That is the motto of the boy scouts. And I have been part of them over 40 years, living most of my life according to this rule. So you might think, that I always expect the unexpected and that I am prepared. Yeah, I thought so too.
Yesterday I decided to go fishing. It was Saturday evening, beautiful, although kind of chilly, weather, no wind. We ate dinner and I decided to take my new canoe for a little trip. 1 hour, two tops.
I drove by the sea, carried the canoe to the water and GONE FISHING. It was really nice and relaxing. There was a light breeze, I heard some ducks and seagulls.. just amazing. After 30 min the wind started to push my canoe, so I moved to another spot.
The wind started and my canoe was in trouble
The wind started to get stronger and stronger. I hadn’t had any luck with the fish, but the wind had blown me away like half a mile. By that time I realised, that the wind is just getting even worse, so I decided to make a u-turn and head home. Well, that was easier said than done. Just making that u-turn was a lot harder than I ever imagined. When I finally started paddling back, I hardly moved forward. And whenever I made some progress, the wind pushed my canoe to the wrong direction.
After an hour or so I finally managed to reach a shore (right at somebody’s cottage back yard). I am so glad that I had been even little prepared and brought water to drink. It would have been even better, if I had had my survival snacks (nuts & raising or a chocolate bar), which I USUALLY carry with me. Those would have provided me the energy I was lacking.
After the time-out, I started again. It took almost another hour to get back to the starting point and I was wiped out. I bet, that even with that extra energy snack, I would have been exhausted. But if I had had a bit more water and something to eat, well….
Take few extra measures, even for a small trip
So, note to myself and to you, always be prepared. I usually carry some kind of knife (Swiss army, Leatherman etc.) in my car and bags wherever I go, along with some painkillers and extra energy boost, like chocolate. For some reason I skipped them yesterday, but in the future, I will not! In the movie ‘Alien 2’, one of the soldiers said quite well (about the gun): “I always carry it. It is like a condom. I rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” I rest my case.
If I caught your attention and made you intrigued, here is the video of my short adventure.