Rogue Wave

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  —Mark Twain

When we first told my parents about our Round the World travel plans, they were ... concerned. My dad, especially, had a long list of questions and I thought I had all the answers. Our conversation went something like this:.

Dad:What will you do about taxes?
Me: We'll send in our estimated payment and file for an extension on our return.

Dad: Who's going to take care of your tenants if there's a problem with your rental property?
Me: #2 Daughter has already shown an aptitude for this. When we were out of town for our 30 day cruise in 2016, she dealt with tenant issues, from rent collection to repairs to comforting a tenant whose husband had suddenly left her. She's got this. 

Dad: What if you get sick or hurt on the other side of the world?
Me: That's why we bought trip insurance. If necessary, our carrier will spend up to $1,000,000 to get us home.

Dad: What about rogue waves?
Me: Huh? 

I'd never heard of them, but apparently, they are a thing. Here's what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has to say about them:

"Rogue, freak, or killer waves have been part of marine folklore for centuries, but have only been accepted as a real phenomenon by scientists over the past few decades.

Rogues, called 'extreme storm waves' by scientists, are those waves which are greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, are very unpredictable, and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves.

Most reports of extreme storm waves say they look like "walls of water." They are often steep-sided with unusually deep troughs."

Yeah, I'm not too excited about being in a sequel of THE PERFECT STORM.

Fortunately, the NOAA site goes on to say that rogue waves are extremely rare. (Well, I'd hope to shout! No one would ever set sail if they weren't!)

But my dad made his point. 

No matter how well we plan, no matter how good a bead we think we have on preparation for this voyage, we can't see all ends. Unexpected risks may pop up.

When we lived in Utah, my DH got his private pilot license and we flew all over the western US in a 1957 Cessna 182. We had some excellent adventures flying through mountain passes and saw some beautiful, wildly remote things only God and the birds get to see.   

But general aviation is not without risk. Our kids were grown by then. I doubt we'd have done it otherwise, but I told them if something happened and the plane went down, their dad and I would have been doing something we loved. And we'd be together. 

Fortunately, we have only happy memories of the plane and the DH is no longer current on his medical so we fly commercial these days. But the same principle applies to cruising. If something bad happens on our world cruise, that's the risk we take in exchange for a priceless adventure. We'll be doing something we love and we'll be together.

And we'll be thankful there are folks waiting for us at home who care enough to warn us about rogue waves.