On 2 Apr 2007 08:22:59 -0700, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

I'm going to make excuses first :{))

I'm currently enjoying reading lots of Steve and Linda Dashew's
postings on SetSail.com. Those who don't know them can find them at
www.setsail.com. I hold them to be pretty well experienced. They,
too, go aground - with some regularity, though not necessarily as
heavily as we did - despite all sorts of heavy duty electronic gear
and lots of vigilance.

Almost all of us have been aground at one time or another. We've
certainly done our share although never with serious damage other than
to the ego. It's an almost inevitable consequence of seeking out
interesting places and protected coves in waters that are none too
well charted.

I think the subject deserves more comment however.

Think about aviation for a minute. If accidental groundings were as
common in aviation as they are in pleasure boating, there would be a
lot fewer pilots and planes around, and almost no one would risk
setting foot in an airplane.

I mention this partly because many of the most successful long
range/long time cruisers that I've met have been retired commercial
pilots, usually with military aviation experience before that. These
guys are used to training and operating with an absolutely zero
defects state of mind, no excuses permitted. We should all try to
learn something from that because you can not cruise for very long if
you incur serious damage with any degree of frequency, just as a pilot
can not expect to fly with anything less than a nearly perfect record.

It's been my experience that if you lower your sights to accept
anything less than perfection, that something less will almost
inevitably result. It happens often enough even with all the best
intentions. Zero defects should be the goal, and anything less should
be closely scrutinized every time it happens. One of my personal
goals is to always operate the boat with just as much prudence and
skill as a trained professional. I don't always achieve it of course,
but I never accept it as inevitable. Professional captains and pilots
who make serious mistakes lose their jobs and rarely get a second
chance.