Traffic Jams

Are traffic jams and mental dullness killing sailing? What if this is the reason for all the displays of “Bollards of steel” and idiotic behaviour out there?

Sailing has always been an adventure for me. It was a way of breaking free from the world into a realm of my own. Get out there, battle the elements, never knowing what will come next. Sailing was a way of loosing myself, but finding myself at the same time. It was as if when on the water , the world made sense again and I knew who I was.  It did not only hook me emotionally, but mentally it got my brain unstuck form 1st gear and took me to 5th in seconds

But as the years sailed by, the fog rolled in over adventure and the dullness settled in on my mind. By now most of you are saying: “What the f*&@? Cleat off and run that by me again”

Ever watched a goldfish in a round bowl?  Round and round it goes with no personality and brain power near zero. Same can be said of the usual beer can races at the club, it always starts with a traffic jam, because everybody wants the prime spot.  Then the buzzer goes and fleet is off.  The usual suspects are in the lead and everybody just follows their lead.  Every week the same course, the same bunch, the same tactics, the same heading, the same cans. When do we use our brain? When will we finally say: “You are killing the sailor in me”?

Isn’t this the kind of Sailing that breeds the egotistic, idiotic and untactful sailors we see on you tube?  Not thinking of the consequences if something goes wrong, just to prove they have Bollards of steal?

When do we say enough is enough? When do we take back sailing?

Note:  This is a generalization of repeated club racing around the same cans every week.

Yawing, swaying, CONFUSING

.......and it continues....surging, heaving, pitching, rolling, CONFUSING.  These are all terms we use little in the sailing life and almost never while in the presence of a landlubber.  WHY?  Because it is so difficult to describe these terms of boat motion without looking like a fool and making the other person feel even more so.

uumm , swaying is when the boat goes like this (gesturing with hands) and moves along that axis thing..... 

So how do we do this?  This morning on my pre-work sail fix , I came across a post on Bowsprite and was amazed at how easy it was to remember and describe these terms using a drunken sailor as an example

Next time someone asks you what is swaying - grab a bottle of rum, drink half the bottle and show them.

or send them to this link

Pirates - no eye patch, just bazooka

So a while ago we celebrated "talk like a pirate day" and we all went out to our local pub and said: "Arrgh me matey, give me ya best bottle of rum!!"

Since child hood, most of us would put pirate flags on our little toy boats and pretend to plunder and pillage the oceans of the world (bath tub).  And at the school play, we all fought over the role for Captain Red Beard.  The Pirates of the Caribbean  movies series just made being a pirate so cool.  And even led to Lego bringing out a Pirate range of little lego pirates and commanders, even including the treasure chest.  No, they didn't stop there, they even created Lego Pirates, the game.

Would you be the Pirate or the Officer?? - Pirate

I think most of us, when we were young, were  drawn to becoming a pirate for the lure of adventure on the high seas and chests of gold coins. But as we grew older, this dream faded away and reality kicked in - Sailing on the oceans of the world is all the adventure we need.  Conquering the elements, our treasure.

Still today, in the age of gps tracking, long range missiles and real-time imagery, pirates are still a reality.  With the first Somali pirate trial (read more) underway , I hope it will lead to a decline in piracy activity, so we can enjoy the lure of the ocean and treasure of conquering the elements without the fear of running into a scary mother f(*&%@ with a bazooka on his shoulder.

And what is this I hear of a classic being remade into a modern sci fi film?  Yes, Moby Dick 2010  is coming.  Hope it is not going to be a let down like Sharktopus (shockingly bad movie) or Titanic 2

Bollards of Steal - the sequel

Is it just me or are more and more sailors taking chances out there?