After a short meeting with my CPA tomorrow to get my taxes done we're taking off on the boat for 3 days. We're taking it 235 miles down the Columbia to Portland, OR to get new windows and a new Stamoid bimini made for the fly bridge. We'll pass through 4 sets of locks and overnight at two marinas (Arlington, OR and Hood River, OR) and arrive in Portland on Wednesday.
We've made this trip twice before with Beachcomber so it's not like we're virgins in these waters. The weather predictions are for rain (no problem there) and light to moderate winds. he boat is full of fuel and water, we've made our lists for food, clothing, miscellaneous other and we're leaving the boat at a yacht club in Portland for 2-3 weeks so he can get the work all done. All of that has been arranged and everything is in order.
I'm confident in my ability to skipper the boat and have no problems going through the locks or following some of the relatively narrow channels. So why, before any longer-than-usual trip do I get the jitters? Am I the only one who gets them?
What say you?
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Mike and Tina
1981 Boston Whaler 13'
Much like stepping up to the plate in a baseball game or giving a speech, the jitters are telling you to get ready to perform.....A little adrenaline cocktail, if you will. Another name for the same feeling would be excitement. I get it every time we cast off lines, for across the bay, or to Alaska.
Vessel Model: Malcom Tennant 20M and Noordzee Kotter 52
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 984
Just as Ken described for me (even to the point of affecting elimination behavior prior to casting off no matter how mundane the trip may appear to be) and I would be concerned if it wasn't. I guess I think that putting 60 tons in motion is worth getting a little jittery about and aids the preparation and acuity for the task at hand.
As Ken alludes to this is similar to my experience as a college athlete. Clear and significant physical effects prior to the start that were part of every pregame prep.
Vessel Model: Malcom Tennant 20M and Noordzee Kotter 52
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 984
I experience a completely different emotion when filing my taxes and resort to bad behavior such as displaying the T shirt in the photo.
I am aware that this belongs in a different part of the forum so will simply apologize in advance.....
Love that tee shirt! Might be a politically appropriate use for it, too. (It's going straight to my facebook feed.)
I'm jittery on a pretty regular basis when I'm expected to do something right with something big in a small place. Much the same back when I performed solo onstage (now I hide in the back row where I cannot be seen).
My wife's parent's had friends with a huge '30's Elco (back in the thirties and into the '50s). The skipper kept a coffee can at the helm for his inevitable last minute need when docking. (I'm not so couth...occasionally.)
Much like stepping up to the plate in a baseball game or giving a speech, the jitters are telling you to get ready to perform.....A little adrenaline cocktail, if you will. Another name for the same feeling would be excitement. I get it every time we cast off lines, for across the bay, or to Alaska.
3 days cruising, including some challenging locks, to get over a tax affairs meeting with your accountant?
Saturday afternoon sailboat racing on Sydney Harbour required such concentration it was impossible to think about work,one reason I did it.
The anticipation of difficulties usually evaporates once you start doing it. Perhaps prior concerns helped work through the issues in advance.
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BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
I’m always jittery when leaving on a trip, long or short. I don’t really use the boat that often so it’s a not a routine thing for me, so the adrenaline is always pumping. After a few hours it goes away, until I come into an unfamiliar dock that is. [emoji30]
If I used the boat more often, like weekly, I think the jitters would go away. But maybe not— I’m kind of on-edge/nervous most of the time it seems. Unless I’m having cocktails. [emoji15]
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markpierce
I get jittery leaving single-handed.
Not me. I get jittery when there are people on board, watching.
Ted
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Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush..... "Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
Well I guess I can find some comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one who gets the jitters. I've never single handed this boat so I can't comment on that vs having guests on board, but I know I do get a feeling of pride in backing into the slip or coming up to a side tie when there's a crowd on board and nailing the task at hand.
"I guess I think that putting 60 tons in motion is worth getting a little jittery about and aids the preparation and acuity for the task at hand."
--Yeah, I can agree with this. The level of attention to detail certainly is higher.
"I get excited before leaving the dock even if it's only over to the fuel dock. I get the jitters filing my taxes."
--No issues with my CPA. He's done my taxes for years and our annual get together is mostly about catching up on what's new in our lives.
"3 days cruising, including some challenging locks, to get over a tax affairs meeting with your accountant?"
--I hadn't thought of it that way, but there's no stress in meeting with the CPA.
"I'm jittery on a pretty regular basis when I'm expected to do something right with something big in a small place."
--You may have just nailed it.
"The skipper kept a coffee can at the helm for his inevitable last minute need when docking. "
--I'm not admitting to anything but I know of what you speak!!!!
__________________
Mike and Tina
1981 Boston Whaler 13'
__________________ My boat is my ark. It's my mobile treehouse and my floating fishing cabin. It's my retreat and my respite. Everyday I thank God I have a boat! -Al FJB
** Some of the things that give me the jitters and or P me off **
Realizing you left your spouse or significant other, on the dock.
Close quarter maneuvering
Docking/undocking
Line handler(s) who do not wait for directions of the person at the helm. Trying up is a joint effort. Single handing brings back the old say, "You have no one to blame but yourself."
Backing into or out of a slip
Green water over the bow
Traversing an unfamiliar cut
Sleeping while anchored
** Guests onboard **
Unruly children onboard (their one and only trip) That "oops, I forgot", goes only so far on a boat.
Children who think they don't need to wear a PFD and parents who do not contain their kids (on their one and only trip)
Adults who do not listen or get drunk (on their one and only trip)
People who plug up the only head on board (on their one and only trip)
That's a start.
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Two days out the hospital after a week in the hospital because of a significant heart attack.
"The skipper kept a coffee can at the helm for his inevitable last minute need when docking. "
--I'm not admitting to anything but I know of what you speak!!!!
I keep one of the hospital thingies with a top, near the helm.
You can buy them at a drugstore.
Not sure what the ladies use.
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Two days out the hospital after a week in the hospital because of a significant heart attack.