HPY4JUL
Cindy and I just returned from a fantastic 10 days aboard Cream Puff. Every time we are aboard we become more motivated to eradicate our land life and step in the world of fulltime cruising. When we have mentioned full time cruising to our – land – friends in passing, often the question of safety arises. They ask us if we will carry guns, what are we to do about pirates, or will we be the people who die in a sequel of The Perfect Storm.
Well, I think our chances of dying on I-75 are much greater than aboard Cream Puff. After our recent trip, I am convinced we can handle pretty much anything on the ocean. It’s being on the land that I have come to realize the dangers skulk. We were on our way home, hardly out of Tampa, and we had two near misses on the highway. And, I mean near misses. The first was caused by a young lady moving right with her left turn signal on. She obviously missed her exit and slammed on the breaks. All I can say is, thank you for anti-lock brakes. Oh, and of course, she is on the phone, driving with one hand and oblivious to anything around her.
A few miles down the road, we found ourselves in the way of another driver who decided in a split second our lane was the place he wanted to be. As he moved over across, we honked (politely). He kept coming. Again, the anti-lock brakes were tested. I could see the whites of the people’s eyes in the car behind us as the hood of their vehicle disappeared below my rear mirror view. Once in front, the aggressive driver signaled his gratitude using the proverbial one finger method.
I’ll take my chances on the ocean versus land any day of the week. Cindy and I have had some pretty scary sailing experiences in our lives. I’m not going to dwell on the dark and stormy nights at this point. I will say, however, when compared to driving a car, nothing on the ocean has ever come close to making me think I going to die like close calls in traffic. Cindy and I agree, we both have a small phobia of an unplanned event happening in our lives at the very last minute preventing us from fulfilling our lifelong dream. Murphy is always lurking. We are trying hard to stay clear of Murphy while we finish closing out our land life obligations.
If you are reading this and plan to be on I-75 anytime soon, please understand I am going sailing and will be out of your way – for good – very shortly. I just simply ask one favor in the mean time; please don’t kill me.
