Broken Gear, a way of life?

As the post title says, broken gear is a way of life. It's part of boating. One hopes for as little broken as possible, but one should always prepare for the worst, or at least the worst one can imagine. When boaters get together the subject usually turns to "remember that night when we lost....." I'm not really sure why we talk about it, perhaps it's the badge of honor to say we'd survived a problem at sea. We've all had them. Some are simply little mishaps, others are giant "Oh Shit" moments. Scott's first was on a dear friends boat coming down the coast in 2007, the boom sheared off. For my dear friends who don't know, that's really bad! My first was our Astoria to Newport leg coming down the coast and we were in fog so thick we couldn't see 50 feet from the boat for hours. We wouldn't leave the next port until we had a radar. I took several slugs of rum upon our arrival safely at the dock that time. Problems at sea are a way of life for boaters. I think part of the reason we talk about them is to help other boaters realize they aren't alone.

Over the years we've been boating I've heard all sorts of "emergencies" at sea. Our friends who's windlass decided to fry on the way coming down the coast starting a small fire aboard. Then our friends who timed the bar crossing at Astoria and were off by quite a bit. The following seas were pushing them and they had a rather uncomfortable, to say the least, crossing. That trip had two of the most skilled sailors I've known, with countless bar crossings. I've been taking mental notes recently of the issues friends, new and old, have had coming down to Mexico. One set of friends had all sorts of issues with the boat itself: rotting wood, de-lamination, just to name two. We've recently met a couple here in Ensenada who made it 300 miles south of us only to have trouble with the transmission and need to be towed back. Then there are the little problems, fowled prop, dirty fuel, and silly mistakes from being tired that almost every boat at sometime or another experiences. We ourselves have had all of those at one time or another.

So why do we do it? I can't really say. It's different for everyone, but it's the accomplishment that keeps me going and the promise of the next port. The next port, new, unseen by us, full of some kind of wonder or another. I can't answer for the others, but for me, it's to continue to see what's out here. A spirit of adventure that is part of some humans make up. "To Boldly go" for those of us geeks. That's why when these "emergencies" at sea happen, we come into port, regroup, take a slug of rum, and then bugger on. The rewards outweigh what we might consider any inconveniences. Looking back, I usually find the situation wasn't as bad as I thought it was at the time. I now feel foolish about some of the times I've panicked. I've grown from those situations and while now I see them for what they were, I'm better for the experiences. Maybe that's the reason we sailors talk about them. There's a growth to us everyday out here. It's true, you never are to old to learn.

Fair Winds My Friends!