So… when we started this adventure we were both die hard sailors who absolutely LOVED sailing. Sailing was often the best way to spend a day. If the winds were calm we could relax on deck and enjoy the clouds and water. We did not care if we were going slowly. After all if we wanted to go fast we would have bought power boats. We bought a sailboat because we are not in any hurry. The idea is to slow down and enjoy the journey.
If the winds were stronger we could enjoy setting the sails and making adjustments to our sail trim. We could pull on lines and adjust them in or out and learn how the boat speed responds. The magical moment in 15 knots of wind when you adjust everything just right and the boat lifts up and surges forward is magical. I used to get so excited with pure joy and hoot and holler encouragement to her… “go wildchild go baby…”.
You know all this stuff… you find this magical moment when you are sailing your boat too.
Then after months of North Atlantic sailing in the fall I started to HATE sailing. We sailed everyday it was possible to sail for months and months, often in terrible weather, definitely lots of fog and cold wet rainy misery.
Of course the wind forecasts were always wrong, the wind was always stronger then forecast and very often on the nose. Sailing upwind can be fun but… sailing into 25 knots of wind and 6 foot waves all day can wear you down. WildChild is a Racer/Cruiser… which means she can point upwind better than most boats.. but when she does she heels over on her side and wants to lay her side rail in the water. Well down below that means your house is on its side and it is uncomfortable. You can’t stand or cook or set anything on the table or relax. Every muscle in your body is flexed all day long to compensate for the constant motion and gravitational pull on your body from all different directions. Your core muscles are always working to keep you balanced, you get tired.
Sailing in the Atlantic north east of Canada/US means sailing around rocks and islands and currents and tides. It means sailing for weeks thru a dangerous maze of lobster pots. It means constant stress to keep the yacht safe and constant pressure to figure out where you are and where you will go today and pressure to make good decisions about the weather. Every second of everyday you are responsible and under pressure. There is no getting away from what I have termed captains disease… the constant weight of responsibility for your yacht that weighs on your mind continually.
I just HATED sailing. Didn’t want to do it anymore. Hate waking up everyday on a wet sailboat… hate being responsible every day for a sailboat… hate always being vulnerable and close to danger… hate being trapped 24/7 in the small space… Hate not being able to just go for a walk or ride a bike or walk to the corner store… Hate being at the helm… hate having to constantly adjust the sails to compensate for the moody changes in the wind… Hate having struggle everyday to stay safe AND get to the next anchorage…
I JUST HATED SAILING!!!!!
Doing it on weekends and doing it as a lifestyle are very different things. It became a job, I lost any joy I used to get from sailing. It broke my spirit. I began to suffer sailing rather than enjoy sailing.
Well… as we got further south the sailing has gotten easier. Florida is so easy to sail in. Our last two sails have actually gone rather well. We even threw the spinnaker on the last sail (Because the winds were much lighter than forecast) but the Ocean was calm and happy the air warmer, the waves gentle. For the last 2 sails I did NOT hate sailing. My spirit got a break from the misery. In calmer conditions the boat was a more comfortable place to live in under passage. When not on watch I could relax and read a book or make a meal or eat.
Now that we have had a nice long break from sailing (we have been here at the Port Canaveral yacht club for 3 weeks now) I feel ready to go sailing again. My spirit is healing. Part of my spirit is starting to remember the joy sailing once gave me… like a dim memory slowly coming back to me. A small part of my soul is actually looking forward to going sailing again.
So for those of you following us on YouTube… please bear with us… there is still 2 more months worth of video footage coming showing the misery. It will give our channel a depressing negative feeling but that was the reality of the sailing it took to get here.
Things do get better. I still will not say that it was worth it!
My open and honest opinion to those of you out there wanting to escape winter on a sailboat… my genuine advice to you is… buy a smaller boat with shallow draft (5 feet or less) with a good motor, and just motor out of the great lakes down one of the canals to New York City and then motor your way down the ICW. It is less than half the distance of going out the ST. Lawrence (WHICH IS A BAD IDEA) and it is so much easier, like 10 times easier.
Be nice to yourself… limit your suffering and misery…
TAKE THE EASY ROUTE AND DO IT THE EASY WAY… STAY INSIDE THE ICW…!
Next jump on January 25th will be 103nm south to Lake worth inlet at Palm Beach. Then jump across to the BAHAMAS around the beginning of February.
CHEERS Sailors.