I made the decision last Friday that this past Saturday would be the day I take my very first solo sail on the ocean.
In September, it will be two years since my first sailing class. In July of last year, I bought a sailboat. In January, I moved the boat to Galveston (Kemah) and did a refit. In March, I started sailing for real. So, I’m still fairly new to sailing. Over the past couple of months, I’ve become a much better sailor. However, on every cruise since I moved my boat to Kemah, I’ve had someone with me on the boat to help. When sailing, it’s really helpful to have someone onboard to assist with the critical stuff like raising and lowering sails. It’s also nice to have another person onboard to help you out if you accidentally fall overboard. Saturday was going to be the day the training wheels would come off. I would finally take my first ocean sailing solo cruise. Unfortunately, Saturday came and went. I didn’t do it. On the outside, I made up all types of reasons why I couldn’t go. Ultimately though, I chickened out.
Around 630pm on Saturday, I took my mountain climbing and adventure buddy, Chava, to the airport. He was in town for a conference. On the way back, I decided that no matter what, I WOULD sail alone the next day. The next day was June 18, 2023; Father’s Day. This would be my present to myself.
On Sunday, I woke up early and got my training run out of the way. I was super sore because on Friday morning while I was out on a run, I had a dog lunge at me and I fell. By fell, I mean I went all the way flat out on the ground. I should have launched that freaking dog to the moon….. Anyway, when I got home from my run Sunday morning, I spared no time showering, tossing on some shorts, and woofing down a whole can of Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls (I call these lovin’ in the oven). It’s Father’s Day! I deserve a treat.
Before I got to the boat, I had to make the customary stop-off at West Marine. I also picked up some ice for my celebratory after-sail cocktail. I arrived at the boat around 1030 AM. The wind was forecasted to be blowing, and it was. We had a steady wind at about 20 knots gusting to around 30 knots. I looked at the forecast models and it showed a slight decrease after lunch. I knocked out a few tasks on the boat and then went to lunch. Yes, I was stalling. While I ate, I thought about the wind, “Was it too high for me to go out?” In aviation, there’s a saying that goes, it’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground. My biggest fear of sailing alone is that I will accidentally fall overboard (note to self: Install some jacklines next week). I’m not a good swimmer. Okay! Enough stalling. It’s GO time!
Because I had already prepared the boat, when I returned from lunch it only took me about 10 minutes before I was ready to get underway. Whenever I’m nervous or hesitant about doing something, I prefer the “rip the band-aid off” approach. To that end, I cast off the bowlines, did the same at the stern, and slid the throttle in reverse. I was off without incident.
As I made my way out the channel to Galveston Bay, I went over the “procedure” of raising the sails several times. Sometimes the battens in my mainsail get snagged on the lines from the Lazyjack system. To prevent this from happening, you need the bow of the boat directly to the wind. This is usually not an issue with somebody else on board. Today, however, it was just me. To keep the rudder steady while I hoist the sails, I would use this simple rudder lock system I installed a couple of months ago. However, I had yet to use or test the system. I hope it works as advertised.
Finally, I got to the end of the channel and was ready to lift the sails. The wind was crazy. It took some trial and error before I got the boat into the correct position with the bow directly into the wind. “Raise the mainsail!” It went up fine. I then hoisted the headsail. No issues here either. I did it! I was super proud of myself. After you raise the sails and get underway, the next thing you do is clean up or neatly wrap all of the sheets. On a sailboat, the ropes are called sheets. Most folks call them lines too. Unfortunately, I skipped organizing the cockpit and sheets. Instead, I spotted an issue with the mainsail. It was not all the way up. So, instead of doing what I should have done, organizing and wrapping the sheets, I started messing with the mainsail. Later, this would come back to haunt me.
When I became a pilot and did my aviation solo, I had a Go-Pro rolling in the cockpit ( here’s a link to that video https://youtu.be/a0vKYsRqS0o ). On Sunday, I decided to get my Go-Pro out and tape my sailing solo. I mounted the camera on the pushpit rail at the back of the boat. Instead of capturing me in my finest hour, the video I shot this morning was a tutorial on what not to do. Better put, it shows exactly what happens when you let anxiety and nerves push you toward a state of hyper-narrowed focus, or tunnel vision.
Here is a link to the video – https://youtu.be/aeVxlcA8IkM
As you can see in the video, I was totally fixated on that mainsail not going all the way up. In fact, so much so that I missed seeing the cause of the problem despite me putting my hand on the green tangled line several times! When I was taught to fly, I learned techniques to prevent tunnel vision. One drill invokes a specific method of how to scan your gauges as well as the sky around you. In the beginning, you have to consciously remind yourself to scan the gauges and then scan the sky. Over time, it becomes a habit.
There’s a principle called Ocam’s Razor. What this principle states is that the simplest answer is usually the correct one. When the sail didn’t go all the way up and the boat was sailing funny, I was looking way past the simple explanation. Because of this, it took me 5 minutes to solve a simple problem and at one point the boat heeled over and the railing almost went into the water. Ugh. So disappointed. As I shared in the video, another parable often quoted by pilots is this; Experience comes from good judgment, and good judgment comes from bad judgment. You learn from your mistakes. Needless to say, I learned a lot on Father’s Day 2023.
So what’s the moral of the story? A reminder that when things are not going to plan I need to 1. Not allow my focus to narrow when things go bad. Instead, take a deep breath, stay calm, take a step back from the situation, and fully assess what is happening before I start working on a fix. The goal is to give myself some space to make the best decision. 2. Once I understand the problem and the situation, then I can start to work on a solution and then take action to fix the problem. 3. Don’t take shortcuts. Procedures exist for a reason. They keep you safe. I joke that safety is 2nd because number 1 is we only play songs by Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffett on the boat. The ocean is unforgiving. If you’ve got a weakness it will be found. Although one of the many things I like about sailing is that unlike flying, I don’t need any special licensing and certifications to drown myself as well as family and friends, I should always mitigate risks. That said, perhaps a really windy day, such as Sunday, was not the best day for my ocean solo sail. I’ll keep all of this in mind next time. I promise.
In closing, never let fear stop you from following your dreams. Yes, things could go wrong, but things can also go right too. I’m not sure who wrote this, but there’s a quote that goes, “Until you have the courage to leave sight of shore, you will never fully feel the adventure of the sea.” As always, I hope you Find Your Adventure and Live Your Life.
PS-I’m on month 4 of not making anyone cry while sailing! #KeepTheStreakAlive
PPS-Two weeks ago, I ran an off-road trail marathon in Mable Falls. That makes marathon 10.5 this year. It was hilly and kicked my ass. It also claimed one of my toenails. I wrote a funny story about it. I’ll share it later this week.
PPPS-I’m conducting a new experiment. I need to break the habit of waking up each morning and scrolling for 30 minutes on my phone. I also need to stop skipping workouts. I keep the Peloton bike downstairs in the garage. Instead of plugging my phone in to charge in the bedroom, it now gets charged in the garage by the bike. For the past two days I’ve not done the 30-minute scrolling on my phone time waste AND I’ve done the exercise too. I’ll report back with more details in a few weeks.