I’m essentially a lazy sailor. Sometimes I’ll just set the mainsail and jib to about the correct point of sail and move on to something else… set it and forget it, time for lunch. The result is that I’m not getting the full potential out of either the boat nor myself.

This year I’m adopting the mantra, “Do the Hard Thing”, in other words even though it may be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just a downright pain, I’m intent on making choices that will make me a better sailor and use Tortuga’s full arsenal of capabilities.

To that end, I publicly vow in front of Neptune and swear on my copy of Chapman’s that I will…

• Anchor out instead of renting a slip for the night
• Rig and fly the Parasailor as much as possible
• Rig the running backstays on all downwind points of sail
• Manually helm the boat
• Rig the bimini when at anchor
• Fly the gennaker
• Shorter and more frequent tacks and jibes
• Run the motor less
• Tune the sails more
• Get my USCG Masters license
• Fly the drone more
• Wear sunscreen