Log-book 8-12-2019

As promised in my last blog, I continue sharing the observations I made during my cruise on the Atlantic Ocean between Majorca and Tenerife. Lessons I made are not only inspirative for sailors but also for managers; this one is from the navigation area however very useful in corporate finance management…

At sea, you will logically meet lots vessels of different sizes, different speeds and different directions. Especially around Gibraltar we were passing through, the traffic was as dense as the City thoroughfare before 9am. But while the cars have lanes, ships do not (almost) have anything like this, so they have to observe each other and calculate which ship where at what time will be, in other words, whether you crash it or bypass it. There is a huge tanker on the horizon, running twice as fast as your sailboat. Who knows the story of Titanic or has seen the movie " Speed 2: Cruise Control" knows pretty well that such a giant's change of course is going to be veeeeery slow. Such a situation might cause panic to greenhorns. Even if it seems your life is in danger, you have plenty of time to measure it thoroughly, calculate it and then - if necessary - adjust the course. The captain sits peacefully, looking away from where the tanker is. A colleague loses nerves and begins to turn the rudder sharply to the left. The captain roars " Don´t be rash !" and explains that this abrupt maneuver is only causing trouble for the tanker, as their navigator has long ago measured us and calculated how the passing of ships would go. Now he angrily throws everything into the trash and starts measuring again. This idea sounded funny to me, but with the passing of days I understood that it was best to observe, count and do no rash maneuvers. Just stick to course and speed. Surprisingly, we did not get into a collision once, even when a collision course had already been shown several times. In the end, we didn't have to change neither course nor the speed at all. If you go directly to your destination, others will usually get out of your way, if necessary. The sea is large and all the boats can fit in there.

In December, most of you probably cope with high season including budgeting for the next period. Keep the course and speed you want and need! Do not be stressed by a crisis on the horizon, remember the sailors: first watch, measure, and count before you even think about changing the course or speed. The market is also as expansive as the sea and everyone can fit in it. If you go directly to your destination, others will make a way. When fear drives you to change direction or speed, just as at sea you only lose a lot of time. And time, as we know, is money! So plan precisely and don´t be rash!