::Maximise:: - weblog of Max Tobiasen

Moving a boat

This is a story about what it takes to start a company. It may not seem like it, but it is.

I live on a boat in a harbour. It's an amazing place with just the right mix of artists, yacht owners and fishermen. As in all small communities there's a strong invisible pecking order. The fishermen are on top. They are the real men. They have survived force gale 12 storms in the bay of Biscay, they haul cod out of the freezing water with their bare hands in the winter, they move crates around the harbour like children moving toys across the lawn. And, of course they know all there is to know about boats. When it comes to boats they are the unquestionable authority. They have seen it all before, and they are always right. They are where you go for buying, selling, moving and fixing boats.

I like the fishermen. Without them I would have no idea how to fix all the things that inevitably break on my old boat. And I can tell they enjoy sharing their vast knowledge. But to them I'm not a real man. I'm an academic. I can't lift the heavy crates, I've never been in a real storm. And I can't haul cod, not even in the summer. To them I'm a boy.

posted by Max Tobiasen at 00:33

Nicely written story/parable about what it takes to do it.