Circumnavigators under power
Georgs,
I believe that this is the first time I have seen these words in print, and
I am happy to see them. I have long felt that circumnavigation, per se, is too
often motivated by dreams of grandeur and potential bragging rights; the
wrong reasons to do it. Having sailed for eight winters in the Windwards, a
major crossroads for circumnavigators, I have met several who confessed, after a
few rums, that they cheated themselves by setting out to do so, rather than
simply enjoying long-range cruising at their leisure.
As a matter of fact, the fates caused me to curtail my circumnavigation
after only 2000 miles, and have never regretted it.
Regards,
John
"Seahorse"
Georgs Kolesnikovs writes:
As they started their second voyage in California, they
have not completely closed the circle on a second circumnavigation.
But that is not to take way anything from the Wilsons and the many
sea miles they have put behind them. Rarely, have I met a couple who
seemed to enjoy long-range cruising as much as Marty and especially
Marge.
John
Indeed, very good point. We like to say our plans are just plans. In fact
reading a few nautical books it is considered bad luck to prognosticate too
boldly about conquering the mighty seas. Any long range cruising will have
highs and lows, and quite likely the extremes of each. Whatever your goals
of leisure, adventure, romance, escape, challenge, etc. are, be ready that a
good dose of introspection along the way may change your course.
Our planet is huge and amazingly diverse. There are lifetimes upon
lifetimes of places to explore and experience. Any chance we have to
perhaps get a broader experience, we would consider it a tremendous
privilege no matter what the scope of our travels may actually be.
Also on a related theme of immensity of the world, take a look at Google
Earth (http://earth.google.com/). It is an amazing tool to visualize the
planet. It has satellite photos covering the globe and a very satisfying
user interface. You can literally zoom in from seeing the entire world
right down to the roof of your house (if you live in USA, some other places
do not have high res sat photos) in about 15 seconds. You do need a
newer/faster computer and a fast Internet connection. We do not know about
other people, but we can sit for hours zooming, rotating, and tilting,
around different parts of the world maps. It sure makes us want to go out
and explore more than ever.
--
Eric & Christi Grab
Nordhavn 43-18 "Kosmos" http://kosmos.liveflux.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Truelove39@aol.com [mailto:Truelove39@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 3:24 AM
To: passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com
Cc: georgs@circumnavigatormag.com
Subject: [PUP] Circumnavigators under power
Georgs,
I believe that this is the first time I have seen these words in print, and
I am happy to see them. I have long felt that circumnavigation, per se, is
too
often motivated by dreams of grandeur and potential bragging rights; the
wrong reasons to do it. Having sailed for eight winters in the Windwards, a
major crossroads for circumnavigators, I have met several who confessed,
after a
few rums, that they cheated themselves by setting out to do so, rather than
simply enjoying long-range cruising at their leisure.
As a matter of fact, the fates caused me to curtail my circumnavigation
after only 2000 miles, and have never regretted it.
Regards,
John
"Seahorse"
Georgs Kolesnikovs writes:
As they started their second voyage in California, they
have not completely closed the circle on a second circumnavigation.
But that is not to take way anything from the Wilsons and the many
sea miles they have put behind them. Rarely, have I met a couple who
seemed to enjoy long-range cruising as much as Marty and especially
Marge.