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.

You beat me to it on the aviation analogy. There's a saying that all
aircraft accidents are pilot error because the pilot has the option of not
taking off. Running aground is a bad thing. There is no excuse for doing it,
ever. Just because a lot of other people do it doesn't make it less bad.
There is enough deep, well marked, water to get from just about anywhere to
just about anywhere else. If there isn't enough water, don't go there.

However, positively, absolutely, guaranteeing that you never go aground will
deprive you of seeing a lot of interesting places and seeing them close
enough to appreciate the shore, scenery, and wildlife. Like cruising,
aviation's biggest hazard is the weather. It's possible to fly with next to
know danger of an accident where weather is a factor but only flying on
perfectly clear, calm, days is pretty limiting.

The most critical safety issue in aviation is the pilot's understanding of
his or her level of ability and balancing that against the challenges of the
proposed flight. Understanding that this is a dynamic process is vital. A
flight that might be acceptable on Monday might not be on Friday at the end
of a long, tiring, and stressful work week. Skill and ability improve and
constantly stretching your limits so you will be ready for the unexpected
without over reaching and getting into trouble is a constant balancing act
for the pilot.

The sea is a bit more forgiving but the same principles apply. Skip and
Lydia's adventure reminded me a lot of the occasional pilot who passes his
instrument checkride and then heads right off into hard IFR on a long trip
to unfamiliar airspace. People do it and die at an impressively high rate
when they do.

One of my favorite aviation quotes (repeated from a recent post but it bears
repeating) is the flight examiner handing a new pilot his certificate after
the check ride and saying, "Here's the piece of paper that says you are a
pilot, don't go out and kill yourself now thinking you are an aviator. That
comes later."

It's called judgement and it was constantly repeated to me during my flight
training that it was the one thing that could not be taught. I would have to
learn it for myself. S&L are on the right track now with their east coast
cruise but I think they've probably already learned the important lesson.

Good judgement will make up for a deficit in skill better than skill will
make up for lack of judgement.

--
Roger Long

Aviation is on area where you can't make the same mistake - once!