150 to 200 years ago, American pioneers envisioned a life of liberty and the prospect of catching their initial view of the Pacific Ocean. While some were enticed by the allure of mountains and new frontiers, others found the sense of liberation in the journey itself, traversing unfamiliar territories on horseback during the day and bedding down under the vast sky at night. For them, freedom meant constantly moving forward.

Our own quest for freedom started after growing up in Toronto.  We had already "gone west" to live in Northern Ontario and build our farm, living as self-sustaining a life as we could. But we weren’t free. Tied to our land, we struggled under burdensome government regulations and taxes, and the realization that we would be unable to protect or defend it all should society collapse.

We dreamt of our future. It would be a better life, one in which we would be truly independent and self-sufficient, answering to no one. 

We would go to sea!

Having a sailboat during a disaster can offer several benefits for individuals and communities affected by a crisis. Here are some of the main advantages of having a sailboat during a disaster:

1. Mobility: In a disaster situation, mobility and flexibility is often critical for reaching safety or providing assistance to others. A disaster area may be inaccessible to cars or trucks, such as flooded streets, damaged roads, or areas with limited infrastructure. A sailboat is not dependent on roads or other infrastructure, which can be damaged or blocked during a disaster. Having a mobile and flexible form of transportation, such as a sailboat, can allow you to bypass these obstacles and reach your destination more quickly and safely. It can navigate through shallow waters, go around debris or other obstacles, and even sail upwind, allowing it to access areas that might be difficult or impossible to reach by other means. This can be particularly useful for evacuating individuals or transporting supplies to areas that are difficult to access.

   Mobility and flexibility are crucial because they allow you to adapt and respond to rapidly changing conditions, and provide options for evacuation, relocation, and access to resources.

   Read more: What are the benefits of having a sailboat when there's a disaster?

You may know from the blog article 'Boat Like An Airline Pilot: Checklists Prevent Human Errors', that I like lists. They make life so much simpler. It's so easy to forget things when you are going by memory, but a simple checklist makes skipping or forgetting steps much more difficult.

The same goes with cleaning and servicing.

Here is the service schedule for our previous catamaran. Our current catamaran with its electric motors is considerably different. You can adjust this to suit your sailboat, car, house, or airplane.

Every hour of every day, many thousands of airline pilots do something that, on the face of it, seems silly. Just before landing, the flying pilot lowers the landing gear, and three bright green lights illuminate. They both see the lights, and then the non-flying pilot asks: “Landing gear down?” The flying pilot must, by law, respond: “Check — three down and green.”

They both know the landing gear is down the second the lights go on, but they still have to ask the question, and they have to hear an answer.

This is not done just for just the landing gear. There is rarely a move a pilot makes that isn’t confirmed by the pilot sitting next to him. Regardless of how many years of experience they have, commercial pilots can hardly flip a switch without confirming it with their (often much junior) partners.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules that make it a crime not to do so are not excessive government oversight. It’s that the pilots and the FAA know something most of us find very hard to admit: everyone — even those with long experience doing something — are capable of making mistakes. Everyone is capable of forgetting something. And when forgetting can get people killed, you make a list and check it every time.