Spring is Here!
Commodore B. J. Turk, 13 March 2004

It's that time of year, when our thoughts turn to the water. We have spent way too much time and money trying to sharpen our skills and equip ourselves with the very best we can afford, knowing all along that it probably won't matter. It's another year that we'll call successful if we can remain uninjured and afloat, and not get lost.

At least, that's the kind of year that I'm hoping for. Great expectations are rarely achieved, so I'd rather aim low and be pleasantly surprised.



The real question is why we aren't as seaworthy as our vessels. The reason is often because we aren't trying hard enough, or perhaps that we don't care enough. This can be dangerous. You owe it to yourself, and to your own safety, to make every effort to be the best sailor that you can be, and to hone your skills at every opportunity. Never forget that every time you set sail, someone's life depends upon your sailing skills: yours.

It's not enough to have the best equipment you can get. Without building the skills to use that equipment, you really don't have much. Make an effort this year to get out there and practice things that you're not so good at, rather than go out for the sake of going out. If you have trouble tacking or gybing smoothly, practice it. If you can't seem to round a mark without going too wide, or hit the mark, practice it. If you can't manage the sails and stay on course, practice it. Practice everything, and emphasize the things you aren't so good at. It's normal to want to do just the things you do well, but you can't get better if you don't practice what you don't do well.



As for the way things are going on the site, I'm making some progress on the IPN stuff that I've been talking about for several months now. I'm getting ready to test, and I'm anticipating that a ton of things will go wrong. Of course, it's almost as if they have to. That's what we're all dealing with. Right?

Even so, I'm hoping to get enough done on the member module to be able to offer something more than what little there is now. I am also trying to merge the site's capabilities, such as they aren't, with an existing forum package so I won't have to build it. I have to admit that I don't understand the forum package well enough to do that easily, but I haven't given up hope.

Well, back to the dock. Fair winds and following seas to all!



Other Commodore's Log entries:

      Thankful (13 November 2005)
      Shorter Days, Longer Nights (13 October 2005)
      Summer's End (13 August 2005)
      Summer Sailing (13 July 2005)
      3rd Friday the 13th Status Report (13 May 2005)
      Ode to Spring (13 April 2005)
      The Misfortune Continues... (13 March 2005)

      Commodore's Log Archive (old stuff)


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