Brad took his second climb up the mast and I made my first trip up a few weeks ago. The idea of going up has always been an intriguing/intimidating prospect for me. I know it’s completely safe, but I haven’t had much experience with heights before. So what better way to overcome those anxious feelings than to go up!
Brad had a job to do while he was up- he had to attach hardware to the spreaders to secure our lazyjacks. My only job was to sit and enjoy the views! Brad explained the Bosun chair, helped me climb in and clipped me in. There was no turning back when he started to winch me up.
Let me be honest. I was a nervous, shaking wreck and my way to cope with the heights was to look straight at the mast in front of me. Occasionally I would peek down and then look straight at the mast again. Before I knew it, he had me winched up to the top of our second spreaders. I enjoyed the views at much as possible and managed to snap a few photos!
Overall I am very happy I went up. I now know that it is safe and the chair is very comfortable. Having the opportunity to go up at the dock was priceless- better to go there than while out at sea.
We sent Brad up one more time. Jesper did the winching up, and I released him down. The feeling of literally having his life in my hands while I let the rope slip through the winch was unnerving. It’s all a matter of getting comfortable with the process and trusting our new gear, and myself.
For any of you that are curious about going up the mast, you should give it a try. Just make sure your halyards and hardware are in great shape, your partner understands the process and go for it!
Views from the top!
