Posted by Alex Forbes on July 19, 2009 at 02:35:35 user Pitsligo.
In Reply to: Re: Sailing alone? posted by John Lambert on July 07, 2009 at 19:30:32:
I learned to sail early (age 5) off the coast of Maine, and was turned loose at age 9 in my own dinghy --under oars alone; I wasn't turned loose solo under sail until I was 12, in a 12' Beetle Cat. Single-handing was regarded as the ideal achievement of skill and self-reliance, and was thus heartily encouraged, even while sailing socially was regarded as an enjoyable pastime of an entirely different sort.
It is not the conquering or mastery of the sea that is at hand --that is impossible. Utterly, completely impossible. It is the mastery of self, in the greatest, least forgiving arena available to us.
In a way, single-handing may be a mild form of narcissism, a self-obsession, turning inward to constantly re-assess and challenge what we are made of.
Or it could simply be a way of dodging the possibility that no one else can stand us and our grandiose self-examination --and our bad cooking!
Either way, it isn't for everyone, but for those of us who like it, there's nothing that can compare.
One of these days I'll go around alone.
Best to you all,
Alex