The Philosophy of Sailing

I never gave much thought to sailing in a boat.  You get in one and allow the current of the water to carry you.....or so I thought that's what happens!

My friend Jacqui invited me to visit her on Lamma Island a few weeks ago.  I was just expecting a day of relaxing on the beach, but instead, I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Jacqui and her husband Shane are owners of a nifty sailing boat.  Jacqui even offered to take me for a ride!  I was slightly worried initially, since swimming isn't something I feel comfortable with (just in case of accidents!), however, I couldn't make myself refuse such a great opportunity to get closer to the water so I accepted in the end.

Captain Jacqui advised that it would be best if I positioned myself in the centre of the boat and  when there's a 'knock', I would need to duck to avoid being hit by the sail.  Jacqui explained that a 'knock' is when there's a sudden change in wind direction and so the sail flips to the opposite side.  There's no use going against it but to go with the flow.  How philosophical - I can relate this in my own life too, there are times when we find ourselves in the middle of a 'knock', i.e. a sudden change, there's nothing we can do about it except to go with the flow.

We continued our journey when Jacqui began to give me a running commentary of what she was doing.  I was amazed to see Jacqui carefully observing the surface of the water - 'The patch of water in front is still', 'Let's catch the wind on the left'.  I used to think sailing was a haphazard activity!  Jacqui went on to say that on detection of a wave ahead, it would be easier to face it rather than avoid it.  It looks ominous but once you're in the middle of one, it wouldn't seem so bad.  Jacqui was very confident with what she was doing so I put complete trust in her as we glided towards the turbulent patch of water.  Again, I noticed the connection between sailing and life - an approaching wave, or obstacles in life, may appear to be threatening, but face it with courage and you will find it isn't as scary as it first looked.

Thank you Captain Jacqui for such an insightful journey!