Over Steering

Over Steering

Yesterday morning I had a chance to lay in bed with LLL as we flipped through the TV channels looking for “kids shows”. Click- Spanish, Click Public Access, Click- Infomercials , Click – Sailing…….”WAIT !! – Go back” she said. “Let’s watch this”. My heart swelled to maximum capacity …………”Ah”, I sighed, “Grandpa’s girl for sure”. 

We watched for quite some time going over all that she knew about sailing (which she gathered in the previous 30 seconds) and began getting into the regatta that was underway. We spoke of marks and tacking and jibing but mostly we talked about oceans and waves and “if those rain suits were heavy or light “?   When the charts were shown of the course with overlays of the contenders it was pretty obvious who tacked and “jibed-ho” properly and who under or over steered the marks. Cumulative mistakes that add up to winners and losers. It’s a super fine line of intuition, experience and skill that is more a gut feeling that it is science, although science certainly plays a greater and greater role these days.

In my youth I bought an English Sports car. The engine blew after the first week of ownership. I made the seller give me a new engine and I rebuilt it in the driveway of his gas station on 3^rd Street in Naples, FL for 4 weeks. Naples being Naples, it became legend. Anyway, I took up motor cross racing and felt I had a lot of promise. The car could only top out at 90mph even with twin carbs but I found that by tweeking the suspension I could just keep the pedal to the metal all the way around the track and the tires would stay put. Early on I learned the hard way to steer through trouble and not try to “react” because once the over steering started – doom-loomed and “whoops” – In the ditch again. Like many things in my life I grew bored with the little car – got a bigger one that was faster and then just got too busy with life and then sailing to include racing in my fun times anymore.

A similar thing happened with sailboats, real estate, and stuff in general. There was always a perceived need to keep adding and adding until “whoops” ……………..in the ditch again. Over steering as a Newtonian Law, "humm"?

Today I rode over to Yoga while Edy and LLL went to see the new giraffe baby at the zoo. I really wanted to go but I knew my current mental state was such that I did not want to risk dampening the joy of others.

I rode hard because I needed the release and got there hot and winded. One of my yoga buddies was there when I pulled in and we chatted for a bit while we waited for class. He asked how I was and I said “mental”. He nodded his head. Nothing further required. One of our other yogis arrived and we slipped into news, weather and sports as class neared. Class was good and offered the grounding I so desperately hope it would offer. After class I sat on my bench dripping sweat and re-hydrating in preparation for my ride home. Yogi #1 came out and joined me for a bit and made a comment about balance.

I finished my book last night on the BIG Rich and “sho-nuf” there was little happiness. Mostly fortunes squandered by greed, over-reaching or over steering. It’s the same story that has been told through the ages.

As I rode home in the heat and the traffic I thought a lot about balance and of course, over-steering.   I have never reacted to find balance, yet that is the only way one can over-steer. That then got me thinking about my current mental state of disappointment, disillusionment, dismay and my incessant need to keep my hands on the wheel at all times…………...

I sat up straighter, folded my arms across my chest and kept on peddling with the wind in my face………….”Answers, I have not”