11-14-2011
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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Sailing From a Transcendentalistic Viewpoint
Sailing From a Transcendentalistic Viewpoint
Sailing is one of the oldest and most beautiful pastimes in America; it can range from the tropic waters of Florida to a small lake in an up-North Country town. The sail boat could be engine powered and 55 feet in length or it could be a dinky little boat like a sunfish but all types of sailing have something in common; and that is nature. Nature is the main component in sailing because the sails of the ship (boat) are the driving forces but the wind makes that possible, and wherever you sail the worlds most natural thing, water, surrounds you. Along with water you have the wind in your face and the great scent of fresh natural air that is brought to you by your sailing trip. All of that nature would be wasted if people weren’t sailing on it and in it and with it; the nature needs sailors to be experienced and the sailors need to experience the nature.
Sailing is one of the best activities for someone who needs to take sometime to think, they can think about their life to something much more meaningless, but sailing usually comes with thinking involved. It provides such an exemplary atmosphere for thinking because sailing doesn’t require more than one person if you know how to do it. Reading a sailing book is easy enough and with that alone most people could sail with a rough idea of what they are doing but they shouldn’t! Sailing didn’t use to be, and shouldn’t be today, an activity that is done in a uniform fashion. We sailors should each have our own unique way of hoisting the sails, of docking or of shoving off; this is what allows us to think like individuals and not in a specific thought out way. I was taught to sail by my Father who was taught by his Father, my Grandpa and we do not sail in the same exact way, although we do share some of the same strategies we don’t do everything the same. My Grandpa is a very strict sailor and doesn’t allow anyone to talk in his boat about anything other than sailing. He also adheres to the sailing terms and makes everyone on board yell them before we do anything, for example he will say “Prepare to come about.” Then everyone on board will say “Ready” and then he will say “Coming about” and we will finally come about. My Father who has sailed with my Grandpa much longer than I have must have grown to annoy all of that talk because he will just simply say “Coming about” and make sure its safe to do so and then do it. That is much different than his father. My sailing style is still changing as I become more and more experienced but so far it’s more like my Fathers than my Grandfathers.
The need to see nature is larger and more urgent than ever before, the decadence of society becomes ever clearer as cities grow and rural communities become history lessons. Sailing is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to do this because all someone would have to do is get on a sailboat and you’ve left society, until you return that is, and leaving society even for a short period of time will be a great experience. Once you’re out on the open water it is much easier to clear your head and realize how detrimental society is to pretty much everything. Querulous people who hate their everyday life and don’t do anything about it need to pick up sailing; it could help them to become happier.
I personally do not know why sailing isn’t the national pastime; it’s full of nature and time to be alone or it could be a camping trip on the water that’s much more fun. Sailing should be and could be the outlet to nature that this country and this world most desperately need.
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