Trust
When our grandson Adam was two or three years old, he had a blast jumping in his father’s arms from the kitchen counter-top. He was laughing and enjoying every second of it, asking for more and more. That’s TRUST.
You have to trust your partner or crew member, the instruments and your gut feeling. It all about trust.
Last night was our first overnighter on SV Imagine. For me not the first at sea. But the first with our boat and her instruments. For Katja, first ever.
And with that comes …the watch. A fixed period of time, previously agreed on by the crew, when the responsibility of bringing the boat safe from point A to point B is transferred from one to another.
During the day it is easy. Knowing the rules, common sense, a reliable boat and the fact that you can see… makes it easy.
At night…hmm.
- What is that light? Is it moving towards me? Why is it not on the radar screen!!!
- Did I upgrade the maps??
- The engine makes a weird noise!!! Was that gauge at that level before?? Were did that wave come from??
All that pile of questions and many more hammering in your head …constantly.
Your crew/partner, the hard work you put into making the boat a reliable one and the ability to use the instruments in front of you makes you feel at ease.
But you have to have trust if you want to sleep when your watch is over.
At midnight my watch was over… and I slept.
Trust. Zzzzz. Trust. Zzzzz…. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….