Mucking About in Boats

[kingandy]

This weekend we went sailing!

We had originally planned to go on Saturday (with the inimitable bacony and masati), however this did not come to pass due to health, other engagements and the outdoor centre being closed on Saturdays. However since it is directly across the road from us, it was not much of a wasted journey, and we had a nice walk nonetheless. Then we went home and made biscuits.

We returned on the Sunday and things went more smoothly. Warning bells sounded in my head, however, when Mr Ant - the more accomplished sailor - asked for my opinion at key points, such as whether to rig the sails on land or in the water. Then the nice man on staff (who had been conspicuously busying himself with outdoor activities, evidently in order to keep an eye on us) came over and asked us if we were planning to go out on the water without putting our bungs in^[1].

Nonetheless, once we were actually out on the water we had a great time, pootling back and forth and avoiding the motorboat. I played the part of Ballast. Unfortunately things got a bit tricky when we were trying to park the boat again (it turns out that sailing into the wind, with enough speed to actually progress but not so much that you crash into the bank, is quite hard and we spent a lot of time not moving at all) and we had to be pulled in to shore.

So basically Ant was a competent sailor but was a bit rusty on the more intricate and advanced areas.

Would you like to know more?

It was all good fun, though I think I am having difficulty seeing sailing as a hobby rather than a means of transportation. It was certainly an enjoyable means of transportation - clipping across the gentle waves in the afternoon sun while the wooded bank slid by was very restful, and the water itself was hypnotic - but I don't find myself with any great urge to learn how to operate the things. Still, if Ant keeps up his enthusiasm for driving them, I think I can cope with being a passenger.

[1] The boats have holes in the bottom. This is intentional, and is in order to let the water drain out when not in use. They have little bungs that screw in to make them seaworthy. If you do not put the bungs in, it is a very bad idea to put the boat in the water.

Comments

[bluesman.livejournal.com]

I remember surprising myself in a rowing boat many years ago when visiting a friend, Richard, in Oxford. Four of us went rowing on the Thames, and Richard took the oars, as he was one of those "leave it to me, little woman, just look at my big biceps" types. He couldn't get it right, though, and looked a bit silly as we just bobbed about in the water. I had no reason to think I'd be any better than he, but I offered to have a bash, and by jingo we were soon headed upriver. I suspect it's about coordination rather than pure brawn, but I loved the fact that he prided himself on his machismo and I am a self-confessed clumsy nerk, but I could row and he couldn't.

However, put a sail on the thing and I'll capsize it in a trice.

[masati.livejournal.com]

Them being closed on a Saturday is a bit of a bugger; it will doubtless make it more difficult to join you in the future.

[stsquad.livejournal.com]

Sailing is great. Next to Gliding it's a hobby that shows how the ingenuity of man can harness the power of nature to get somewhere without messing around with motors and other such less subtle solutions to the problem of transport. I had a great time sailing with Fliss around Lindman island a few weeks ago.

[kingandy]

Here is the key phrase, you see:

"to get somewhere"

I realise it would be impossible to use it to get somewhere without training and practice, so unless regular getting-somewhere was required one would have to keep it up as a recreational form in a non-getting-somewhere kind of way ... which just seems too much like work.

[stsquad.livejournal.com]

The process rather than the practical result is the key thing here. Once you've mastered pottering around the boating lake (or flying circuits in gliders) the world is in fact your oyster.