Have you ever been asked...

[Gunni]

Powerboaters - the destination.
Sailors - the trip.

A man can only listen to the drone of an engine(s), vibrating his braincase so long before he feels compelled to press the throttles, get there, and make the noise end. The idea that any boater would endure a long, slow trip suggests needless pain to a mobo.

 

[Kordie]

When you are on a power boat you are always heading somewhere.

On a sailboat - you are already there....

 

[meuritt]

When a client found out I sailed he asked 'Where do you go, just in circles?"

And if you are in a power boat it's somehow different? I start and end my day at home, therefore, I've spent the whole day going in one circle or another.

 

[SVCarolena]

To each his own, I say. We had powerboats for several years before getting the sailboat. Why did we make the switch? Initially, becuase we wanted something large enough to spend weekends and vacations on, and I didn't want to deal with two big gas engines. Now, we love it for the silence. Nothing beats that moment when the main is up, you crack off the wind, and cut off the engine. We also love the challenge of sailing, and the excitement on a windy day. And even when we are running on the Yanmar, it is still quiet enough for a conversation - not the case on most powerboats once you hit plane. All that said, my wife and I agree that if we could afford two boats, we would have the sailboat for long trips, sailing for the pleasure of it, and spending the weekend on. We would also have a nice center console with an outboard for fishing, waterskiing (do miss that) and quick runs out to restaurants for dinner or to a swiming hole on a really hot, windless day. So I guess we fall in the middle, like both sail and power, but for different reasons and uses. And we have lots of friends with both power and sail - we even raft up together. All that said, the middle finger I get from friends with similar sized powerboats when I casually mention that I may need to make a run to the gas station to fill my 5 gal. jerry can with diesel, which shoudl last us the better part of a month . . . priceless!

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I was anchored in the power plant inlet channel at Tarpon Springs, having just crossed from Applachicola.

Guy in a 'go fast " power boat was commenting on the SLOWNESS of sailboats, so I asked him if he wanted to race?

He looked at me in blank astonishment, laughed, and asked"Race? Where?"

I said "from here to Corpus Christi, Texas."

"Non-stop"

Shoulda seen the sneer fade. Grin

 

[rivettw]

Ken from NOLA South Shore,

There are enough crab pots out there in the Ponch its like a slalom course. Challenging... I'de be happy to just sail in a circle. Solitude and the quiet has it's own redemption. Hard to explain to someone who is not on the same plane of mindset.

Wally on the North Shore

 

[kpgraci]

Ken from NOLA South Shore,

There are enough crab pots out there in the Ponch its like a slalom course. Challenging... I'de be happy to just sail in a circle. Solitude and the quiet has it's own redemption. Hard to explain to someone who is not on the same plane of mindset.

Wally on the North Shore

Hey Wally,

The crab pots don't bother me too much but there are a lot of them, which is fine, 'cause I like crabs.

Solitude, quite, serenity, and sometimes harrowing adventure that you just don't get on a powerboat. It's like taking a train instead of flying, or a ferry instead of a bridge. Plus when all the fuel runs out I'll still be going, wherever I want - no range limitations except water (can catch food). I like powerboats just fine but sailing is just plain pleasant.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

Someone actually asked me that question in just those words. At that moment I could understand his reasoning - I'm cautious and not too agile anymore, so it take well over an hour to step the mast and bend the sails in normal circumstances; It happend to be July on the west coast of Fla and the mast was hot enough to make me think twice before touching anything metal(both the Admiral and son had already retreated to someplace that was "only hot") and both hands were already singed a bit...
I've spent time in my youth recklessly racing on the street for money and running my day-to-day car for stock eliminator at the strip, but now love the challenge of "getting there" with only skill instead of power. I joke all the time with my pal that has a 30-footer with gazillion horsepower that I put 6 gallons of fuel in my tank in april and pour 5 of them in the van in october - even the dog starts yapping when I go to start the kicker to approach the ramp.
Centerline, I know just how you feel about ramp ettiquite. Walking back from parking the car and trailer is just about as long as we ever take once we've secured to the dock. :dance:

 

[anchorclanker]

There possibly isnt anything you could say to him that would change his opinion. Another factor may be jealousy and ignorance. With dock prices for fuel at $5 gal, its costing an absolute fortune to go power boating. The thought of you riding around for free, on the wind, may just be irritating the crap out of him. He may just be trying to ridicule it to justify his ridiculous expense.

 

[McZube]

I think I like the fact that sailing requires a great deal more seamanship and skill and has a far richer tradition than power boating does. I could say that sailing is also more relaxing, but it can be very intense, especially when the weather changes quickly.

As far as trying to change other peoples' opinions goes, it's a waste of time. It's like arguing that my favorite color is better than someone else's favorite color. It's purely subjective and, in the end, completely pointless.

Taking a power boater for a sail might change his mind or it might not.

I, too, like the fact that one tank of fuel will last me for an entire season. If a power boater's response to that is that my boat is just too slow for him, I point out that the whole purpose of boating is to spend time on the boat, not to jet from one destination to another as quickly as possible and spend more time at the dock.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If a power boater's response to that is that my boat is just too slow for him, I point out that the whole purpose of boating is to spend time on the boat, not to jet from one destination to another as quickly as possible and spend more time at the dock.

But isn't that just like your favorite color analogy? Sailors spend the time getting there as the destination, while pobos jet there and sit, but they're still on their boat, aren't they? I once had a ride on a friend's friend's 36 foot pobo. He wouldn't let anyone else drive. We zoomed out of his harbor, drove (blasted?) 20 minutes to the next harbor, sat for 2 hours and blasted home. Boooring. I would have much more enjoyed a two hour sail, stopped for ten minutes for a swim and sailed back. But, hey, that's just me (and us).

 

[capta]

sailing is fun?

Sure sailing can be fun, but there are certainly times when a swift power boat seems appealing.
Try 3000 miles of beating to go 1200 miles up the length of the Red Sea. Or last month, doing 375 miles of beating to go 264 miles on what should have been a close reach? Or just yesterday, NO WIND AT ALL on the leeward side of St. Vincent.
We're the ones who sail a 53' ketch off the anchor, work through the little puffs & gusts sailing to the channels between islands here in the West Indies, where we sail in winds of 20 to 35 knots only to arrive at the next island and have to work our way to the next anchorage sailing through the little puffs & gusts of the lee. We rarely use the engine (the Onan drinks most of our fuel), but we do have one & it works fine.
How can anyone describe to those who have never sailed, the satisfaction of getting from point A to point B through one's own efforts. On my circumnavigation, I found most people we met in foreign lands truly appreciated the fact that we did not pay for a seat on a plane, but were there through hard work and a commitment of time that those who fly will never know.
By the way, the second stupidest question I've gotten from non-sailors (fairly often, I might add) is: "do you anchor every night on your ocean crossings?"
"Sure lady, the ocean is 5 miles deep & you need 3 times the water's depth of chain to anchor safely. We carry 15 miles of chain aboard & take the time to drop it every evening & pick it up in the morning. But only after my coffee, though."
"Ain't sailin' fun?"