Sail the Small Before Sailing the Squall

My father-in-law taught me to sail. I never became a full-fledged sailor for he was always at my side coaching. But what a dream it was to sail that 19-footer across beautiful Willoughby Lake in Vermont.



Some years later John and I boarded a bigger sailboat with two sets of couple friends for a fun day on Galveston Bay in Texas. The waters were choppy and at times it took two men to hold the wheel steady.



What a difference in the two experiences! But without learning on the calms of a lake, our friend Rick could not have navigated our vessel on those choppy waters.



Learn to traverse the lake you are on before attempting to traverse an ocean. And remember not to be too hard on yourself; after all, you left the dock!