It’s amazing how five simple words really helped me in the early days of our cruising life: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Is it worth worrying about?
Lumpy seas
The wind getting up
Waves and swell giving a bumpy ride
Salt soggy cushions that just won’t dry!
Doing the laundry in cold water by hand
The gas (propane) running out in the middle of cooking
So when do you ‘sweat the small stuff’? Well usually you don’t, often there’s no time.
Perhaps the storm may cause concern, but generally, those challenging moments on board are thrown at you in brief bursts:
A wind shift making the anchor site untenable
Broken rudder
Anchor dragging
. . . these are moments when you may ‘sweat’ . . . IF YOU HAVE TIME.
There’s no time – so don’t sweat the small stuff!
The prepared crew will not have time to worry and ‘sweat’. They have an idea of what needs to be done and get on with it.
How do you prepare for these moments?
Get out there and practice, read, learn, study. Think about your emergency systems, if a small fire breaks out, what would you do, what’s the VERY FIRST thing you would do? It’s the same with any emergency, having worked through and thought about all the emergency procedures you will then know what to do.
Sign up for our newsletters here, or follow us here and we’ll work through some emergency procedure ideas in the coming weeks.
Cruising can have its challenging moments, it can be scary, but each moment will build your confidence and faith in your boat and yourself – creating comfort and a more relaxed life that just keeps on improving.
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