A frequent comment I get from friends and co-workers when I tell them I\u2019m taking two years off to go sailing is, \u201cYou\u2019re so brave!\u201d Ssshhh\u2026don\u2019t tell anyone but I\u2019m not.\u00a0 The farthest thing from it.\u00a0 I\u2019m Yellow Bellied.\u00a0 Lily-livered.\u00a0 Chicken.\u00a0 Gutless.\u00a0 A Scardey Cat.\u00a0 People will ask me, \u201cAren\u2019t you scared of rogue waves?\u201d\u00a0 I think to myself, \u201cI didn\u2019t think about that one\u2026maybe I should be?!\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m scared of bad weather, grounding the boat, getting acutely sick without access to urgent care, getting premature wrinkles from being in the sun so much, landing the dinghy on a beach when there are waves, not having regular access to laundry facilities, staying awake during night watch, cooking while underway in rough conditions\u2026the list goes on.<\/p>\n
I fear the unknown. For me, a big portion of doing this trip is to conquer some of that fear.\u00a0 I think the trick is to try and focus on what\u2019s dangerous instead of what\u2019s uncomfortable.\u00a0 Rounding Point Conception, surfing down 15-20 foot swells with winds gusting up to 41 knots was uncomfortable, not dangerous. \u00a0Personally, I prefer to be comfortable.\u00a0 The reality of our trip is that we\u2019ll have lower lows but we\u2019ll also have higher highs.\u00a0 My goal is to more gracefully endure the uncomfortable lows in order to better appreciate the really good stuff.\u00a0 Wish me luck.<\/p>\n
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