Aleria's Adventures

2018 is a remarkable year for sailing around the world. There are scores of vessels out there crossing oceans in the Golden Globe Race, the Longue Route, the Route du Rhum and the Transatlantic Race as a start. These are all the folks that are racing. There are plenty of stories going around, too, with carnage befalling most of the fleets. On top of that, Randall Reeves has embarked on a second try for his Figure 8 Voyage and Jeanne Socrates has joined the fray aiming to be the oldest woman to sail solo nonstop around the world. You can follow them all on the Longue Route Fleet Tracker.

One of the questions we often hear from people who would never contemplate crossing oceans or moving to another country is, "Weren't you afraid out there?" Yes there were times when we experienced fear, but we didn't panic. We spent years learning everything we could, practicing what we would do if something went wrong, and beefing up our spare parts department. We knew if we didn't panic and worked together, we could work our way through almost anything.

Or not.  I am a proud member of the Ocean Cruising Club, and have been drafted onto the Committee. As part of my responsibilities, I have taken on the very first PR Officer role, have become the head of the Communications Subcommittee, joined the Website subcommittee as a contributing member and co-chair the Awards Committee. Phew.  That last aspect, the Awards, has gotten me to thinking. Lots of people sail. Far more cross oceans than ever before. It's not enough today to circumnavigate the world the way Joshua Slocum or even Moitessier did. Today, to stand out as worthy of an award, one must really do something extraordinary. Last year's most extraordinary award recipients included Matt Rutherford. He crossed the Atlantic first because he felt driven to get to the other side.  He rode his bicycle across Southeast Asia before that.  Then he learned about sailing, so he bought a boat and crossed the Atlantic. He learned that CRAB needed funding so he...

The Salty Dawg Rally has caused a maelstrom of discussion on the cruising forums.  It's easy to second guess the decisions made when you weren't there making them. We like to give the benefit of doubt, but we are most certainly not proponents of organized rallies. None of us can cross oceans with any guarantees. But the choices we make can have a big impact on the results. In our cruising experience, we have noted that people who were on a schedule were often the ones who encountered problems. Schedules make you compromise. Schedules can make you do things you might not have otherwise done, like rushing to get off before you are ready or before that storm system passes by. It applies equally to sailors who have to meet crew at specific times in different places and to those who cruise in company on a schedule.