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.