I find it easier to think through issues while putting them in writing to someone who would understand what I'm talking about. You needn't reply. I'm just using you as an imaginary audience for my thoughts.

All those years I cruised single handed I took risks that I found acceptable for myself as I was the only one at risk. Others would have dismissed my ways as foolhardy. I felt no need of their approval.

I spent every summer in Maine and the Maritimes without radar. After 9/11 I never bothered clearing back into the US - they had made the process unnecessarily difficult. I carried no insurance. I had no Epirb. I had a liferaft but didn't keep it up to date - it did make a nice step at the base of the mast. As foolish as all this may seem, it was my way and I had no one else's opinion to live up to. If I went overboard I would die. I accepted that fact and acted accordingly.

Now I'll be cruising with my new bride. I need to change my ways. Our new boat will have not one radar but two. We'll have insurance. What I'm struggling with is just how far I need to go in the opposite direction from my usual instincts. There's no limit to the extremes one can go in the interest of safety. Now that I'm leaving the realm of what made sense for me personally, I no longer have a good sense of what is practical and what is too much. I feel like I'm making arbitrary decisions about what we need and what we don't.

I don't have a question for you. Just typing this in has helped me put things in some sort of perspective. It was enough to imagine you all sitting around the big table at the back of the bar listening to me ramble on. Thanks for showing up.