Luck

Anyone got one of these babies we can have?

A follower of our blog, Joe, wrote me the other day and told me a crazy story of his boat taking on water while he was solo sailing just outside of Ocean City, NJ.   I won't re-tell his story here, but he ended up having to sail into his harbor, down a river, and under a bridge (talk about a nail biter) and he wrote, "This adventure got me thinking about luck.  We need a bunch of it."

He's totally right.

Sure, experience and skill can counter the event of many calamities or mistakes, but not all.  Even the very best sailors have had "Oh s*@t" moments.  Weather can come out of nowhere, an engine can die, a wire can corrode, I mean - a whale can breach on your boat for God's sake!  I can't say for sure, but I'll bet any successful seafarer will tell you he or she has had a little (or more) luck on their side.  Anyone who ventures out onto the ocean in a boat is taking a risk - a calculated risk - and hoping they have a few lucky breaks along the way.

Take our adventure thus far.  I have thought a LOT about luck.  Scott and I, I would say, have been on the "lucky" side of the fence, and for that I am very thankful.  Whenever "disaster" struck (and I put disaster in quotes, as we have really not been in any serious danger) - it was at, honestly, the best time possible.  Sheer luck.

When we hit that storm, we were within 15 miles of shore, and knew we were near safe harbor (we just didn't want to enter one at night, which is why we battled it until morning).  When we were taking on water, it was a beautiful, calm night and we were just 20 miles outside of Buffalo, NY.  We knew if (God forbid) something was *seriously* wrong, we would have been safe.  When our transmission failed and put our engine on the fritz, we literally had *just* left the marina, and were able to get right back to it - safely.  We also happen to be in a city full of marina's and boat mechanics.  Luck.  Luck.  Luck.  I just need to say it now:  THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!

But these things do make me think what could have been.  What if all these things happened at different times? What if our anchor had punctured a hole in our hull while it was swinging wildly in the waves? What if our transmission failed during that crazy storm?  What if we had taken on water just the day before when we were being bombarded by erratic lake Erie waves?  What if...what if....and then I start thinking of us "out there".  It makes me a little....nervous.  Now that we have been out here for a little while - I have a better grasp of exactly how many things can go wrong on a boat, and it is mind boggling how much trust we put in ourselves and our boats.

But I guess this is the beautiful thing, isn't it?  That we trust ourselves and our boats...and with any luck - we'll get through it just fine, and be stronger for it.

I know our issues are nothing compared to what many long-term cruisers have endured, and I know this is not the end of our troubles.  This is just the beginning.  We know this.  And we'll most certainly endure much worse at some point or another.  Maybe not, but it's likely.

Perhaps this is the price we must pay for having the opportunity to live our dreams?

For that, I'd consider myself pretty damn lucky.