about. I think that the time between when you first discover what cruising and the lifestyle can mean, and when you finish your first major voyage, has to be the best time. For those of you who have been sailing, just think back a bit. Remember all the great firsts? The first time you actually pulled out of a slip on your own? The first time you popped the headsail and felt it fill the sails, wondering if the boat might, indeed, flip over? Those memories are intense and will be with you forever, but they can not be relived. Then there’s the things that drive you nuts after you’ve been sailing awhile. All of a

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Starboard Attitude sudden it seems that wherever you look on your boat you can see little things that need to be fixed, or changed, or improved. Back when you first walked onto a boat all you saw was neat stuff! The compass! Kewl! Back then you didn’t know it was five degrees off, and didn’t really care. And the main salon. What feeling could compare to the first time you went below on a boat? The utter amazement that all of this space was actually underneath the deck. The warmth of the wood. Now all you can see when you go below is the spot that leaks when you are in a rain storm, or the cushion turned upside down so other people won’t see the rip in it. Remember the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt? Well, the more you know your boat, the less you seem to appreciate it. Newbies don’t have those problems. All they can see is the adventure that will be theirs when they get out there with the wife and kids, enjoying a great day of sailing. And so they walk the shows with their dreams intact, while you, with a much wiser eye, avoid the new boats. You know they are only new for awhile. You are busier checking out the goodies in the tents: the new varnish that will last two years, the refrigeration system that works air-cooled on 12 volts, and the GPS chartplotter that is now priced where you can afford it. The fact of the matter is, you have been

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Bob Bitchin there and done that. You were once that newbie. Where he is, you once were. Where you are, someday, with luck, he may be. Because you have seen the storm subside. You have felt the swelling inside after weathering a storm, and felt the oneness with your vessel for bringing you through. In your memory is the picture of your first departure from the dock, and what’s more, you can even recall that you made it back! And without losing too many of your crew! Bonus! Yes, the newbie has the adventures to look forward to. But so do you. Take solace in the fact that now you have been there and done that (and maybe even got the shirt!). But you have something that the newbie may never have... memories. Sure, as you sit belowdecks looking at the water stain down the side of the bulkhead, you wish that you had fixed it. But do you remember the storm you were in the first time you found that leak? Do you remember when you first discovered that your compass was off by five degrees? Was it when you almost missed the entrance to a pass? Lessons hard learned are well learned, and you learn a lot every time you go out. So maybe the newbie isn’t all that lucky. Perhaps it’s the seasoned sailor that is better off.

I know when I think back to my early days sailing I always feel a warmth. The first

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Starboard Attitude major voyage, while I was still learning to sail on the Stone Witch, a 74’ square-rigged topsail schooner, it was great. Waking hundreds of miles at sea with dolphins playing in our wake, what could be better? Yeah. Having years of sailing behind you gives you the best of sailing. The passages. The days learning. But wait. Now that I think about it, when I sailed on the Stone Witch we didn’t have an engine. I remember sitting for two days in Puerto Madera waiting for the wind to turn so we could leave. And it never did. We ended up kedging about halfway out of the estuary, only to have the anchor slip and we drifted right back to where we started. That wasn’t fun! And we used a sextant to get our position. Now all those lucky newcomers need to do is press a button on a GPS and they know within five feet where they are. So you know what? There is one common bond that makes the newbie and the old salt among the lucky few. We’ve discovered what sailing can bring to life.

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