A Lesson in Humility

I slept in a bit on Sunday. It was good to finally get a good night's rest. When I got up I checked my messages to see that Julie and David had wanted to join me for some afternoon sailing. Lauren, a friend of Julie's was visiting from California and my two friends were showing her around Madison.

When I get downtown I meet the three of them down by the piers and we quickly takeover a returning Badger Sloop. Wind conditions were fairly steady on our way out as a we were blessed with Green Flag winds and good weather. Once out past the mooring field, the wind started to really pick up. It was completely manageable until it came time to return to shore. On the rippling lake surface I saw huge patches of strong gusty winds. From far away the Boathouse had raised the Blue Flag signaling heavy winds. I would later discover that we were getting blasted by winds from 20-25 mph. Although I won't excuse myself for having some difficulty getting back in, the strong winds and lack of weight in the boat made for a hard time setting a straight course--especially since I didn't have any experienced crew manning the jib.

What made matters worse was how my passengers in the boat were starting to lose their faith in me as skipper as strong gusts pounded away at my sails. Although it felt like I lost control a few times my crew didn't know enough to stay calm in order for me to make slight adjustments to sail trim. Eventually, fearing that I've completely freaked out Lauren, I had David lower the jib and I would sail back by the main sail only, however, in that time, Lauren had flagged down Harvey (the Rescue Boat). I guess she no longer trusted her Captain to get back and we were dragged back in. At first I felt a bit of embarrassment and later a feeling of failure. I didn't mean to scare her and I hope that she would like to sail again.

In sailing as it is in life, there will be patches of uncertainty no matter what course you take. We just have to get through them. Sometimes we have to accept the help of others. Today we fought the weather and I lost. Today I learned a good lesson in humility.

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Activity: 3 | Energy: 3 | Friends: 3