Liberty is being free from the things we don't like in order to be slaves of the things we do like.--Ernest Benn

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Now for Something Different -OPB

I went day sailing on a friend's Kettenberg-32. It's part of my plan to see what it's like sailing on other peoples' boats. My conclusions are mixed.

In the first place, it confirms what I've always said in these pages: any day you go sailing, no matter how briefly, lengthens your life by two days. At the end of the afternoon, I felt very refreshed.

OTOH, day sailing is not racing. In day-sailing like I went on, you have not set course or destination. When you have no destination, any breeze from whatever angle is a favorable breeze. Any speed attained is equally satisfying. There is no drama with mark roundings or crossing tacks. Without the stimulus of competition, I do not experience any sense of mastery of sailing as an art.

Whatever, being out on the water sure beats burning up hours stewing over alternative line-ups in my Rotisserie League.

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