Complacency

[Captain Smollett]

I hope I never become complacent on the sea.

This is the thought that struck me as a drove today to the boat ramp.  I was planning to take my children from Beaufort out to Shackleford Banks on the dinghy.  This is a 9.5 ft boat powered by a 2.5 HP outboard (with oar backup) in tidal waters and a major deep water inlet on the east coast of the United States.  Though technically not venturing into the "open sea," we going to be "right there", fully exposed to the swell and wind.

I realized on my drive that I was in a very serious mood.  I am always like that before heading "out," especially since taking up "coastal boating." I thought about this, and noticed that of the many boaters I have met in the last 5 or so years, quite a few of them take a very lax attitude toward their boating.  I see boats all the time with stuff not lashed down, fenders dragging in the water under way and of course, the ever present undersized ground tackle for "anchoring out."  I see boaters that just point the nose "that way," push the button and go.  No second thoughts, no contingency planning and no real "weather eye" to the wind.  And too, I've met boaters that think the rescue services work for them personally and are there to tend to their comfort...calling for help if things get "uncomfortable."  I'm sure we could try to outdo each other with the head-scratcher, face-palm stories of things we've all seen.

I have been complacent on inland lakes.  I have thought of the water, and the wind, as something to be understood and "mastered."  I thought I COULD know everything I needed to know whether I did at the time or not.  In short, I thought I could handle it, and things were no big deal. 

My first forays to coastal waters changed that attitude.  I realized, from reading and listening to others, that things nearer, or even on, the ocean were 'bigger:'  the waves, the weather, the storms, etc.  "Am I up to this?" I asked myself.  All of a sudden, I noticed, my attitude was one of inferiority.  No longer did I adopt a mental state of "control," but of humility.  What I was doing had an element of danger, and I was responsible not only for my life and welfare but for that of three other people as well.

I recall the story of the father, son and son's friend who died while trying to enter Charleston Harbor; they hit the jetty, lost the boat and all drowned.  In the aftermath of this incident, the usual second guessing included criticism of the sailor - why was he out there (rather than the ICW), in the era of GPS, how could one make such a navigation error, etc.  On our own first trip, I wondered, "will tomorrow's headline and commentary be about us? Will my judgment hold up to the scrutiny?"

I guess I'm a serious guy...some think I'm a humorless curmudgeon that just takes the fun out of everything.  Maybe that's true by some perspectives.  But today I realized that seriousness is born of respect for the environment to which I am subjecting those that trust me to make good decisions.  I am humbled by the sea and even those inland lakes that I once thought I had 'beaten.'  Sailing or boating can bite me, us, anytime.   I want to come back, and I want to bring back those that trust me to do so...and no EPIRB, 50 ft wondersailer or whiz bang fuel filter bears that responsibility for me.

Our margins of safety are thinner than we like to tell ourselves they are.  Once while singlehanded sailing in high winds, I was having a blast...only to learn that just a couple miles from where I was, on the same lake, another sailor, similarly enticed by the boisterous conditions, had lost his life while I was having so much fun.

So, humorless curmudgeon or not, I hope I never become complacent about the sea.  We have a saying on our boat..."Luck favors the prepared."  I hope I never fail to take the responsibility of those preparations seriously, even if that decreases my personal 'fun quotient.'

And to all those that just point the nose out of the harbor with nary another thought, I say, "Fair Winds.  Fare thee well."  But that way is just not for me.

[tomwatt]

I like your train of thought.
Perhaps this is why I am more attracted to the river system (that and the fact that it actually leads somewhere) than lakes boating.

The sea will have what the sea wants.


All my life, I've been reminded that my great-uncle was lost at sea aboard the U.S.S. Cyclops. I find that sobering to contemplate.

[CharlieJ]

And that makes three of us ( including Laura).

I recently got into a small snit with the owner of the boat we were crewing on. We were anchoring and he decided to make a funny as I was calling chain sections. I let him  know that during certain times, funny was inappropriate. Anchoring, un-anchoring, coming into a dock,  heading offshore, etc was serious stuff. After a few seconds reflection, he agreed.

And no. I personally don't thing there's anything "curmudgeonly" about it- it's a big ocean out there, and we venture there at our own peril, cause that ocean doesn't care. It just IS.