What does sailing mean to you? Down deep.

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

The forum is a little slow right now and I have been wanting to ask this for awhile. I would be interested in any answers from a few sentences to a book. I ask this because I have not really been able to define my own answer. Some other pasttimes I have enjoyed are motorcycles,waterskiing surfing,basketball,bicycle racing and inboard hydroplane racing but these were just hobbies. When I became interested in sailing it was like it had been buried in my DNA all along and somehow pushed its way to the surface. Even though I have learned alot from this site, it always feels as though I am just being reminded of something that I already knew deep down. One interesting memory I have is walking along a dock beside a restaurant, I think it was in Miami. I was maybe six and was with my Dad and a bunch of his hydroplane racing buddies. We walked by some big old classic sailboat that had alot of lines and gear on it. One of the guys commented on how complicated it was and why would anyone want to own one? I remember having the feeling that the boat was inviting me to jump on board, cast off the lines and show everyone that I was capable of sailing off on my own. I was strangely sure that I could do it but I walked silently past. I had wanted a sailboat since that day but didn't get one for 30 years

 

[Joseph Shirley]

A way of life to me

I have Owned sailboats, Crewed on sailboats, Worked on sailboats, Designed sailboats and their hardware, and lived on sailboats; and I am just happy being on one. I like them under sail or at anchor, and even prefer them under power to a power boat. When I was younger, I used to single hand all over the New England coast, and then I did it with buddies or family, but now I'm older I cruise mostly with my wife; and must admit that I do a lot more Powering now than I ever earlier thought I would do. I charted a power boat once though, and never really took to it. I thought it was boring.Now that I'm older I am quite content to go to a protected anchorage and just enjoy being on my boat. In Mexico we would stay on the hook for as much as a month at a time before we moved on. Here in Washington we have an abundance of state parks and yacht clubs to visit. More exist even further north into the Canadian Gulf Islands where the Provincial Parks are just as inviting. So the cruising here is quite nice.At the yacht club where I belong (I have been at this one for 35 years and am a life member, but I belonged to 2 others on the East Coast), sailors enjoy sailing there boats; and go out often even if just around the bay and come back, but the power boats seem to need a place to go, or they stay at the club. When they have a place to go they all rush there so they can get a good place at the dock and plug in. Then they party on the dock. They have a different mindset, and seem to use their boats as movable bedrooms. Then when the party is over they get underway and head right back to the club.I am new to this forum having come here from the Irwin Owners forum, and have found it very enjoyable. There are a lot of knowledgeable sailors here though some of our opinions differ dramatically. But thats good too. My opinions have been formed by lots of sailing but may be stale, and new things and Ideas keep coming; and even though I am mostly set in my ways, even I learn some new things.Good sailing to you all and may you always have fair winds and following breezes.There is a progression that is joked about among older sailors: From Sailboat to Motorboat to Motor home to Old folks home. I think I'll be buried from my sailboatJoe S

 

[Kris]

Peace

It is peaceful and quiet.  When you get somewhere you have a feeling that you accomplished something. Wind power is cheaper than gas and less pollutant. More with nature. It is the feeling I get when I am surfing on a day with a nice swell blue sky with no clouds just outside the breakers waiting for a set of waves to come in. Just sitting on my board in peace with the world.  Sailing brings you back to the old days when men sailed boats to explore new lands.

 

[pigue]

Sailing has defined me

Great Question! I have been around boats since before high school (Sea Scouts) and have always received what I needed from sailing. In 1976 during the Bicentennial I was fresh out of High school and I flew to N.Y. to see the Tall ships parade. I jumped on Houston’s participant in the race and sailed her to Bermuda and then down to the Virgin Islands and worked as first mate on a charter 76’ staysail schooner for 10 months. This was not only a great learning experience but a time that defined my life. Ever since I returned to go to collage I have remembered and relied upon the things that I have learned on sailboats; From not letting the small things getting you down to remembering that God loves us all. (Wow what a wide range that is!). All of my True friends that I have had for years and can truly count on came from sailing. Anyway it always amazes me as to the amount of influence that sailing has had in my life and I certainly would not be the same person without it.Sail on sailors!Tim from Texas

 

[Bad Obsession]

I have to agree....

Mr. Shirley is right.....Sailing is a way of life. It is a culture. Deep down, if you ask me who I am, I am a sailor. That is an identity. A lot of people feel that they are what they do at work. If you ask them they will say that they are lawyers, secretarys, doctors, or any other job that they do. We are sailors.I really like what Jack Sparrow said about a boat..."A boat is more than sails and a hull, it is freedom." I am sure that I didn't quite say it right but the meaning is there....A boat is freedom. How many times have you had a bad week but when you drop those docklines the stress and problems just melt away?Sailing is a part of my soul. When I don't get to my boat for a while I am restless. It is incredible when you are lying on the foredeck at night with the ancor out. Looking up at the stars from a remote ancorage with no other boats or people around. The sound of the wind in the rigging, the water against the hull, and the gentile rocking of the boat.Sailing is also a connection to the past. All the people who have lived and worked on the water before us. They have put their signature on this culture.

 

[Stillraining]

I just spilled my heart

and the page crashed ..I dont have it in me again...Sorry

 

[ITMaster]

Sailing for me is for sure

A way of life, my life, what it is that I live for!

 

[Ross]

Sailing is one of many things that I enjoy. Some days

the weather is so bad that I am glad to have a good house on solid ground. I love my boat and the time we get to enjoy on it but it is a means not an end. I have no desire for a weeks long passage but a weeks long cruise with many stops will get me planning.

 

[higgs]

me myself

My late father taught me to sail - his gift to me."I'd never trade a day ashore for one spent on the sea"

 

[garyk]

Spring is in the air

Wow! I can't believe we're aching so bad to get back on the water! Folks, I have to tell you it's the water. That's where we came from, and we haven't forgotten. Not much different than the salmon that have to swim upstream. Water!!! H2O!!! Hydrogen and Oxygen!!! Pretty basic atoms the universe has allowed us to experience. If you don't like where this sentimentality is going, stop reading. Anyone know what a "cluster fly" is? No, forget Clint's line. It's those flies that are parasitic on earthworms, hide in your house in the winter, and come out in the spring and are terribly annoying. Yup, one hit the keyboard. Can you tell where I am? New England. Spring is so close. CAN I SCREAM!!!!!

 

[bill@tahoe]

sailing

I YAM WHAT I YAM, TooT! TooT!

 

[Steve]

Because....

...sailing links me to thousands of years of human exploration. It reminds me of the desire of man to see what is across the horizon. A sense that I am linked to Nelson, Columbus, Eric the Red, and explorers unnamed who lived, loved, laughed and added to the unknown world. To know the unknown, to live a life that says I know where the wind blows and adjust my sails and go to where the wind...and God wills.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

The ultimate freedom and independance

To me, sailing represents the ultimate freedom and the ultime sense of independence. It is depending only upon yourself when solo or only upon your travel companions when with others. We are not talking ocean crossing here. Its the same sense whether in a bay, lake or coastal. That sense of freedom and independance occurs as soon as one leaves the dock.Tony B

 

[Brian D]

Sailing is my last, great, challenge!

nm

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

When I step on my boat....

I've already arrived at my destination. Like many other sailors, it's not the destination but the passage that matters.To take on the sea when she is mad and still be sailing when the calm winds come is the ultamate feeling of accomplishment for me. Though I know the sea is bigger than me, I love the challange. For me I am most alive when the sea is its maddest. Don't get me wrong though, I love a sail with the spinnaker out, 10 kts of wind a gentle rolling sea, and the shared joy of the sea with either my wife on board, or my sailing buddy. If the wind is right it isn't unusual for us to gou straight out into the gulf for a hundred miles then come back. Nothing like the sky at night with no light polution.

 

[sailaway78]

What everyone else said

Previous responses pretty well sum it up for me. The challenges, the dependence on yourself, the sense of accomplishment. These are the cake, and all are an important part of it. But for me the icing is being anchored up in clear water, watching a beautiful sunset, dolphins playing around the boat, sunrise 100 miles offshore. The incredible sense of peace and quiet, and of self satisfaction. This is something that most will never experience, and those of us who do are the privileged ones.

 

[CharlieCobra]

I'm thinking here....

I'll get back to ya.

 

[Tom Monroe]

Any day on a boat ...

... is a great day.The ceaseless and changing patterns of the water, the sounds, sun, movement, a fesh storm approaching, the sweep and cry of a gull, the sounds of a rapids ahead, the shake of a sail, a luncheon gravel bar .... and on and on and on.I just feel most alive in boats, any kind of boat. I'll even take a powerboat over no boat. But that sense of "aliveness" is most profound when I'm sailing. Canoeing is a close second. I think that's because in addition to transporting me into the world I love, there is some skill required. One has to serve a bit of an apprenticeship to reep the rewards.TomCarlyle Lake

 

[letterman]

not sure

Sailing clarifies in my mind that I am not a failure and that I can lead. It also lets me explore the mathematical mind in me (if that is what it is called). I can plan...what is the wind, drift, current, etc. going to do to my course? It becomes logical. I like that.That and the fact I am Captain. No bs from moron bosses saying "This conversation is over" or "I told you to do it this way" when it is evident THAT is precisely the wrong way to do it.Today there was a car stuck in the snow on the street. A front wheel drive car, newer tires. The path in the snow showed the driver leveled the snow for about 40 feet before she got stuck. The path in front of the car was clear, but she would have to turn the wheel to the right to get out. The other two guys insisted she go backwards to get out, and me being the younger (age 56) said "forward". They argued and I said "You know, just once I would like to win one of these arguments. Guys, you will get your chance. Backwards she goes. But, when it fails, as it surely will, we do it my way, agreed?" They weren't even listening. So back she went, about 6 inches, then rolled forward to the same spot. She tried again. Same results. By this time I had the front cleared and said calmly "Put the gears in low. Just let up on the brake and give it just a hint of gas. And turn the wheel to the left a bit." Out she came. THAT'S why I sail.

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Its the little things

The quiet joy it gives me. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo