008 Getting the Brain Ready

Great Loop Prologue Jun 2016

008 Getting the Brain Ready

Great Loop Prologue Jun 2016

During the cold winter months of 2015, there wasn't much I could do to the Sea Marie. Everything that needed to be done had to wait till the warmer days of spring. This was the time I would wrap my mind around getting myself informed. Spending time looking for resources occupied my mind, searching the internet, looking up books and videos in the library, and thinking about how I can be a better sailor and it was a lot more than just staying out of trouble.  

It was also the time of year when boating organizations would offer boating and sailing courses to newbies and those wanting to renew their boating course certificates. 

This ain't my first rodeo. I have had an interest in boating and sailing since my childhood. It wasn't unusual after a heavy rain you would find me making crude rafts from scrap wood to float on flooded fields. Could there be something primordial in my DNA that attracted me to water?   

Soon after I got married back in the early 1970s I took advantage of my wife's brother going out every chance on their inboard/outboard 18 ft Mark Twain runabout. What a thrill it was to learn to waterski. Do people still waterski anymore?  The next day my torso and arms would be so sore I would often call off work till I felt better.

Back in the 70s before social media, I read in the local newspaper the Coast Guard Auxilary was giving a boating class at the District 9 Coast Guard Center at the foot of East 9th St. That was within walking distance of where I was working at the time so I called and signed up to attend classes after work. The class sessions flew by and I aced all the quizzes and the final test to get my coveted Certificate of Accomplishment. There had to be more. And there was, I was asked to join the Coast Guard Auxilary Flotilla 07-05, but I would need to attend more classes and more tests. 

Give me a good chart, a parallel ruler, a pair of dividers, and a sharp pencil, and I can get you to where you want to go, and let you know how fast and how long it would take. I was a Proud Coastie! Well, an Auxiliary but still a Coastie. But my hunger wasn't satisfied. I wanted to learn to sail like the sailors from days past. Give me a ship and a star to steer by. Alas, the auxiliary didn't have what I craved. 

I did however get experience in teaching a segment of a boating class. The topic was VHF Marine Radios. And boy, did I screw that up! I had one hour to deliver the course material which was clearly written in the manuals each student received. I read the chapter in 20 minutes to the class and had 40 minutes of awkward silence to deal with. Does anybody know any good card tricks? How about bar bets? Seen any good movies? Bueller?, Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?

Then things started to happen unrelated to the sea. 2 new kids, a new job, a new house, a broken car; life can hit you pretty hard. My sea life was to be put in storage for the time being. My Secret Life of Walter Mitty of standing at the helm of a sailing vessel in a face of a ferocious storm was placed in the back vault for later viewing.  

Fast forward to 2016 and my heart skipped a beat when I read an online post announcing my old Flotilla was putting on a boating course in Lakewood. I wondered if any of my Coastie friends were still around. It's been some 45 years. Alas, on the first day of class, I found my old friends suffered the same fate as I, that disease called life. 

Taking this beginner boating course felt like it was more of a refresher course. The terms haven't changed. Things on the boat had the same names. Still using the same knots, the Rules of the Road didn't need updating, still Red Right Returning. The classes flew by. I even entertained thoughts of joining the flotilla up again and going out to patrol the Cuyahoga River and the Cleveland port and waterfront. Yes, those thoughts were entertaining. But I had other bait in my bucket. I had this little epic trip to plan.  

If you got this far and enjoyed this please click on the little heart at the top to like this post. Thanks in advance.

Next time, some of the resources I found to satisfy my thirst for the Great Loop.

If you enjoyed reading my adventure and would like to make a small contribution without subscribing I have included a Tip Jar thru PayPal for your convenience.

Thank you!

< 007  Previous Post | First Post | Next Post 009 >