« The Mysterious Tuscans and How They Live Life | Home | How to Successfully Reduce the Effects of Jet Lag »

Now is Always the Best Time to Go Cruising

By Lawrence Pane

Are you thinking about going cruising but putting it off and putting it off? There will always be compelling reasons to stay ashore. For certain, you will never have absolutely enough money; your boat will never be completely ready; the world will never be at peace. Accept these limitations and go - you will never regret it.

My wife and I had planned our circumnavigation for years, even bought our Mason 53, Dolphin Spirit, but kept putting it off. Ryan was too young; there was a big project to finish; the housing market was down; there was more money to be made - then, at age 38, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and died two years later.

Eventually, another lovely lady was willing to take a chance with a crazy Australian. We left before she could change her mind, or something else could happen - I learned that lesson well.

Don’t wait for your children to grow up, take them with you. Having children on board is a definite plus for both children and parents. They will open more doors, and provide access to more experiences, than you can believe. In fact, if you are without any of your own, go and rent or borrow one.

Within seconds of the anchor going down or the dock lines being secured, our son Ryan was off, introducing himself to all. Carole and I became very accustomed to being known as “Ryan’s Mum,” and “Ryan’s Dad.” Many wonderful experiences would have been missed if Ryan wasn’t there to break the ice. Having him learn about every country provided us with more insights than we would have otherwise obtained.

Just one small thing about setting off - never leave port on a Friday. I am not superstitious, but I don’t believe in disturbing the status quo. There is a tribe in North Africa that gets up every morning to beat drums to ensure that the sun rises that day. I am very pleased that they do this, and hope they never stop, because who can be absolutely certain they are not a necessary ingredient in the overall scheme of things.

For just that reason, I never start a longer than one day passage on a Friday. Day sails don’t count. I started our circumnavigation that way, because I had heard the rumor about Fridays. As each passage was successfully completed, I became more and more North African tribe like, convinced that the steady sequence should not be disturbed. After our second year of cruising, it became something we never even thought about, just did.

By way of proof of the “Never Leave on Friday” concept, I offer the facts that the sun rises every morning; that we sailed more than 40,000 miles without striking sustained winds at sea of more than 35 knots; and that we completed our six and a half year circumnavigation without being arrested more than once.

Lawrence Pane circumnavigated with his wife and young son, and his expertise in the areas of sailing, cruising and travel, expressed through two books, numerous magazine articles and very popular seminars, has informed, assisted and entertained a wide audience of sailors and non-sailors. Visit http://www.chasingsunsetsthebook.com to enjoy the photos, buy the books, and check up on coming seminars.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lawrence_Pane