Attitude!

[LakeShark]

It used to be the motto of the magazine Latitudes and Attitudes that the difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude and in my experience that is absolutely true. Yesterday I had my first sail of the year and it was a solo sail! Solo mast raising, rigging, raising sails, testing new depth sounder, launching, and using my new extension. It was a great sail on Lake Pepin where I covered over 24 miles from Hansen's harbor in the north to Pepin Marina in the south and back. The weather was great and winds were perfect. I misjudged the distance a bit though and barely made it back north before nightfall. I wasn't back in the driveway at home until about 10pm and I was exhausted but it was a fun exhausted.

But the trip almost didn't happen at all. On the way to the lake a turkey flew up and struck my truck bad! the windshield was destroyed and there was glass everywhere in the cab and on me. Praise the Lord I was alone, the trailer swayed but straightened right back up and no one was hurt. I could have given up right then and there. I could have just turned back for home an hour or so south or I could turn an ordeal into an adventure. Well I supposed you know by now which way I went. The boat is home safe and the truck is off to the shop for repairs. It was a truly great day! Sorry no sailing picts as I forgot the camera.

So that leads me to the question what obstacles have you had to overcome to change an ordeal into an adventure?

 

[JRacer]

So, how are you going to cook the turkey? Looks like you already "cleaned" him. ;-) Glad you had a positive outcome!

 

[LakeShark]

Funny you should say that as my wife asked the same thing and she is a little disappointed I did not go back and pick up the bird so she could have the feathers for something! Oh well he is coyote meat now and was already gone when I passed back through in the evening.

 

[Gene Neill]

Dang, you smacked that bird HARD!! It's a good thing he hit the passenger side, or your "drive on" attitude would have been harder to maintain ... although funnier to watch, you pulling your boat down the road with a smashed windshield and your head stuck out the window.

Kudos to you for not letting a little crack in the windshield stop you. You get a special stamp on your man card for that. And congratulations on a great day sailing!

 

[SailormanDan]

I heard it as "the difference between an adventure and an ordeal is whether you survive or not." ;-)
Good for you for not letting it ruin your day.

 

[T_Cat]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DayDreamer41]

Ford trucks ROCK! Sorry to hear that in one way, but happy you kept it together for a sail

 

[LakeShark]

Ford trucks ROCK!

Agreed but I am sad that I will now lose my made in Kansas City Ford sticker in the lower corner of the windshield. Wonder if they will send me a new sticker?

@Gene Neill Nah a little crack like that won't stop me. I did think though alternatives if it blocked my vision. So far I came up with the head out the window, driving from the passenger side like the mail curriers do out here or kicking out the window and enjoying the breeze. Well thankfully I did not need any of those. I will admit though that when the headlights of oncoming traffic hit the cracks and started moving around it was distracting on the way home.

 

[DayDreamer41]

I have heard that you can get a new sticker, I will ask around to see how that can happen.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

hope you were able to salvage the turkey - yumm road kill.

 

[RussC]

A turkey??? Pffftt. my dad had a deer go through the passenger side windshield of a car he was riding in. landed in his lap, but fortunately for him it was dead at that point. Usually turkeys are smarter than deer, when it comes to moving vehicles. guess some are not .

 

[justsomeguy]

Nah a little crack like that won't stop me.

I'm glad it all worked out safely. Would it have been any greater of an ordeal if you were pulled over by the cops for a "cracked" windshield?

I can't think of any "ordeals" in my sailing/trailering experiences, so far. Plenty of "experiences". Maybe I'm just not pushing the envelope enough...

 

[DayDreamer41]

hope you were able to salvage the turkey - yumm road kill.

Yah, I purchased the exhaust manifold cook book years ago! some real tasty recipes in that book ya'll

 

[LakeShark]

Boy I should have gone back for the bird. It would have been the most costly turkey dinner ever! Just got the quote to insurance and its just over 1700 with much of the cost coming from cleaning up the glass shards and repainting the hood. Spendy little bugger. But hey it was a great day of sailing!

Would it have been any greater of an ordeal if you were pulled over by the cops for a "cracked" windshield?

I passed quite a few sheriffs on my way home. I guess they figured I had enough to worry about.

 

[Jackdaw]

A turkey??? Pffftt. my dad had a deer go through the passenger side windshield of a car he was riding in. landed in his lap, but fortunately for him it was dead at that point. Usually turkeys are smarter than deer, when it comes to moving vehicles. guess some are not .

I have a lake place in northern Wisconsin. Five years ago my lake neighbor hit a deer. It flew over the his car, and landed in the bed of the pickup truck behind him. True story. In Washburn county WI, every legal driver over 30 has hit a deer once in their driving lifetime. Every one.

 

[Allan12210]

I'm still waiting for my Ordeal to be an Adventure. One week ago Thursday (5/4) I was riding my bike with my friend and this steel post hiding in plain sight jumped out and got me. I hit it so hard that I actually snapped it off at the base. You can see where it was in the picture in that painted diamond. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that snapped. I cracked my Sacrum in two places. That's the triangular bone at the back of the pelvis. And I had big plans for going sailing. I'm still hobbling around on crutches with Aleve as my new friend. No sailing for a while.

 

[vhoisington]

So my story isn't nearly as dramatic but I did have the wife a kid in tow, so it could have easily ended before we started.

Launch day for the new boat. The admiral has had me working every day for weeks to clean her up and make sure everything is set. Not only are we going to launch at our new to us Sail club but we have to do a denaming/naming ceremony once we get her to the dock.

Stop at the ranger station, spend a $150 on permits, passes. As we pull out of the station I hear a pop and steam starts coming from under the hood. Uh oh, half way up the hill lights go on and everything comes to a halt. Luckily I find a reasonably wide spot and can coast back to it with the truck and trailer. OK, now what. Turns out the heater hose had broken at the fitting going into the fire wall. Wife is sure the day is ruined. Looking at the situation I realize its the heater hose not the radiator hose, so I grab a roll of tape, bend the hose back on itself and tape it up. Problem solved - no more leak. Now to find a gallon or two of water to fill things back up and head to the lake. Only 30 minutes delayed.

Rigged and launched in a couple of hours, head to the dock and our new slip, pull out a couple of tables, some shrimp, champagne and wine and invite everyone over to help with the naming ceremony. Sure made some nice friends with that entrance to the club!!

 

[kloudie1]

Woof ! sorry to hear, Allan.. Hope ya get better quickly and don't have any lingering problems from that..

 

[Fred Villiard]

It's expensive hunting turkeys with a truck, mine took out grille, radiator, hood and fan. About 2500, and I didn't get turkey the semi behind me flattened it. Glad that you were not hurt.

 

[Meriachee]

Better than hunting moose. They wait till you get close then walk out.