Ahhh You Got That Idea From the Family on TV

North Sea 2014 (own photo)

 

Often, when people hear that I went on a sailing trip last summer I hear the words "Ahhh you got that idea from the family on TV" - and they look bewildered, when I say "No, I had the idea about a year before they aired the television show". The doctor who had the idea about the Sailing Sclerosis project launched it in 2013 - the television show did not air until 2014.

I did not watch a single episode until after I came home from my own sailing trip - sighing loud when watching the first episode as I took us almost where I had just been myself. Some says the show is way too enthusiastic about the experience and encounters on their trip - I say, they are spot on, as it can really make you happy when eying dolphins in the right element for the first time, being on a night watch with moonlight and a sky overwhelmed with stars, being away from everything really.

They are about to make season 3 as they have really opened up peoples eyes on an alternative way of traveling and relaxing. It has become a really popular show with audience from young to old people following parts of the tree year voyage around the world. Well, mental relaxing as sailing a boat takes hard work, and yet the mental thinking is also challenged as you are in limited space with other people - you never really have a moment alone unless you can escape in your mind/own thoughts once in a while.

This book was present on our boat - signed by the author/sailor - but did not read it until a couple of months ago when I found it at the local library. About a guy who went solo around the world in his boat "only" to end up with a broken mast when he could almost smell his goal - this is NOT a spoiler as you can see that fact when reading the book cover. You get to know why he went on the trip alone and what went on in his mind when bad luck occurred. If doing a project like this you really must be mentally strong so you do not loose yourself while doing it and maybe put yourself in danger - the mast problem was pure bad luck.

One of the photographers on the television show have sailed the world in her own family and written a book about it. Taking the kids out of school and doing home schooling while sailing. How they got they idea and started telling everybody about it, so there was no way back and they just had to do it. Easiest thing is to get the idea - hardest thing is to make it happen.