Greetings from the learning curve

During our marathon at the boatyard, I happened upon this little bop from Heather Chelan. I recommend clicking through for catchiness and the visuals. The general idea is captured in the lyric “sucking at something is the first part at being sorta good at something”.

For a long while, we had this pinned-against-the-wall feeling while prepping our boat on a modest budget with ever-expanding skills and DIY gumption. We were doing a lot of stuff for the first time. We had many lucky moments and cultivated even more tenacity.

Our project list proved to be something sturdy to lean against in wonky times, and eventually taking our skills from zero to “sorta good” became the norm. We had an abundance of first rodeos.

Beyond the fear of a new thing going awry is liberation from expectation. The aim is to do no permanent damage, break things down from giant leaps into tiny steps, and take snack breaks. Doing something for the first time loosens the grip of perfection and celebrates the boldness of giving something a go.

We’ve sailed 450 miles away from the boatyard and the Bay Area – our calling port and shared home for the last 6 years. We have a few projects in mind, but nothing stopping us from getting to the next stop on the journey. Somedays I almost miss our project list for the clarity, stability, and packed schedule it provided, but I’m fairly sure this is a romanticized notion.

Living on the move has presented some new learnings to curve. We aren’t first timers at sailing or living aboard, and mishaps hit differently when I expect myself to be a pro. Perpetual note to self: sucking at something is the first step at being sorta good at something.

Azimuth is getting more and more dialed in as we reach each new port and our routines are clarifying as well. Priorities have slimmed to food, water, fuel, and fun + fulfilling ways to spend time. The weather is warming as our latitude decreases and I feel us thawing out.