“A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. I was going to ask why, but I had to shoot him first.” John Wayne
We sailed from Trinidad when the coast was clear. The last hurricane, which started as a tropical wave down here, devastated Jamacia and flew off past Bermuda last week. According to the Weather Lab at Deep Mind (https://deepmind.google.com/science/weatherlab) there is nothing on the horizon.
With that Breaking News, we set our course north toward Antigua, stopping at Bequia and St. Lucia. Headwinds to Bequia and decent sailing to St Lucia were experienced. We are hustling to Antigua to meet the Salty Dawg Rally boats from the US. There are about 80 heading to Antigua from the U.S. and they start to arrive next week. We made that crossing in 2013, 14 and 17. We found it better for us to keep the boat in the Caribbean than to sail back and forth each year.
Another reason to go to Antigua is – Breaking News – that our middle daughter and son-in-law will fly down in November for a visit aboard. It’s always great to have family aboard!
The quote from John Wayne (it might actually have been written by a screen writer) came to mind as we spent time on the front lines of the Great Caribbean Sea Battle of 2025. Trinidad – Breaking News – is just off the coast of Venezuela; just like the (assumed?) drug boats invading the U.S. and forcing drugs down our throats. If tariffs don’t get them, hellfire missiles will.
But this is not about politics. However, it does seem that the prevalent paradoxical mojo of Breaking News is what Wayne hinted at. “Move fast and break things”, in today’s lingo. Little thought seems to be given to consequences. Another quote of Wayne: “Life is hard. It’s harder if you’re stupid” may provide an answer to the paradox.
Move fast and break things, shoot first and ask later is dangerous when living and sailing on a sailboat. It may work to get you ahead in business, politics or even relationships (the later is purely speculative). But on a boat, it may get you underwater. Literally.
That thought always enters my mind, especially just after a long stay in the boatyard. The many M&R tasks may have been completed but there is also a saying: “Things break down even when not used”. After 4 months of not being used, boat things are still 4 months older and closer to their “guaranteed fail date”. That date, of course, is the million-dollar question. It may not cost a million, but it may feel like it!
So it is with some trepidation, that the first voyage out of the boatyard is the “break-in period”. Hopefully not the “break-down period”. Over the many years, we experienced both. Although we are not in Antigua yet – Breaking News – so far it has been a break-in period. After 36 hours of sailing, all is well! In Antigua we will meet cruisers we know and many more “newbies”. I’m sure we’ll hear their accounts of breakages, failures and challenges. Considering the Dawgs just sailed 1200 miles, I doubt many will say they wanted to move fast and break things.
All this to say, we sail conservatively (in a non-political way). Sailing at seven+ knots is fast for us. Eight or nine have been noted. Shorten sail often and early. Watch that weather window. Schedules are avoided. Keep enough rum aboard and stop and smell the flowers often. Ask before shooting and only act fast when docking. To clarify about docking: only move the boat as fast as the crew can react.
The counter to all this is that you learn by experience and experience is learned by making mistakes. True enough. But as John Wayne might have said, “Well Pilgrim, buckle up. The paths are rough and expect the worst. And above all, don’t try to prove how stupid you are.”
We are in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia awaiting a good weather window to Antigua. We are anchored in the shadow of Mt. Pimard. That mountain is being carved quickly into the massive A’ila Resort, Villas and Residences. The 1.3-billion-dollar development will contain 1,300 rooms, offers a $300,000 Citizenship Opportunity and will be completed in a few years. Maria’s small beach bar serving cold beers and fish sandwiches on a spec of public beach is surrounded by construction fencing and looks like a thorn in some developer’s eye. Furniture made from old shipping pallets may not match the surrounding A’ila’s motif. Moving fast and breaking things has no boundaries. Breaking News – I don’t know how long Marie can survive but we wish her good luck.
To conclude, all the news we hear is prefaced by “Breaking News”. Does that have a different meaning now? To me, “breaking” is not news but what follows is. Fixing what is broken seems important, if for no other reason than to avoid acting stupidly. We will continue to sail slow and keep from breaking things. That will not make us a trillionaire but maybe we’ll know the Art of the Heal – and that is Breaking News!
Kalunamoo 