Some sailors, like us for instance, are superstitious about Fridays, especially Fridays which fall on the 13th of the month. Here's a repost from October 2012 that's most appropriate for today ... Happy Friday the 13th!!
Read More
Hubris, from the Greek, is defined as extreme pride or arrogance; an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities. We learned early on that whenever we exhibited signs of hubris aboard Nine of Cups, Neptune was always listening and made sure to nip our arrogance early in the bud. You can't have sailors becoming too cocky out there.
It seems whenever we feel we're getting good at something and say it out loud, we live to eat our words. It's happened so often and with such regularity that we chide ourselves now whenever we say something out loud as simple as “We never have problems dragging anchor.” We might not have dragged in years, but you can be sure once we brag about it, we'll drag almost immediately.
We sometimes worry that Neptune even reads our minds. It's one thing to curb your tongue and not brag out loud, but even thinking it can get us into trouble. What actually happens is I think something like... “Geez, we haven't had an issue with the nav lights in ages” and then unwittingly I mention it. “David, you must have finally found the fix for that nav light problem, huh?” We look at each other and sigh. “Sorry, I can't believe I said that out loud.” Invariably, the nav lights will flicker and die the next time we need to use them.
We do our best to assuage Neptune and keep him happy. We never leave on a passage without giving him his tot of rum. We never end a passage without paying homage and thanking him for our safe journey and arrival. But oh my, start beating our chests about something we think we do well ... he just won't tolerate it. We're good at eating humble pie.
Have you found the same thing happens to you? On land or sea, when you brag too much about something, does it come back to bite you?
Our favorite hubris story involves picking up a mooring ball in New York City. It wasn't funny at the time, but it certainly seems pretty funny now. If you're interested in reading this little anecdote, sign up for the JALF newsletter and Gentry will send it along to you. If you've already signed up for the newsletter, look for the link in this Friday's newsletter.
| Days and Ways to Celebrate |
| A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them. |
| Mario Day |
| Are you into video games? Then this is your holiday - so named because it spells out Mario when you write out the date as MAR IO. Clever huh? |
“Do one thing everyday that scares you” said Eleanor Roosevelt. I'm not quite sure I agree. I need a break every once in awhile from things that scare me, but maybe once a week would be okay. Really what she means is to keep yourself challenged, not necessarily with life-threatening activities, just traveling into new and uncharted territory once in awhile. Don't be afraid to try new things.
Old nautical charts frequently used the expression “Here Be Dragons” for uncharted, unknown territories. When we first moved aboard, everything was new and uncharted … our lifestyle, the boat, living on the water instead of land. Heck, even the terminology was different. It wasn't the toilet any more; it was the head. Dreaming the dream of heading off into the sunset on a sailboat is one thing, but actually doing it ... well, that was downright daunting.
Enter the dragons. We define dragons as anything that causes angst. Fears and anticipation that get your heart pounding, adrenaline pumping and/or stomach churning. There were dragons lurking about the first time we took our new boat out into the Gulf of Mexico; the first time we were out of sight of land; the first time anchoring; the first time waiting for a bridge to open; the first overnight passage which included our first overnight watches alone. It was a world of firsts. Each day was a new dragon to face, a fear to overcome, a dragon to slay.
Dragons come in all sizes and shapes. It doesn't have to be a heart pounding experience. I'm not a seamstress, so when we determined in Ecuador that the cost of replacing the dodger and bimini was too expensive, we decided that I'd make new ones. The dread was palpable. I'd never done this type of a major sewing project before. What if I screwed it up? What if I wrecked all that expensive fabric? What if I failed? Take a deep breath. Think it through. Do some research. Talk out the plan with David. Start the project … then just a little further. Not right? Tear it out and do it again. Be patient. Just a little further. We ended up with a new dodger, bimini, sail cover, winch covers, hatch covers and more. Because once you slay a dragon, you get a new burst of energy and confidence.
Have we had any heart pounding experiences? Oh, sure. I can't imagine anyone living on a boat crossing an ocean that hasn't had at least one or two hairy times. Squalls come up unexpectedly and the first few times, you wonder what the hell you're doing out in this miserable weather with waves breaking over the bow. We've hit rocks and reefs, dragged at anchor, almost had a dragging ship hit us at anchor. The good thing about experiences like this is that they teach you.
We've been told “Oh, you're so brave. I could never do what you're doing.” Wrong! You could, if you wanted to. It might not be your cup of tea, but you could do it. I firmly believe, you can do most anything you want, if you want it enough and are willing to slay a few dragons along the way. Give it try. Do something that scares you today. Slay a dragon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We tend to think of dragons as vicious, cruel and heinous. For many Eastern cultures, the dragon is a symbol of wisdom, power, and luck. In the Chinese culture, they're even portrayed as benevolent and kind. Not quite ready to slay one? How about creating a virtual one to take care of?
Hi there and welcome to Just A Little Further!
We are David and Marcie Lynn and we've lived aboard our Liberty 458 cutter-rigged sailboat since 2000.
What began as an urge to travel slowly and economically at our own pace ended up an adventure of a lifetime.
Well, here we are ... nearly 90,000 miles under the keel, 5 continents, 5 Great Southern Capes, 36 countries and almost two decades later, still taking one passage at a time and going just a little further.
