Neither Out Far Nor in Deep

What is it about sailing – really?

A popular saying is that a sailboat is a hole in the water to you throw your money into. Or that sailing is getting from point A to point B and then back to point A, while getting cold and wet.

And true, you often get cold and wet. Usually, you go back to where you started. It is not about sitting in the sun and enjoying the smell of the sea. Sailing is work. You do something all the time. Adjusting the sails just that teeny bit, hopping from side to side, trying to pee while being in a 30 degree angle…

And yet, there is nothing more peaceful or relaxing than sailng. The way you try to master the wind and ride the waves, the smell of salt water, the gulls screaming… There is nothing better.

I truly am crazy about sailing. I understod the vastness of my own craziness last spring. It was the middle of March. I was standing at the outdoor platform, waiting for the train. It was 07:10 a.m. The fog was hanging around my knees, there was just that little drizzle of rain, and about 7 degrees celcius (about 44 F). My hair was getting gradually wetter, moisture seeped into my shoes, and my mascara transferred to my cheeks in that pretty eyelash-pattern.

And all I could think was “I wish I was in my boat.”

I mean. Hello?

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The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land
They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull

The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be--
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea

They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?

Robert Frost