Words to live by?

[knothead]

"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsman, who play with their boats at sea - ''cruising'', it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. ''I''ve always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can''t afford it.'' What these men can''t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of ''security''. And in the worship of security. We fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and some form of working activity that yields a sense of accomplishment. That''s all - in a material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, and playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.
"The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
"Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?" - Sterling Hayden: Wanderer

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[JeffC_]

Bravo.

[BigRed56]

Ahoy Knothead Ye be waxing poetic to be sure but ye missed the point me tninks, to voyage is not at all a matter of money , Few can conquer the fear of the unknown, to venture out beyond land or even the safety of life. Tis it not simply a matter of giving yourself to the dream and curse the rest? The courage to voyage is either in you or comes at great personal cost. Marinas are full of hundreds of thousands of hundred thousand dollar yachts that never voyage.Why? Fear, arrogance and stupidity are the stock and trade of todays yachtsmen. The code of honor and intergity of todays boaters is both pathetic and for me laughable. I laugh because I am The Pirate of Pine Island and I am on a voyage.

[waltzingmatilda]

Knothead,
I just read my wife your recent posting. Her comment was "I wonder what his wife thinks." I think she assumes you are married, and probably feels that perhaps your wife would not agree with your views. So, I decided to ask both Knothead and the list -- "Is Knothead''s view one held only by unmarried men, or men who might prefer to be unmarried, or is it harmonious with living a happily married life?" Some of us might just like both the idea of sailing out beyond the horizon and the wives we have. It''d be great to hear from some of our female sailing friends as well. Thanks for making me smile on this Sunday morning.

[sadie14]

As a woman and a wife and a sailor:

I believe that there are things I need to feel safe in my soul -- the nesting instinct is just that, an instinct and at times I have no control over it.

What I need in order to go voyaging is a sense of trust in my partner, a quality, solid, comfortable-to-live-on boat, basic, proper gear and the ability to use it.

I know many men can go off with almost nothing in the way of creature comforts, but I know of very few women who can do that. Also, I know for fact, that men like the comforts women add.

My wonderful husband has taken the time to hear my issues and to accommodate them or to help me understand why it might not be the right thing to do. We do the same with his issues. He wants to go and he wants to go with me, so we work together to make us both happy. (Too mushy? It works and he will get to go with a happy wife.)

I want to go voyaging. We need a little more money for the autopilot, a light air sail, a better alternator, and a dinghy outboard. No radar, no watermaker, but we would like a wind generator. We''ve already done some cruising without these items. We''ve worked to put everything else together.

So, what does your wife think, walzingmatilda?

[knothead]

Avast there,
As much as I would like to take credit, the quote is Sterling Hayden''s. And though I tend to agree with what he said, there is a lot more that can be said on the subject.
I have to agree that there is a lot fear, arrogance and stupiditiy out there but I wouldn''t limit that to yachtsmen. And as far as integrity and honor, those attributes are rare in all walks of life and all relationships.
The key issue for me being a married man who although perhaps frustrated by my partners reluctance to cast off the shackles of security, I nevertheless am obligated to honor the commitment I made 20+ years ago and do not have the option of being able to give myself over to the dream and curse the rest. At least not at this time.

[Stede]

Knothead,

I''m not familiar with this Sterling Hayden fellow. Was he a true "wanderer", or only one when his wife let him be one? ;^)

[msl]

Stede:
I''m not sure if you are kidding or not about not knowing who Sterling Hayden was.

He was an actor and an author, who at the top of his career, left it all, took his children sailing ... there is more. Google Sterling Hayden for more details.

PS ... for those who do remember him, I don''t remember any films he appeared in after "Nine to Five" (Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, etc. ...)

[Stede]

msl,

No,I wasn''t kidding about not knowing who Sterling Haden was.I''ve never had much interest in the Hollywood crowd. I do know who Dolly Parton is though. She''s the two biggest things to ever come out of the state of Tennessee ;^)

[Jeff_H]

Sterling Hayden was an amazing person. he was one of those bigger than life characters both on and off of the screen. I think he started acting when pulled into a scene in a movie that he was a stuntman for.

He eventually got jambed up by McCarthy''s Committee on un-American Activities.

As a sailor his adventures were legendary as were his guerilla warfare divorces. In his most famous incident, he chucked his career, took his kids (she alleged kidnapped) from his ex-wife and set off on a circumnavigation. For a while he could not come back to the States but eventually the matter was cleared up.

I find this discussion about gender based preferences pretty amusing, but somewhat sexist and sounding very dated. It is the kind of discussion that I might have expected back in the 1960''s when my Mom decided that it would be a good idea for my family of four to move aboard our 32 footer.

While I know that there are still women out there who demand more comfort or security than their male counterparts at least in the sailing community that I am in, I sure see a lot of women who really are equally willing to chuck it all and go voyaging, even in a spartan craft and with meager kitties. They are often the ones who actually go, instead of talking about it.

Jeff