{"id":50110,"date":"2023-05-05T11:10:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T15:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=50110"},"modified":"2023-05-06T18:22:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T22:22:01","slug":"noob-files-upshot-on-meh-sailing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/people\/noob-files-upshot-on-meh-sailing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Upshot of Imperfect, Unexciting, Totally \u201cMeh\u201d Sailing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"The <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n When we release ourselves from the pursuit of perfection\u2014perfect sailing, perfect weather, perfect parenting\u2014we awaken to the moment with a fresh appreciation for life.<\/span>\n David Blake Fischer<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow\u2019s probably going to be an unremarkable day of sailing. Odds are, I won\u2019t have 15 knots on the beam. I probably won\u2019t see Willy do a flip over the harbor break wall, catch a double rainbow, or curate a sailing experience that\u2019ll wow friends. Yep, in all likelihood, tomorrow\u2019s conditions will be \u201cblah.\u201d The sailing will be \u201cbleh.\u201d I\u2019ll motor back inside the marina feeling \u201cmeh.\u201d And it\u2019s not only okay, it\u2019s often for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write this, we’re closing out four weeks of crap weather in Southern California. In any \u201cnormal\u201d place, rain and 55 degrees wouldn’t elicit sympathy. But this isn’t a normal place; this is Los Angeles. Out here, cloud cover is breaking news. Rain feels apocalyptic. When temps dip below 60, we put on earmuffs, listen to Joni Mitchell and shelter indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m calling it \u201cMarch Sadness.\u201d In four weeks, I\u2019ve sailed only twice. On both outings, friends got seasick; the bilge was wet; sunny California was sunless. If anything captures my recent mood, it\u2019s the old garbage bags that are taped over Delilah<\/em>\u2019s unfinished teak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I’ve been a real Eeyore. Seems to me, the more I love sailing, the harder it gets to accept \u201cbad\u201d days on the water. At the same time, I\u2019m also realizing that sailing, like life, isn\u2019t a beer commercial or a motivational poster. Some days have to suck. The key is to embrace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Father <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n My four-year-old, Ederra, held the tiller and steered us through the soup to a guest dock outside a small grocery market.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Today, I ventured down to the boat with that attitude in mind. Mist-like, upside-down rain bounced off the cockpit floor as the kids and I motored around inside Marina Del Rey. In a stroke of genius, I put on my foul-weather jacket, then immediately sat down in my jeans and soaked my butt.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My four-year-old, Ederra, held the tiller and steered us through the soup to a guest dock outside a small grocery market. \u201cWe can\u2019t sail, but we can eat our feelings,\u201d I told the kids. They scarfed down cookies. I made hot cocoa in the Jet Boil. Then, as rain pitter-pattered outside, we settled in and watched a movie inside Delilah\u2019s tiny cabin.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a tree-filled park in the marina with a hill that offers fantastic views of the main channel. We tied Delilah<\/em> to a transient dock. Ederra was using a wet shoe to kick a waterlogged soccer ball to her brother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a hundred boats here, but no people,\u201d she said, looking around in disbelief. \u201cWhy are there no people?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kids. They\u2019ll remind you of the pleasure and amazement of what life is. Yeah, some days are unremarkable, inadequate, uncomfortable even. But, when we release ourselves from the pursuit of perfection\u2014perfect sailing, perfect weather, perfect parenting\u2014we awaken to the moment with a fresh appreciation for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the park, we watched fishing boats come and go. Long-distance cruisers poked heads from hatches and adjusted their rain tarps. In the distance, the Santa Monica mountains, typically parched and brown, showed a rare emerald green from recent rain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were chilled to the bone and feeding soggy bits of cracker to a couple of ducks on the lawn when a boater on a bicycle sped past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in an overnight slip,\u201d he told me, gesturing down the hill toward Delilah<\/em>. \u201cThe sheriff boat\u2019s coming. They give tickets for that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ran, slipped and slid down the hill and made it back to the boat just as law enforcement floated past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo worries, we\u2019re just practicing,\u201d one of the officers said as they continued past Delilah<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo am I,\u201d I said, powerwalking like a mall-walker down the dock. Looking foolish is so much easier than looking good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, after three rainy hours in the marina, we started back for the slip. I sipped cold coffee and squinted in the mist. Then, about a hundred yards from the dock, a guy in a RIB came motoring by. Behind him, in the pouring rain, a dozen kids were being towed out to sea on Optis<\/em>. The little boats zipped, wiggled and zig-zagged. The looks on the kids’ faces said nothing of the ongoing atmospheric river, seasonal depression or my middle-aged-man-with-a-sailboat problems. Whatever kind of weather we were having, they were here for it, getting the best of it, soaking it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"youth <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The looks on the kids’ faces being towed out to sea on Optis<\/i> said it all. They were here for it, getting the best of it, soaking it up. <\/span>\n David Blake Fischer<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

And it was the look on those faces, the time spent with my kids, and, later, the sight of my rain-soaked self, smiling in photos, that got me thinking: Seems to me, you can spend all your energy chasing perfect days on the water. You can swipe at wind and weather apps. You can download charts. You can stalk sunshine, flat seas and idyllic anchorages. And you can totally wear yourself out. Meanwhile, as Herb McCormick recently noted, \u201cSome of the best times you can have on a sailboat are when you don\u2019t actually go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m just a noob cruiser<\/a> sporting wet denim, steering with the tiller cover on, but I\u2019ll second that emotion. Sailing, like life, is about more than pleasure-seeking. It\u2019s about embracing the full spectrum of emotions and a wide range of experiences\u2014even the unpleasant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, my wish for you is that you float on a blas\u00e9, windless day. That you motor the marina in the rain. That you spill cocoa, sip cold coffee and get wet. That you tie up to an old dock, feed the ducks, or at the very least feed yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because sometimes good enough is good enough. Sometimes the low points turn into highlights. And, even when they don\u2019t, does it really matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Blake Fischer is a \u201cnoob\u201d sailor living in Southern California whose work has appeared in <\/em>McSweeney\u2019s, <\/em>BuzzFeed, <\/em>the Moth, and <\/em>Good Old Boat. He hasn\u2019t crossed oceans. In fact, he\u2019s only recently crossed the Santa Monica Bay. Follow him as he fumbles out the channel, backwinds his jib and sometimes drags his fenders on his Cape Dory 25, <\/em>Delilah. Stalk him on Instagram @sailingdelilah<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good vibes only? Not so fast, my friends. Sailing, like life, is about embracing the full spectrum of emotions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":50111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"David Blake Fischer","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_image":false,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[165],"tags":[252,197,1916],"class_list":["post-50110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-cruising-with-kids","tag-people","tag-the-noob-files"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}