The most difficult part of sailing isn’t the knowing how to sail part. It is the people. I realize that there are those who go solo, but most of sailing is done in a team fashion. Any successful endeavor requires leadership, vision, planning, discipline, and grace. These are all people words. Fixing rigging is easy compared to working the rigging with somebody. For real fun I love to watch people anchor their boats. Anchoring requires one person to helm the boat and operate the motor and one person to drop the anchor. It sounds absurdly simple and it is, but almost everyone I know turns it into clash of person vs. person. All the person in front has to do is let the anchor go. All the person at the helm has to do is say when. Neither get it right and tempers inevitably flare. Sailing requires a certain amount of patience with each other that you just don’t find in everyday life. Probably the closest thing I can think of is when one person has the map in the car and one person has to drive. That endeavor pales in comparison to dropping and setting an anchor. Now try setting a spinnaker or something even more complex when you are seasick and tired. I feel over and over again that I really need to grow up more to be able to sail. This is what a sailboat does for me; it forces me to grow up. My family is learning to trust each other more each time we go out. Everybody is learning to work together and COMMUNICATE with each other in a way that normal landbound life is not apt to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment