Cruising on a Sailboat: The Fantasy, The Reality

Somewhere in the back of the mind floats a fantasy of the romance and adventure of sailing off to foreign lands on your boat. The sun is always shining. Skies and water are always blue. The wind blows gently at 10-15 knots where ever you want to go. Each night you anchor in a beautiful sheltered cove, usually with palm trees ashore, and celebrate sunset with a glass of wine before eating your gourmet dinner. Depending on your mood, you see no one as you look at an isolated island paradise, or you see charming villages with cute restaurants and well supplied stores. The boat performs perfectly whatever you ask of it, be it a thrilling ride, heeled over, exalting in the speed, or coasting gently with a colorful spinnaker afloat. That is the picture. That is the dream.

Reality has some elements of the dream. There really are sun sparkled days and star spangled nights. There are times when the boat sings through the water, wind and craft in harmony. But be advised, these are not the common moments. In the real world, the wind blows too weakly to move the boat fast enough to reach your destination, or it blows too strongly and sails must be reefed, or maybe, the wind is perfect, but blowing in exactly the wrong direction, slowing progress and turning your beautiful sailboat into a motor boat.

The beautiful tropical isles have mosquitoes and "no see ums"; the charming villages are shabby and poor. They are still replete with happy people and unique history, but joblessness abounds and paint peels. The cute restaurants have linoleum floors and plastic chairs.Things break on boats and you must be an electrician, plumber, and mechanic. Sometimes you laugh as you balance in your 2 and 1/2 by 2 and 1/2 foot cold water shower stall, pitching from side to side as the boat rolls and bucks over the waves.

Storms can catch you unaware. The boat heaves and groans and you struggle against beating sails and stubborn, taut lines to regain control. You can sail for hours on the edge of fear while wind whines. lightning flashes, and waves tower around you. But make no mistake, this too is part of the adventure. When you succeed in dominating the elements, conquering obstacles, making all the repairs, you are no longer 68, you are 28 again, strong, brave, and full of life, because, by God, you can still do it. And the joy of meeting every challenge, of being master of your fate makes up for all the small moments when things go wrong.