I love cruising, that is quite evident in the dedication to my work. However, there are always some factors we fear in the things we love the most. For example, I also love snowboarding, but the fear of injuring myself again has kept me off the slopes for the past 5 years. I guess fear is a part of us, and no matter what, there will always be that factor that makes us uncomfortable for one reason or another.
The recent news about the 22 year old passenger falling off from the Oasis of the Seas and then being rescued by the Disney Magic displays my one fear of cruising. While it is still unclear how he went overboard, one thing is for sure, he experienced a miracle! I truly believe it was not his day to die, what a lucky fellow. I still do wonder, if it was an accident, like it was claimed in some news, or if it was premeditated like others claim. I guess we will never know.
I know that for most of us it is very unlikely to fall off the ship. Responsibility and common sense go a long way into the safety of our lives. When cruising, I dislike when mom goes alone, and I always tell her to stay away from the railings while alone. I guess you could call me paranoid, but the only way I can describe it, is being over protective. I know many parents allow their children to go freely around the ship, I could never see myself doing this. There is simply too much to go wrong with a child, but then again that is just my opinion.
Some of you might be asking where the overwhelming fear comes from? I think I might have the answer for that. It is not particularly a fear of death itself. While I don’t welcome death, I do however understand that it is the natural order and it will eventually happen. My case is directly related to my phobia of sharks.
It all started about 10 years ago when I was surfing and I was knocked off my surfboard by a shark at the local beach. That was the day that I quit surfing and my phobia begun. Thank God nothing happened, but I did see the shark and that was enough for me to quit the sport. It is beyond me how some surfers get bit and continue to ride waves. Anyway, I think that day marked me forever. I have an impending fear of dark ocean water, mainly situations that I can’t control. I have tried to control my phobia, but in the end this is something that I am not sure I will ever learn to handle.
I can only imagine what I would be going through if I went overboard. I guess the only way of putting it is by picturing yourself being in that movie “Open Water”. But that situation would be slightly different since it was two of them instead of one. Although now that I think about it, I think that would be worse. Anyway…
It is not a pretty topic, I know. But nonetheless, it is something that I am sure many of us have thought at one point or another. In the end, we all know that these cases are extremely rare, but there is still that slim chance that something could happen.
Be conscious and be safe in your travels!
