He Couldn’t Climb Back Aboard

Lessons From a Ladder

We were so excited. We’d successfully sailed Wandering Spirit out to Santa Cruz Island for the first time. Anchored in Smuggler’s Cove, we pretty much had the place to ourselves on a gorgeous day. Little did we know, the day’s challenge hadn’t yet begun.

After snacking on dried salami, cheese and sourdough bread—a regular sailboat meal for us—we decided to slide the kayak off its J-hooks and paddle around to explore.

Getting back to the boat, we ran into our first snag. And it proved to be a big one.

Roger couldn’t climb up onto the boat.

Now, in his younger years my husband was an athletic guy, an expert racquetball player, quick on his feet and agile. But at nearly 50 years old, a few things had shifted and others had stiffened up a little.

Is It Us?

Yes, we had a ladder—the boat’s previous owner had left one aboard. But it was a rope and rubber steps contraption, so instead of hanging straight down into the water, when Roger put his weight on it, the ladder pushed against the curve of the boat. Leaning backwards, Roger couldn’t climb it. Believe me, he tried.

As I looked down on him sitting atop the kayak, I proposed what I thought was a realistic solution.

“Grab my hand. I’ll pull you up,” I offered.

He just laughed. I guess physics and common sense weren’t on my side.

Sailing for Dummies Let Us Down

Circling the boat, we considered our options. Maybe the anchor chain? Or the slanted transom at the stern? Neither offered anything he could use to leverage himself up.

We had prepared extensively, practiced endlessly, and pursued excellence in all things nautical. But no one warned us of “the ladder test.” Not a word about it in Sailing for Dummies.

By this time, I was picturing Roger riding on the kayak behind Wandering Spirit all the way home.

Even The Best-Laid Plans Can Go Awry

Have you ever had trouble completing a task even when you had all the right equipment? The bolt that should go straight through two lined-up holes doesn’t. The brand-new strand of Christmas lights doesn’t light up. Or, to add insult to injury, the instructions say the desk from IKEA will take 30 minutes to build and you’re already into hour three.

When the given “formula” doesn’t work and you don’t know why—or what to do about it—frustration and disenchantment can quickly set in. That day on the boat we did a lot of staring at the ladder, wondering what we were doing wrong.

In the end, Roger struggled mightily to put a foot, then a knee over the top edge of the boat, where he finally accepted my help to finish the job. It wasn’t pretty, but he did it.

Ladder Takeaways

That ladder taught us more than we expected. Conquering a trial like that requires creativity and perseverance. Add a little humor, and you’ve got a good approach to many of life’s struggles. Paul put it this way in Romans 5:3-5:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

It isn’t always my favorite way to learn, but it’s certainly effective—if we don’t give up.

The new ladder

Who knows, maybe that ladder would have been great for a treehouse. But it ended up in the trash as we lost no time purchasing a sturdier metal version Roger could actually climb.

Maybe the best part of sailing—and life—is collecting these ridiculous stories. And building great character together—even if it means skipping IKEA and heading straight to Ashley Furniture.

Got a project that should’ve gone smoothly but didn’t? I’d love to hear about it—share in the comments.