What came first?
I was standing in a ridiculously long line moving at the speed of molasses to take yet another COVID test before traveling back to the States from South Africa, when the young woman standing in front of me in line asked me where I was going. I thought for a moment, because the answer was a long one. I would be traveling from South Africa to California then from California to Mexico by plane. Then, from Mexico to Washington State by truck with a Scout camper precariously attached, then to the South Pacific by sailboat. Seemed normal to me at this point, but she responded with eyes the size of saucers.
“Who sails the boat, isn’t Mexico dangerous?”
I explained to her that I am the captain of my very own boat and I sail with a group of women. I looked around at the security bars covering each and every window in sight as I answered the next question. “I wouldn’t say that parts of Mexico are any more dangerous than South Africa” She nodded. “It’s more about knowing the places to avoid”
“How did you get started ? ”
This question was hard to answer. What I wanted to say was that I started this adventure just like I had started every other one… with a series of blunders. However, this answer didn’t sound very inspiring. I gave her the canned answer that any great thing starts with a single step forward. The truth is though, that realizing your dreams starts with knowing that you are going to fail many times, but being excited for the fact that you have the opportunity to try.
When I was 19 years old, I desperately wanted to own a trained police type dog. The problem was that they are very expensive and if you want to learn how to train your own dog you must join a “schutzhund club” that women are unofficially not invited to and also have one of these very expensive dogs.
Undeterred I thought of what other type of less desirable dog could do the work. I picked up the classifieds and found myself a $100 red nosed pit bull and began reading everything I could get my hands on about police protection and search and rescue dogs. After 18 months of training her, I was able to sell her to a business owner looking for a friendly, well trained protection dog for his local business and that is when I bought my first German Shepherd.
After another year of offering to wear a bite suit for any schutzund club in a 6 hour radius, eventually I was welcomed into the tight knit community of this type of dog training. for ten years, I bought sold and trained search and rescue dogs as well as protection dogs. It just took a bit of thinking outside of the box and not being too afraid or embraced to show up at an all white party wearing a peacock suit.
The DEA was so sweet to let me join…
“When I decided to become a sailor and circumnavigate, I bought a derelict 29 foot keel boat for $1.”
This decision resulted in every sailor and want-to-be yachtsman looking down there nose at me in my little pink sailboat. I was shoed off of docks and turned away from fancy yacht clubs. I learned almost every lesson the hard way. The best advice I could give is to avoid paralysis by analysis at all costs.
Five years later, I have become a USCG licensed captain and own several sailboats. My most favorite is the 1977 Formosa 51, that I call home.
