Practice what you preach

You only gain experience by making mistakes. Photo by Larry Anderson

January/February 2022

By Ali Wisch

In an effort to be completely transparent, I feel the need to disclose something that’s been hanging over my head since our last issue came out. Considering my editorial was titled “Winter Warriors,” one might assume, or it may appear that I was one of them this year.

Alas, I am not. For the past few winters, I have been traveling across the pond (flying – not sailing – although, I would love for you to think I had done that, as well) to spend the winter with my other, other half. My sailboat being the first one. Having spent many winters living aboard, it felt only fair that I could spend a few months away, being able to shower a little bit more and freeze myself to sleep a little bit less.

Every single year that I have owned a boat, I have shrinkwrapped it. I was a huge advocate of shrink-wrapping and still am. That being said, this year, this godforsaken year, I decided not to.

For reasons based on evidence (last year’s winter was mild and had I left her bare, she probably would have been A-OK), and financial (let’s face it, shrinkwrapping isn’t cheap – even if you do it yourself – which, since I’m being honest, I don’t), I thought that I was making a sound and somewhat reasonable decision.

I was wrong.

Not only has this winter been fierce, according to what I see on the news and in my newsfeed, but I am also far too far to do anything about it.

I recently received a newsletter from my marina. Descriptions of burst pipes, frozen water lines and boats nearly sinking from the weight of the snow filled the page. I won’t repeat what was going through my head as I read line after line of what I could only imagine as something along the lines of the apocalypse. Still, I can tell you that it included a variety of four-letter words that you wouldn’t say in front of your children.

Fortunately, in that same letter, they said that staff and neighbors were going above and beyond, doing everything they could to keep everything afloat – both literally and figuratively. Also – we would be charged accordingly. So much for saving on my heating bill.

This brings me back to my initial sentiments regarding our December 2021 issue. Sometimes it takes a village and knowing that even though I’m not there to shovel snow out of my cockpit, there is a community of people there who are, and how lucky are we to have that. It’s not always easy to find people who want to help you, especially when you are the one who screwed up.

I’m not sure exactly what condition my boat will be in when I get back, but I do know that I’m going to have a lot of bottles of rum in my suitcase to give away when I get back – and remember – practice what you preach.