Let Nature Set the Pace
Years ago, I couldn’t help but notice an ad on the back of a Maine newspaper. It was promoting the catamaran ferry that runs between Bar Harbor and Nova Scotia. The picture was of an enormous boat, skimming across the water at high speed on its state of the art hydrofoiling hulls. In addition to noting the gambling and gift shops aboard, the ad tried to lure the traveler with the prospect of “all this while watching the scenery speed by at 55 miles per hour.”
What the . . . ?
Last week, I heard an ad on the radio for a local shopping mall. The marketers appealed to the desire to control our environment with the claim, “where the temperature is always 72 degrees.”
Hmmm. If the marketers are on to something here, I suppose that sailing is not for everyone. When schedules must be kept, the notion of languishing on windless waters can really make a mess of the timetable displayed in digital precision on a PDA. When the leading edge of a squall turns the weather cool, foul weather gear may be in order rather than peering out from a climate controlled interior.
Those of us who enjoy sailing are typically searching for more intimate connections with natural rhythms rather than fooling ourselves about any notion of dominion. We accept that much of life is out of our control. Rather than fight it, we let nature dictate the pace. We are humbled by the storms. We slow down when the winds stop blowing. We dip in the water when it’s hot or put on a sweater and “foulies” when it’s cold.
Last weekend’s promise for 10-20 knots of wind went unfulfilled. On Sunday, my friend Marion and I took ten hours to cover 4.5 miles. Three consecutive log entries placed our position “just south of Diamond Island.” To the west, the 1000 foot-high Snake Mountain ridge rose sharply from the water. A flock of perhaps 50 Canada geese drifted along noisily to the east. Sunny skies and 85 degree air warmed our bodies after weeks of seemingly endless rain. Much of the time we just sat in silence - watching, listening, feeling. No hurry. Nature’s pace. It was good.
