Attitude . . . . . . . and what it can do.
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:09 am
OK, today is a conference call day for me so I thought I'd take the time to write instead of paying attention . . . . Doh!
Today I was staring blindly at a plaque I got from Bob Bitchin at Latitudes and Attitudes hanging at my desk.
"Attitude: The difference between an ordeal and adventure."
Then my mind promptly shifted to last summers trip North in Destiny. Yeah, while on a call.
. . . . . I was sitting at my desk. In two days we'll be heading out on Destiny for the Gulf Islands in Canada! Destiny was all stocked up with food, spirits, water, clothes, and all the little things you think you need but really only bring a lower waterline. We were to spend a few weeks aboard, meet some friends at Poets Cove, and generally explore new harbours. Then my phone rang snapping me back from a deep thought in my coding. It was my bride Diane. "honey", she says, "We have a problem". I calmly ask "what is the problem". Well, it seems our daughters passport just expired! Literally right before we are to leave! IT takes up to 6 weeks to replace it! You see, our daughter is at the age where an extension is not possible. She must get a new one! NO way we can have it for the trip! Well, looks like we'll stay in the US this year! Diane was frustrated because this ment we could not visit a few of her favorite anchorages. Poets Cove? Out. Winter Cove? Out. Victoria BC? Out. Sidney? Out. Dang. Well, I said, "So what!" Lets just hit the San Jauns, pick some places, coves, anchorages we've never been and hit the favorites we have on this side of the border"! OK! It's settled! Out came the crusing guides! We opted for places like Spencer Spit, Blind Bay, etc etc. We'll hit a new place, then hit an old place, etc etc. Our friends will meet us in Blind Bay on the agreed date! They'll be coming in from Canada since we cannot leave the US! Awesome! we're good to go! So off we go! We head out very early in the morning for a long day motorsailing for Spencer Spit! After getting through Deception Pass, I notice the heat guage on Destiny is starting to rise. Hmm. Day one and now what . . .. .. Soon the heat guage is high enough to be a concern. The engine is shut off and we are now adrift in Rosario Straights. No wind. Off comes the engine cover. Oh Sh&*!$%&^^T or whatever was said . . . . All our coolant is in the bilge! After a few minutes of trouble shooting on day one, it seems we've lost the waterpump gasket! The pump still works but we are spewing water fairly rapidly. After some time of experimentation we learned we could run the motor for an hour before having to add water. OK then! We at least have SOME power. We continued on to Spencer Spit since we were now almost there. Late in the evening we sat sipping wine and discussing what to do about the engine. Could we survive without the ability to charge the batteries efficiently, without the ability to travel any sort of distance reliably, and still have fun. OR do we surrender to our fate and go home saving what was left of our vacation for some time at the house. Our plan. We must stay in the US anyway so distance cruising is out. No motor? No worries there. So we figure we can run two days on battery alone without sacrificing our TV, fridge, freezer, etc. Our plan. Two days out at anchor, 1 or two days in at a dock recharging batteries and topping of water. Repeat that cycle until our vacation time was up! With the very fickle and light summer winds in the San Juans where we would go was no longer something we could plan. You see, currents of 4+ knots are extremely common in the San Juans with some places being much higher. Narrow passages, currents, and fickle breezes would dictate our paths. We got along just fine under sail power! If there was no wind, we stayed. If there was good wind and good currents we made for the next port of call! We ghosted along for hours to make the short hope to Blind Bay arriving late in the day only to find our friends also had passport issues and could not meet us! Bummer . . . . . at first . .... then the realization that we had more wine for us . . . . . .heh heh . . . . . helped soften the blow! Throughout our trip we stumbled into other friends, visited places we'd ignored in the past, had a fantastic time, spent much much more time under sail than we'd anticipated, generally frolicked in the slow groove of SAILING from port to port and not rushing to get that good slip or anchoring spot. The motor was turned off for amost the entire trip. WOW! It is now hard to believe that we considered going home. Missing passport, no engine, screw this. OR Hey, lets just make due! We purposely changed our attitudes, we intentionally took on the HUGE challenge, we had to sacrifice. However we found the HUGE challenge ended up actually being a benifit. The missing passport allowed us time to visit places closer to home we'd roard passed on previous trips, not meeting expected friends was offest by bumping into other friends we'd not seen in years. Our trip . . .FABULOUS! So, now I challenge myself, and challenge you, next time that huge obstacle gets in your way of sailing, work around it. Don't let it ruin your trip! It is amazing what we can do with what we have at the time! Purposely change your atitude. Intentionally decide for yourself if this set back will ruin or enhance your fun! DECIDE to smile and enjoy the day! Change your plans! Some folk believe if the plans get changed the trip is ruined! NOPE! Relish in the new challenges! Do something you did not plan on! Go for it!
Our trip could have been quite the ordeal. Instead, it was an adventure!!
Just sayin . . . . .
Scott
Today I was staring blindly at a plaque I got from Bob Bitchin at Latitudes and Attitudes hanging at my desk.
"Attitude: The difference between an ordeal and adventure."
Then my mind promptly shifted to last summers trip North in Destiny. Yeah, while on a call.
. . . . . I was sitting at my desk. In two days we'll be heading out on Destiny for the Gulf Islands in Canada! Destiny was all stocked up with food, spirits, water, clothes, and all the little things you think you need but really only bring a lower waterline. We were to spend a few weeks aboard, meet some friends at Poets Cove, and generally explore new harbours. Then my phone rang snapping me back from a deep thought in my coding. It was my bride Diane. "honey", she says, "We have a problem". I calmly ask "what is the problem". Well, it seems our daughters passport just expired! Literally right before we are to leave! IT takes up to 6 weeks to replace it! You see, our daughter is at the age where an extension is not possible. She must get a new one! NO way we can have it for the trip! Well, looks like we'll stay in the US this year! Diane was frustrated because this ment we could not visit a few of her favorite anchorages. Poets Cove? Out. Winter Cove? Out. Victoria BC? Out. Sidney? Out. Dang. Well, I said, "So what!" Lets just hit the San Jauns, pick some places, coves, anchorages we've never been and hit the favorites we have on this side of the border"! OK! It's settled! Out came the crusing guides! We opted for places like Spencer Spit, Blind Bay, etc etc. We'll hit a new place, then hit an old place, etc etc. Our friends will meet us in Blind Bay on the agreed date! They'll be coming in from Canada since we cannot leave the US! Awesome! we're good to go! So off we go! We head out very early in the morning for a long day motorsailing for Spencer Spit! After getting through Deception Pass, I notice the heat guage on Destiny is starting to rise. Hmm. Day one and now what . . .. .. Soon the heat guage is high enough to be a concern. The engine is shut off and we are now adrift in Rosario Straights. No wind. Off comes the engine cover. Oh Sh&*!$%&^^T or whatever was said . . . . All our coolant is in the bilge! After a few minutes of trouble shooting on day one, it seems we've lost the waterpump gasket! The pump still works but we are spewing water fairly rapidly. After some time of experimentation we learned we could run the motor for an hour before having to add water. OK then! We at least have SOME power. We continued on to Spencer Spit since we were now almost there. Late in the evening we sat sipping wine and discussing what to do about the engine. Could we survive without the ability to charge the batteries efficiently, without the ability to travel any sort of distance reliably, and still have fun. OR do we surrender to our fate and go home saving what was left of our vacation for some time at the house. Our plan. We must stay in the US anyway so distance cruising is out. No motor? No worries there. So we figure we can run two days on battery alone without sacrificing our TV, fridge, freezer, etc. Our plan. Two days out at anchor, 1 or two days in at a dock recharging batteries and topping of water. Repeat that cycle until our vacation time was up! With the very fickle and light summer winds in the San Juans where we would go was no longer something we could plan. You see, currents of 4+ knots are extremely common in the San Juans with some places being much higher. Narrow passages, currents, and fickle breezes would dictate our paths. We got along just fine under sail power! If there was no wind, we stayed. If there was good wind and good currents we made for the next port of call! We ghosted along for hours to make the short hope to Blind Bay arriving late in the day only to find our friends also had passport issues and could not meet us! Bummer . . . . . at first . .... then the realization that we had more wine for us . . . . . .heh heh . . . . . helped soften the blow! Throughout our trip we stumbled into other friends, visited places we'd ignored in the past, had a fantastic time, spent much much more time under sail than we'd anticipated, generally frolicked in the slow groove of SAILING from port to port and not rushing to get that good slip or anchoring spot. The motor was turned off for amost the entire trip. WOW! It is now hard to believe that we considered going home. Missing passport, no engine, screw this. OR Hey, lets just make due! We purposely changed our attitudes, we intentionally took on the HUGE challenge, we had to sacrifice. However we found the HUGE challenge ended up actually being a benifit. The missing passport allowed us time to visit places closer to home we'd roard passed on previous trips, not meeting expected friends was offest by bumping into other friends we'd not seen in years. Our trip . . .FABULOUS! So, now I challenge myself, and challenge you, next time that huge obstacle gets in your way of sailing, work around it. Don't let it ruin your trip! It is amazing what we can do with what we have at the time! Purposely change your atitude. Intentionally decide for yourself if this set back will ruin or enhance your fun! DECIDE to smile and enjoy the day! Change your plans! Some folk believe if the plans get changed the trip is ruined! NOPE! Relish in the new challenges! Do something you did not plan on! Go for it!
Our trip could have been quite the ordeal. Instead, it was an adventure!!
Just sayin . . . . .
Scott
Pam's daughter found what that means last year,,, after a few outings with folks who couldn't realx and adjust.