As I write this article, I am reminded of Thomas L. Friedman’s quote from his book The World is Flat – ‘Today’s workers need to approach the workplace much like athletes preparing for the Olympics, with one difference. They have to prepare like someone who is training for the Olympics but doesn’t know what sport they are going to enter.’

What Friedman implies is that in the current world our strength lies in our ability to adapt and provide value in multiple ways. Because things can change in an instant, our versatility and adaptability are what will enable us to survive and thrive.

That was my exact mindset when I sailed off last week from Port Dickson to Langkawi. I joined my sister, Kala, and brother-in-law, Nesa, to move their boat to Langkawi. It was an adventure in which I went in not knowing what I didn’t know and had to experience everything as it happened. Sailing is an uncertain sport. Things change in a heartbeat and being able to adapt and respond to situations as they arise is the mindset that one needs.

I am not new to being on the seas. I used to be an avid scuba diver and did a few live-aboard trips to know what being on sea for a few days feels like. But I was always a passenger. The skipper and his small crew ensured that we sailed safely. And not all these trips were smooth sailing. That’s the nature of the sea. Calm one minute choppy the next.

I went into this journey wanting to learn as much as I could. Being a passenger on a boat versus being a ‘crew’ is very different. Boats these days are so well equipped that they can almost sail themselves. We had the boat on autopilot, and it did the rest. But the skill of sailing comes in when things go wrong, and they sure did on the first night of sailing when perfectly calm weather changed to a storm at 4 am with 40-knot winds and rain. The waves looked like they were nearly 1.5 meters high, and the winds were pushing us off course.

Quick thinking by Nesa helped us cut through the waves and half an hour later we found ourselves out of the storm and heading for Pangkor Island. The sailing from Port Dickson to Pangkor Island took 25 hours. Anchoring at Pangkor gave us a chance to do some maintenance. That was my duty. To clean the hull of the boat and check on a device (that was under the hull) that was not working. This stopover was also a great opportunity to just swim in the sea. The perks after the long sail.

The journey to Langkawi took 5 days with stopovers (anchoring) in Pangkor (2 nights) and Penang (1 night) and Singah Besar (outside Langkawi – 1 night).

It was such an adventure and an eventful sail. Sailing is a solitary game. Even though we were four (my cousin joined us), most times we were keeping watch or sleeping! We had no internet connectivity when we were far from shore. Books are great if you can read at length with the constant rocking of the boat.

It can therefore get boring quickly!

But the highlight of the journey for me was sailing under both the Penang bridges at night. That was priceless. A rather tough sail for Nesa as the Penang channel is very shallow with a narrow pathway for sailing marked by buoys on both sides.

But at night judging distances is quite tricky. And the many ambient lights make navigating very confusing. But we navigated the channel using the chart plotter. My cousin and I sat at the top of the boat keeping extra watchful eyes for obstacles. And there was a fishing boat with no lights on and no AIS (therefore not seen on the chart plotter)!

The pictures below capture some of this magnificence.

Equipment is only great if the data is accurate. As we entered Penang, Nesa realised that his map of Penang wasn’t accurate. Straits Quay, where we anchored for the night, was not marked on it. So, I used my phone (GPS and Google Maps) to get an estimate of where the Quay was.

That’s when I thought ‘there is always a way.’ Think on your feet, and adapt!

I started my journey in Port Dickson not knowing what I did not know. I now know what I don’t know, and this is what I shall focus on before my next sail.

As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com