It’s been almost a week since I set sail from my home. Currently I am in York, Maine for my second night while I wait on the weather to improve. Tomorrow I will set out for Gloucester at sunup, where my sister and cousin will meet me for a slumber party on the ocean.

These past six days have been a whirlwind of emotions and change and actual wind. Still getting over officially leaving my parents, I’ve found comfort in my dog, Elli. Already I foresee myself cultivating an unhealthy level of adoration for my little screwball of fur.

I have, of course, run into some less-than stellar situations. Upon entering York Harbor I backed over my dingy line while trying to grab a mooring causing my engine to stop abruptly. I panicked – but just for a moment. I forgot, briefly, that anchors had been invented and wondered how I would keep my dearest Athena from smashing into the rocks. Upon remembering the wonderful, wonderful 32 pounds of steel that was resting on the bow of the boat, I threw it overboard and felt the boat ease into a stop. With the imminent danger dealt with, I was able to turn my attention to the little yellow line that flowed from the underbelly of my boat. It danced around on the surface of the water, almost mocking me as I tugged hopelessly on it. My fate was determined. I was going in.

The friendly harbormaster and police sergeant, Drew, came out to see what was amiss, and towed me into the dock. He helped me procure a mask and a decent knife. ‘It’ll be warm, won’t it?’ I joked to him as I prepared to go under. He responded with an earnest no.

Later, as I sat shivering in all my blankets, I thought back on the situation. My father has warned me of cascading failures—when one, small problem leads to many other problems and results in disaster—and I felt like I had handled the whole ordeal decently well. My small mistake could have had a very different outcome. I’m glad that I took the opportunity to run over my line while I was in a protected harbor crawling with kind people. It was a mistake, definitely, but more so it was a learning experience.

There will be many, many more learning experiences before I reach the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas. And probably some there as well.