There is a saying in the boating world, The 2 happiest days in a boat owners life are the day he buys a boat and the day he sells his boat. The thing is, nobody really talks about the days in between.
The 1st Happiest Day is when ownership starts. It’s a day of jubilation. You are now the proud owner of a new to you sailboat. The sun seems a little brighter. The joy you feel can be seen by the strangers you pass on the street. Everything is right with the world.
The next few days are spent getting to know your new mistress, inspecting her every nook and cranny to see what she is hiding. Discoveries are made and treasures are found.
To-do lists are started and getting longer by the minute. Enthusiastically work is started with an end goal in sight. A timeline is firmly in place.
As to-do tasks are completed more discoveries are made and with each passing day the to-do list is growing ever longer. You begin to wonder if you will ever complete the dreaded list. The timeline is extended.
Days turn into weeks and weeks into months. The To-do list is never ending and the bank account grows smaller. The rabbit hole gets deeper. Your mistress is getting the upper hand and she has a firm grip on the dock.
Another saying in the boating world is A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. So, finished or not the decision is made to toss the lines and get the old girl moving. After all, tasks can be finished and repairs completed somewhere “out there”.
As wind fills the sails and the hull slices through the blue water, the joy of day 1 comes flooding back. Dreams of sailing from one exotic place to another and relaxing at anchor to the soft sounds of water lapping at the hull are now becoming a reality. All is right with the world.
But mistresses are fickle. She is satisfied one day and angry the next. It is a never ending chore to keep her happy. She loves shiny new bits and bobs.
Sailing to a new location and dropping anchor is what dreams are made of. Reality is the new location is a new place to fix more things which have malfunctioned or broken along the way. It’s a day or two of looking for parts and unpacking tools to once again make the mistress smile.
When the wind and weather are in your favor once again it will be time to lift the sails and point her toward her next location to repeat the same pattern over and over and over again.
Sailing is not a race, it’s a slow and steady stroll. Reality is 20% of your time is spent sailing and 80% maintaining the old girl is about right. And forget about the budget, it was blown long before you ever left the dock.
So why do it, why buy a sailboat. Do it to fulfill the fantasy; do it as a scratch to relieve the itch; do it because you just want to.
Finally when all your wishes come true, the itch has been scratched, and the coffers have run dry, relieve the old girl of her duties, say goodbye and have your 2nd Happiest Day.
*disclaimer: We are still on our 1st happy day.