LESSONS LEARNED WHILE CRUISING Jamie & Behan Gifford Intentionally Unplanned:


Cruisers have intentions, not plans — and for good reason. Is the lifestyle you’re leaving


behind demanding? Does your future involve a boat, swim trunks, and many sunsets in exotic anchorages? If so, a strong instinct will push you to answer the unknowns with a plan. Where are you going and when! You’ve already gotten the “why” question enough from family and friends to know it’s unanswe r a b l e to


anyone’s


satisfaction, so don’t touch that. When, where,


and how is the stuff of dreams. Logically, one starts “The Plan” with a cast-off date. Write it on paper, circle it, and then tape it to the bathroom mirror. Planning complete. When “The Day” finally arrives, cast off those lines, even if only venturing to the nearest bay to drop the hook. You’re a cruiser now. Planning goal achieved. How can that be? Cruisers have


intentions, not plans; and for good reason. With routine comes rote knowledge.


In our past lifestyle any given day was a hectic collection of going to and from numerous places: work, school, sports, birthdays, shopping, etc. It started early and ended late. Sure, there was thought required in work or home life decisions, but much busyness was driving the same route for the 1000th time to be on time. Planning was predictable, relatively easy, and very useful. Weekends break up the routine of the week, and vacations liven up the season; but being so dear, they’re 48° NORTH, DECEMBER 2011 PAGE 38


often well planned to make the most of them.


Whether cruising is a sabbatical or


lifestyle, planning beyond the cast-off date is tempting but tends to result in a flawed list of unlikely expectations. The relative unknowns of a life traveling on the water don’t match well with the successful strategies of a “dirt


This may seem laughably subtle


until foul weather holds you up for a week or two. The autopilot becomes less auto and more kamikaze like. Replacement parts due in “any time now,” don’t care about the plan. Or, you meet a terrific group of cruisers and The Admiral would rather diverge from the plan for social fun, but captain curmudgeon starts grumbling about falling behind the planned schedule. One thing you can plan on is these types of scenarios happening.


Unfortunately,


when, where, and for how long are unknowns. This is when stress and frustration creep aboard. If one reason to go cruising is to get away from stress and schedules, why bring it on yourself? Having carried this point in conversation


Unfortunately, when,


where, and for how long are unknowns. This is when


stress and frustration creep aboard. If one reason to go cruising is to get away from stress and schedules, why bring it on yourself?


dweller,” and can lead to a very short time as a cruiser. A plan creates a fixed set of expectations whereas having intentions implies the hope of achieving something, but with flexibility.


more than a few times, it’s certain that some will believe a new boat with top quality gear will eliminate breakdowns and reduce the weather delays. This is a belief that may become reality, or not. Beyond the obvious notion that a better mousetrap will sell more products, several adjectives easily represent boating technological trends: easy, strong, fast, precise. The message is clear; boaters have more control and less risk – a half truth. In reality, technology creates a


paradox. On one gybe, technology empowers. Consider the GPS antenna: just the size of a hamburger and yet if GPS signals shut down, most sailors exploring coasts and oceans the world


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