I am sitting here looking at this screen trying to write about my passion for sailing and why I love it. There are so many ideas coming to my mind that it makes it difficult to keep it short. Where to start and what to outline in just a few paragraphs? Difficult.
It crossed my mind to talk to a fellow sailor and get his thoughts on the topic and that was the moment when things started to become more clear to me. I just said to myself: you wanted to ask a fellow sailor. That is it! It is first of all about people. About people being together and enjoying special moments. It is about people “working” as a team, as one, it is about people overcoming nature, it is about people connecting. Yes, I love being with other people on a boat, sharing that restricted space and connecting with them. After a few days they become more than a crew, they become very good friends, almost family.
I also love the sailing community. It is friendly, smart, open and very welcoming. For example, one thing I love about sailing in the Dutch waters (where I also started to sail) is the fact that it feels like everyone knows everyone. Everyone waves hello while you pass them by and some even smile. And when I say passing them by, my mind slips to the next thing that fascinates me about this hobby.
I love how one can move a boat just by the power of wind. One slides between the waves driven only by the power this invisible but strong force. A force we learned to harness during hundreds of years of living and travelling on the water. A force that you learned to control to your liking. Be it a small dinghy or a bigger catamaran makes no difference, the same principle applies and the same feeling is there. There is beauty in the sails full of wind of a sailing boat that passes by and a strange but very comforting silence. Yes, the silence.
I love this special type of silence, that moment when all sails are up and there is no engine noise in the background. You hear the wind and your boat marching through the waves and one becomes full of emotion. Nobody says anything anymore, there is the complete silence and enjoyment. Everyone takes the moment in with all senses.
The day ends, you see a beautiful sunset but the silence is still present, you can still “hear” it while being anchored in a beautiful bay. You hear the waves hitting the shores, you hear the sound made by the anchor chain, the people swimming around your boat. Everything feels at peace. The night falls and in that silence you fall into the deepest and most re-comforting sleep you could have. Morning comes you get outside of your cabin and realize that around you is, paradise.
The views, the views are unique. What others only see in postcard pictures or pay to experience for a few hours is basically your standard setting. You actually live and play in paradise. You are in that perfect bay, with that turquoise water and the white sandy beach. That is your courtyard and is almost always perfect. That is the moment one realizes that he is totally disconnected from the world.
The world becomes a distant concept.One realizes that the boat is your micro universe and it is in perfect balance with you and nature. One is totally disconnected. I realized that even after just 2 days on board I disconnect completely from my standard “reality” and I am completely submerged in that moment. It is indeed living the moment.
But for the moment, back to this reality asking what is it you love about your hobby on water? What do you love about sailing, motor boating or fishing. Use our comments section or our community.
