[Public-list] Sail vs motor

[Gordon Laco]

Hi there - 

I often equate learning to sail with learning to play music...you can bang
out a tune after a few lessons but can never stop improving over a lifetime,
there is always more to learn.

Gord #426 Surprise




> 
> Two cents on the discourse:
> 
> Sailing to the harbour, dock, mooring, anchor, etc is a wonderful thing to
> be able to do.   Sailing, we'll all hate to admit to those not in the know,
> is not rocket science, however the ability to sail well is one which can
> only be obtained through extensive and diligent practice.  Sailing when
> sailing is possible, rather than relying on the motor, is a swift way to
> build one's proficiency as a sailor.  Perhaps most importantly, it teaches
> the importance of maintaining broad safety margins.  The confidence and
> enjoyment gained from working with the boat in this way is difficult to
> equal.
> 
> However, contemporary seamanship skills should include an understanding of
> the value of auxiliary power.  It is not a new argument that modern boating
> facilities (marinas, fueling docks, modern bar crossings) are not designed
> with the required tolerances for sail only, but valid it remains.  Even when
> sailing and handing into a marina berth is possible and safe, it is likely
> that to do so will put others on the water out of joint.  True, sail has
> right of way, but sailing should not be about getting in other people's way.
> In a climate where there is an assumption of a certain amount of
> manouverability on the water, it can be selfish,and certainly naive, to
> expect others always to work around you.
> 
> The phenomenon of sailors being traditionalists is, interestingly, a fairly
> new occurrence.  Look at any period in the history of sail and try to find a
> time where sailors weren't striving for the next technological breakthrough.
> Gaff over square, cotton duck canvas, hemp, braided steel, carvel,
> sextant, watch.  They're all old and a part of the traditionalist movement,
> but once represented the cutting edge.  Auxiliary power in boats reduces
> greatly the limitations on sailing.  Whether it's an inboard, outboard, even
> a sculling oar, it's a piece of equipment that should not be ommitted from a
> sailing boat.
> 
> David
> Kalitsah 440
> Sydney.
> 
> Incidentally, in the case of the Alberg, she is a boat designed from the
> outside in.  An inboard does the job, and the boat still looks so sweet you
> could kiss it.  Put an outboard on the back, and her lines are disturbed.
> Take a boat designed the other way around, where a 30 footer is drawn around
> six berths and two heads.  An outboard on the back of a Catalina or Hunter
> might just improve the look.
> 
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