Fear is a Four Letter Word
If we have no fear, then we are stupid. Anybody who denies fear is stupid. I have fear. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of Mother Nature – I have respect for Mother Nature. I’m on a boat designed to sail the world in the most extreme and hostile conditions, but humans designed and built this boat, not Mother Nature.
Sitting on the sofa watching TV I was mesmerised by a programme about freak waves. Apparently they are more common than people think or would like to admit to. And at about thirty metres, in my book they have the right to be called freak waves.
One thing that scares people is the thought of being at the mercy of the elements and for a long period of time. Crossing an ocean is a great thing to do and yes, it can be scary. Why? Well, it’s not the boat – that I have total faith in; it’s not the crew either (even though we have yet to meet); it’s the relentless battering, constant drawing of the weather, day after day, after day; even week after week, by huge, mountainous angry, nefarious foam curling waves that lash the deck from all angles with the veracity that can take crew member of his feet and throw him across the deck as if he were a piece of straw. The jagged motions of the boat being tossed around, going up on the peak of a wave plunging and crashing in to the dark foreboding abyss of its trough; the deep plunging sound of the boat as it connects with water, that deafens and puts the fear of God to those on board; pitching at angles that challenge even the most able sailor. The continual draining affect of the freezing cold; the snow and rain, with the wind gusting, howling and swirling making you even more unstable on your feet than you already are. The cold penetrating through to your core, even though you have every conceivable layer you own on. All the while you’re on deck trying to sail a boat. Even when you’re off watch life below decks will be no better, being continually cold, wet and unable to dry out, trying to eat and attempting to sleep in the little time you have before you go back on watch again. This is where our relationship as a team will be formed, where we’ll come under the most pressure and where we’ll show exactly who we are. But in return we’ll be rewarded with great sailing; racing at speed and able to show off our ability as sailors and finally the best bit: The sense of satisfaction and the wry smile we’ll all have, when we’re able to say, we’ve crossed an ocean.