"Go Slow," Rhymes With . . . ?
The captain had no idea where he was going.
In the seconds before we plowed in to the very skinny water, my husband calmly leaned over and said, “You want to head a little to starboard here to miss this flat.”
The captain did head a little to starboard, missed the flat, and then came off a plane to get his bearings. He said, “Thanks man - I’ve never been here before.”
Of course I couldn’t resist asking him the obvious question, “So, if you’ve never been here before why were you driving like you had your eyes closed? Why didn’t you use your gps, or slow down, or even stop?!” I can be so charming. But at this point, it was dawning on me how nearly we came to possible serious injury and I was steamed.
Confident yet Clueless
His response was classic and dismissive, “Oh, well, these things always work out at the last minute. And I don’t want the people on the boat to think I don’t know where I’m going.”
I actually sort of envied his confident stupidity because he really had no problem operating a boat without knowing where he was or where he was going. Alas, he didn’t want us to think he didn’t know where we were going but didn’t connect that to what we would think when we were tossed off the vessel because we ran hard aground.
If you don’t know - GO SLOW
“Go slow,” rhymes with “don’t know.”
I want to know exactly where I am at all times, . . . . and what I am going to run into. So if I don’t know where I am going, I am going to go slow.
Operating under the Don’t Know, Go Slow theory means it’ll take you more time to get where you want to go BUT you will get there with all your passengers, an intact lower unit, and propeller!
Go Slow Theory Works at Night
Spending a night on a flat hurts the boat and the ego. It hurts even more when you know you could have prevented it by just slowing down. The longest coldest night of my life was spent on a flat only because we had no idea where we were and we didn’t slow down to figure it out!
Go Slow Theory Works in Life
Ahhh, this big ‘go slow’ theory works on land too. When I think of the astounding number of full-throttle adventures, ideas, investments, business and athletic pursuits that have gone awry simply because I couldn’t take the gas off the throttle . . . well, someone might suggest I take my own medicine.
Going slow definitely does not mean stop . . . it just means slow down, check the chart again, and then carry the heck on with confidence!
Email me, Captain Elizabeth Jolin, at shesatsea@gmail.com to schedule your day on the water to gain confidence at the helm!