Shop Closed, Gone Sailing

By Joe Cooper, Windcheck Magazine

I am conflicted. Yes. Surprising as it may seem, it does happen with a frequency slightly higher than, say, Haley’s Comet’s lap around The Blue Marble. What is it that so exercises me, you might wonder? Freedom…Oh no, a political essay think you, given that everyone’s harping on freedom today. But this is not freedom from today’s litany of social and political ills, but rather the freedom that, in the US anyway, can be had in sailing. This line of thought was prompted by a question on a SailNet forum:

“Just bought a 1979 Bayliner Buccaneer 18. Intend to teach myself to sail and have a little fun with my wife. Any advice or suggestions?”

What it doesn’t say is that the guy has already been out sailing…Well, he’s been on a boat that was on the water and had sails up. And no, I’m not making fun of the guy. I applaud him.

I have remarked elsewhere that sailing is one of the most ‘free’ activities one can engage in, and this bloke proves it. He and his wife buy a little boat, he backs it down a ramp and then goes through a laundry list of mishaps that even he equates to a Benny Hill skit and at the end of the day he and his wife (she must be, like mine, fantastic) are walking up the ramp laughing and planning the next caper.

Just think about the implications. Yeah, I know there is an entire list of things this couple could/should do, life jackets, safe boating courses, etc. You all know them. But this guy and his wife were on a boat with sails on the water having fun, so where’s the conflict?

I too know the potential hazards of such behavior. When I first read this, I was appalled. Darwin Award material, I thought. Sure we can do all this safety stuff, but ultimately we are responsible for what happens to us. Safety gear is for when we get that wrong. Nowhere else in the world can one so easily get a boat and go sailing, just like that. Not in the UK, France, Australia, or any of the “great” sailing nations can one do this, as far as I know from occasional reading of their rules for such activities.

As I understand it, in France for instance, your boat is restricted as to where it can go based on regulations promulgated in Brussels and if you are 30 miles offshore instead of 20, the wrath of Caesar descends on you. This concept of self-reliance and self-accountability is at the core of sailing, I think. After contemplating this fellow’s question and the to and fro on the forum, I totally changed my view of his adventure. “Good on ya, mate,” I say.

Later, I received an email update from Rich Wilson.

Read on, Windcheck Magazine