Is it the Actual Sailing or the Adventure and Possibility?

[Poche]

Originally Posted by Don C L

or a new time of year, and the excitement of the new challenge is there and sailing to it... how to describe that? It helps to gift wrap it beautifully.

We enjoy our boat in the winter months in SoCal. Being the only ones anchoring.

[thomm225]

If you want real adventure, take a bicycle ride 10-15 miles or so through city traffic etc taking short cuts without getting hit to your boat

I did this on Saturday am taking the 10 mile route to my boat which is about 1.5 miles away to do battery and solar connection maintenance for the first time in a couple years in 95 degree temps.

It was a great workout and instant adventure ......unlike sailing adventure which usually takes a long time coming.....

[Poche]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

These are such beautiful responses. Brings a tear to my eye, to be sure!
Makes the learning curve on getting to know my new to me boat totally worth it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPOlakkBlj8

[fireant]

I don't have a boat as of now. But I can answer this question I think.
The plan was to buy a school bus fix it up and travel all over north America.
I love the outdoors hiking camping and backpacking and photography.
I worked all my life with very little down time. I decided i want to just walk away from it all and travel as long as I can to all those places I see on national geographic magazines.
My wife is Chinese she done some travel in China, Africa and Mexico. She said she would follow me in the bus but wanted to travel more to other countries and meet people stay in places learn the culture. When I mentioned a sailing boat she jumped right at it.
For us the boat will be a way to travel and have your house with you. I guess in the long term it would be much cheaper then fly around and find a place to stay.
knowing my self if there is another boat next to me i would do my best to be faster to the spot. I ride a motorcycle and and very competitive I can see it same on the boat.
It will add more to the adventure of travel.
I hope i wont be too sea sick, wont get too bored and get a chance to do lots of hiking or at list lots of walking.
Now we just need to get passed covid-19

[robert sailor]

Everything is controlled these days and few people actually realize it. If you walk in your neighborhood you will click the button and wait for the crosswalk sign to flash. When you drive your car you stop on the red light and go on the green light and if you speed you will get a ticket. You listen to radio and TV's that are licensed and controlled by the government.....it goes on and on. You jump into the little hamster wheel every morning at exactly the same time and go and work for the man..do what is expected of you or you get into trouble. Day after day, week after week until your time is used up.
I like the fact that sailing is one of the few things you can just go and do by yourself, you seek no ones approval. You become totally self sufficient as your little home crosses oceans.
If you screw up then you live with the consequences. When your half way across an ocean you are on your own, you really never expect anyone to come to your aid, you have to look after yourself. As another poster said, it's the ultimate freedom. Arriving in a new country or group of islands after being at sea for several weeks is very exciting. New people, new cultures, new food and meeting other like minded people that also crossed that same ocean...its very exciting.
Your sailing the same oceans as Columbus, nothing has changed, just the year. Other cruisers know instinctively that you are both going to be moving on so the normal veneer that people have is simply not there. We have sailing friends that we got to know better in a few weeks than land friends we have known for years..we still maintain cruising friends we met over 30 years ago.
That's what I like about sailing oceans...

[Poche]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

That is so beautiful. Sounds like a book I want to read!

Everyone should read this book. I have it on my small bookshelf.
Hayden also cruised across the country on his rail car. How cool was that.

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Siberian Sea

I sail solo because most everything I hate in life I find back there on land around all those people. Drama, politics, marketing propaganda, the pressure to conform and get in step. No, out here it’s freedom away from all that. Out here I have room and time, no one to answer too. Out here I can breathe. I never feel as good as I do when I’m out at sea on a boat sailing away from land and all that back there.

yes...people try to understand that, and they keep asking in a judgemental way " WHY DO YOU LIKE THAT, ITS SO WEIRD!!"
I have given up trying to make myself understood. Not my problem they dont get it.

[BVLew]

Just read that the great sailor and cruiser Larry Pardey died this week. About 10 years ago, his wife Lin Pardey gave an interview and spoke directly to the sailing/adventure balance:


"In 1970, 95% of those we met felt cruising was a grand way to get out and do a lot of sailing and have some adventures too. Though most of us back then liked turning in fast passages, we pushed our boats to gain bragging rights, not because we wanted to avoid spending an extra day or two at sea. Today when I ask seminar audiences and folks we meet while we are out cruising to describe their thoughts about sailing – very few say sailing in and of itself is an important reason to go cruising and most admit to feeling uncomfortable about being at sea. Very few understand how to keep a boat sailing in light winds, many do not have nylon sails on board."

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

I was wondering the other day about what I like about being on a boat...is it the SAILING I mean, the act of sailing OR is it the idea and possibility of adventure and the changing views and the challenges it presents?

It is both. Last week I cruised from Anacortes to South Puget Sound and back. Out of eight days, only one day there was a great sailing weather with good wind. That was undoubtedly the best day of this trip, I could not get rid of the smile on my face. Particularly, when the boat was flying at 7.5 knots through the water, which is quite good for my 31.5 feet waterline length. Other days were a mix of motoring and occasional sailing at 3-5 knots, which is typical for July-August in this area. Wasn’t very happy.

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by BVLew

Just read that the great sailor and cruiser Larry Pardey died this week. About 10 years ago, his wife Lin Pardey gave an interview and spoke directly to the sailing/adventure balance:


"In 1970, 95% of those we met felt cruising was a grand way to get out and do a lot of sailing and have some adventures too. Though most of us back then liked turning in fast passages, we pushed our boats to gain bragging rights, not because we wanted to avoid spending an extra day or two at sea. Today when I ask seminar audiences and folks we meet while we are out cruising to describe their thoughts about sailing – very few say sailing in and of itself is an important reason to go cruising and most admit to feeling uncomfortable about being at sea. Very few understand how to keep a boat sailing in light winds, many do not have nylon sails on board."

They were such an inspiration to me...!! This makes me so sad. That he died in a nursing home. Life is unfair. Better he died at sea...I guess...🙏🙏

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by djousset

As a relatively new boat owner this thread really made me reflect on what it is that drew me in, and what keeps me in. I love that sailing is physical, non-linear, exciting and challenging. I love that it is quiet, ever-changing yet reliable, and easy on the environment. I love the simplicity of the vessel (in my case anyways), and I love that it teaches patience, perseverance, adaptability, independence and resourcefulness. All while underway to new destinations! For me the act of sailing is joyous in that it brings with it both adventure and possibility.

Super, DJ.

And since you've recently joined the ranks of single-handers, it carries that much more weight!

LittleWing77

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by BVLew

About 10 years ago, Lin Pardey gave an interview and spoke directly to the sailing/adventure balance:

"In 1970, 95% of those we met felt cruising was a grand way to get out and do a lot of sailing and have some adventures too. Though most of us back then liked turning in fast passages, we pushed our boats to gain bragging rights, not because we wanted to avoid spending an extra day or two at sea.

Today, when I ask seminar audiences and folks we meet while we are out cruising to describe their thoughts about sailing – very few say sailing in and of itself is an important reason to go cruising and most admit to feeling uncomfortable about being at sea. Very few understand how to keep a boat sailing in light winds, many do not have nylon sails on board."

This is deeply sad to me but you all know my take on this: it's the proliferation of YouTube channels that make it seem like a lark, as easy as driving a car! Stuff like that.

I wonder if those of us who started in small dinghies, just pootling around before we were too young to be fearful, I wonder if that's the reason we love the sailing of it - regardless of the journey, regardless of the adventure?

We started out just hopping in a boat and sailing... is that at the centre of why we love to sail?

LittleWing77

[barnakiel]

However, when L&L uttered their "...Very few understand how to keep a boat sailing in light winds..." they simply failed to notice something very important: everybody else had and engine (or two, as the go to cruising boat is a cat).


The aspect of being 'uncomfortable about being at sea' sort of draws on the above issue - boats are faster, people motor thru calms, = we spend less and less time sailing open waters. We simply do not do it for long enough anymore to get used to the offshore anxiety.


With motors, APs, gps and watermakers, fewer and fewer of us are out there for the fun of it, and more and more are simply passengers watching the blue water from the backseat of their self-driving car.



b.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

With motors, APs, gps and watermakers, fewer and fewer of us are out there for the fun of it, and more and more are simply passengers watching the blue water from the backseat of their self-driving car.

b.

I can say I agree with this as it's what I prefer. I have no interest in winch grinding. Just like I have no interest in car driving. If it could all do it itself and provide it's own lookout, that would be perfect for me. Only time I don't want it, is when doing technical riding on motorcycle. For everything else I'd rather sit back relax and watch the landscapes go by.

Ok occasionally it's a bit fo fun like when in an unofficial race against a buddy to the next anchorage, but long passage making, nah, I want to chill.

On my solo Atlantic crossing I had 7 days with less than 7 knts of wind. It was frustrating as normally you could fly the spinnaker, but the swell (2.5 - 4m) made it a real chore. Even with a pole it would collapse and violently refill over every wave. All to get a couple of knots. Much easier to use the motor sparingly (not that I could since I can't carry that much fuel). Enjoyed a few days completely becalmed just drifting, baking, reading though.

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

This is deeply sad to me but you all know my take on this: it's the proliferation of YouTube channels that make it seem like a lark, as easy as driving a car! Stuff like that.

I wonder if those of us who started in small dinghies, just pootling around before we were too young to be fearful, I wonder if that's the reason we love the sailing of it - regardless of the journey, regardless of the adventure?

We started out just hopping in a boat and sailing... is that at the centre of why we love to sail?

LittleWing77

Do they feel uncomfortable mentally or actually feel uncomfortable because they are in crappy seas and are rolling around, or can't stand up without having to hold on to something.

The first is unlikely for anyone buying 'blue water' boats and planning to sail around the world, or even just long distances. The second i can understand and is about boat design, and weather.

[Poche]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

H
With motors, APs, gps and watermakers, fewer and fewer of us are out there for the fun of it, and more and more are simply passengers watching the blue water from the backseat of their self-driving car.
b.

Windvanes, yes. Having SOME electronics like a depth sounder and a newer vhf.