Everyone’s In A Hurry!

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“I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why…”

Alabama “In A Hurry” 1992

There’s a strong cold front coming tomorrow.  Everyone’s in a hurry.  We’re not sure why, we have all day.   Five sailboats left the anchorage this morning … we were the first out about 8:30 AM.  We checked the wind — 10 – 12 from 50 degrees, not ideal since our destination was at a 90 degree heading, but only 12 miles away.  So we immediately put up our sails and turned off the diesel.   Aaaahhhhh…

Not one other boat sailed.  Three of the other boats just motored, one put up a sail and motorsailed.  But WHY?  They’re sailboats, on a gorgeous day like today, all of us should be sailing.  I don’t understand.  Maybe it’s my frame of mind…

We had some bad news this morning … a racing sailor friend of ours was killed yesterday in a private plane crash in the Bahamas.  Rushing to meet life head-on, he always had an infectious smile for everyone, although on the race course he could be intimidating.  He seemed to enjoy every minute of life and was way too young.    His family, children and friends will miss him tremendously.

RIP Tony, we will miss you.
RIP Tony W., we will miss you.

But it’s a reminder that every day is a gift.  And as I watched all these boats hurrying along and missing out on an extra hour of enjoying the sail, of the sun sparkling on the water, the dolphins playing around the boat, the wind in my hair and sun warm on my back, for once, I remember to enjoy every minute.  Being a Type A personality, I have to remind myself to relax and enjoy the moment.   But back to the sailing…

On the horizon, you can barely make out the dredging rig.
On the horizon, you can barely make out the dredging rig.

The forecast was for the wind to back to the north over the course of the morning and the rest of the day.  So if we sailed the north tack first, maybe we’d get lucky and be able to take a long tack all the way back.  Except there’s a dredging operation in the way, so we had to tack before planned.

Then heading the other way, a STUPID powerboat (yes, I am calling this guy STUPID!) refused to alter course.  So we had to tack again — otherwise he would have hit us.  I don’t have much patience for idiocy.   But it’s a beautiful day and I refuse to let this jerk affect it….

Close hauled and enjoying every minute of a wonderful sail.
Close hauled and enjoying every minute of a wonderful sail.

That’s OK, we’re clear of the dredging rig and can now sail the long north tack we had tried to begin with and had a fabulous sail back.  At times the wind lightened up and we coasted along at between 3-4 knots, but we’re not in a hurry.  🙂

David and I took turns steering just because it was FUN to sail!
David and I took turns steering just because it was FUN to sail!
If you look closely, you can see our zigzag course. The final leg lifted us the last few miles, right to the marina as the wind backed to the north.
If you look closely, you can see our zigzag course. The final leg lifted us the last few miles, right to the marina as the wind backed to the north.

Please remember to enjoy your day!

3 COMMENTS

    • Hi Cheryl! On a normal day, now several hours later, I’d still be cursing that boat! David said his AIS was probably telling him that he was going to miss us by 10 feet, so that’s 5 feet more than what’s needed. Enjoy today & tomorrow & everyday! Cheers — Jan

  1. Loved reading this. It feels like some cruisers really don’t like to sail too much. Or they find it too much trouble to put up the sails.

    Glad to read that you can enjoy both cruising and sailing. 🙂

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