Is sailing romantic?

[smaarch]

oh sure it's romantic.

An Ode to M

late at night
blue eyed blonde
sailing slowly around

honey yes
the third switch from the top
turns the light off

a big power boat
full throttle
on starboard beam
oh dear!

in the darkness
cussing sailors
raising cane

the moment lost
i wept.

LOL
Turns out my date had been below and i asked her to turn off the cabin lights.....well.... she turned everything off...including the nav lights....

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by nigel1

Clearly whoever wrote this was not overly enamored with sailing

But stay clear of the sea I tell thee, a thankless mistress, a gypsy, a love-mad thing, ‘twill twist thy soul and make thee but a manikin of a man.
Up in the shrouds dancing to the fiddle of the winds, the green combers will be thy hills and valleys, changing and gone. Every port in the world with lights aglitter in the evening will be thy homecoming, with a home at none.
Thou’lt sweat in the cockpit with lice and roaches for thy bed-fellows, and turn from linen and lavender to crawl to it again, hungry for the taste of salt air and rotten pork. And the swell of the hundred fathoms will swing thee on to God know what, but the slavery thou wilt call freedom.
Thou’lt stand watch with ghosts in the starlight, and the devils of hell in the storms; and thou’lt drown at last, nothing surer, with a blinding light in thine eyes, and thy head bursting; and not even a stone to mark thy grave. It will not matter, for thy friends will all have forgotten thee; aye, even those thou lovest best.
So dance with the village maidens and pay them with trinkets and farthings, take a lady for thy wife, plant thy patch and hoe it, and laugh at fools like me.

FOR EVER ADRIFT

Apparently written in
My Love Must Wait

By Ernestine Hill

about Matthew Flinders the captain who named Australia.

[S/V Alchemy]

I blame the phrase "blown offshore". It's led to much misunderstanding and unreasonable expectations. See "three sheets to the wind" and "Spanish windlass".


What lubbers may assume is a Spanish wind lass.

[Capt Phil]

In my limited experience, I've found that those who began their affair with the sea started out working commercially when you couldn't choose the weather or sea state when you 'went down to the sea in ships'. After many years of commercial fishing, beachcombing (stealing logs), towing log booms and barges or driving passengers up and down the coast, the thought of cruising with no particular goal or destination in mind held an almost mystical attraction. I've been very fortunate to share that experience with a number of wonderful ladies who were every bit as enamored with the lifestyle as I was.
Once bitten it was very difficult to carve out enough time to earn a living on the water. The best marriage of the two I found to be the delivery business where you could always delay a delivery due to mechanical issues, bad weather that risked the boat, etc. You spent more time afloat than ashore, you usually were driving a boat in reasonably good nick and expenses plus your delivery charges were covered. The down side was dealing with ignorant brokers working to a deadline to get the boat delivered, owners who were basically clueless regarding their own vessel or marina managers or out of country bureaucrats who just wanted the boat gone for whatever reason.
Even today, my heart will trip a beat when I cast off even for a day, a week or a year. Performing maintenance is just a step towards the freedom of the sea. Would you rather do a filter change at the dock or on a lee shore?
Personally, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have sailed most of the Seven Seas and lived to tell the tale. There is absolutely nothing quite as romantic as cruising IMHO... Phil

[nimblemotors]

Maybe the old shipping 'industry' needed sailors and so created propaganda that made it sound exciting, like the us military tries to make being a soldier attractive despite the reality.
After you signed up you are stuck, and now must rationalize it, so embrace the myth.

Sailing a small boat is fun, living on one is a different thing altogether.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Because we have selective memory?

We forget the bad and remember the good; otherwise, women would never have more than one child.

...and men would never marry more than one woman!

[Ocean Girl]

Sailing is romantic. Why? The rhythmic motion, the soft wind, the sweet smell of the ocean, the quietness, the open sky, the incredible clear nights with stars from horizon to horizon. Very romantic! Grant you, it's not romantic all the time, but it is romantic .

[Seaworthy Lass]

Anywhere with the one you love is romantic . I remember the concrete basement of the med building was very romantic several times .

Sailing full time is sheer FUN! No need to search for rose coloured glasses. This is life in full technicolor

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

That is gorgeous. What is it? You've stumped both me and Mr. Google.

Dockhead

I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I wrote it myself this afternoon.
Pleased as punch you like it

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Dockhead

I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I wrote it myself this afternoon.
Pleased as punch you like it

Guessed that .
Beautifully written. I would describe that as passionate, not romantic though .

Now when are you going to try and get something published?

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Guessed that .
Beautifully written. I would describe that as passionate, not romantic though .

Now when are you going to try and get something published?

Hi Lassie,

Ahhhh but what is romance without passion? I'd love to get something published but so far no one (a publisher that is) has expressed interest.

Maybe I should quit the crime novels and write poetry?

[nigel1]

Originally Posted by tbodine88

Apparently written in
My Love Must Wait

By Ernestine Hill

about Matthew Flinders the captain who named Australia.

I really appreciate you naming the author and book from which that passage came from, I've been trying to find this out over the past few years.
I found it written on the inside cover of a journel my dad kept durring WWII while serving as an apprentice with the Blue Funnel Line.
In the journal he mentioned that he had been loaned a book by the Dutch Second Mate, about Matthew Flinders, and that he had found a page he liked which he had copied down.
Cheers

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Dockhead

I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I wrote it myself this afternoon.
Pleased as punch you like it

No sh*t!!

I had no idea CF had such poetic talent on board!!

My hat is off to you, sir! That's very good stuff!

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

No sh*t!!

I had no idea CF had such poetic talent on board!!

My hat is off to you, sir! That's very good stuff!

Well hell, if you all like it that much..............

Light,
blue fills the night.
Black sea,
white caps roll down.
As her blond,
curls enframe her face.
I listen,
hearing her laugh.
The seas voice,
mocking.


Well maybe I better stop while the going is good

[Ocean Girl]

We need a poetry thread! This is good stuff!