Life & Voyaging ...

[CharlesFCook]

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest.

Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... cruising, it is called. (sorry if this offends anyone)

Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in.

If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go.

They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment.

That's all - in the material sense, and we know it.

But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, the dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice.

Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?


Sterling Hayden quotes

[atoll]

been there,done that,what next!!

[James S]

Thanks Charles,
Personally I think its bunk.

"But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade."

That seems to be the result of "financial unrest" I dont understand how financial unrest makes that go away.

Seems to contradict its self.

[courageous cat]

I don't think it will offend anyone. cuz there's to much truth to it. but then again the truth dose hurt some times.

[msponer]

I think Sterling Hayden was especially torn because, in addition for his Moitessier like deep love and pull towards the sea, he had a working life that many people would sell their soul for.

From his book, it seemed like the rich and successful people around him just could not understand why he was doing something so silly as taking off sailing to Polynesia, especially in the boat that he chose. I can't remember exactly, but I think he even had to fight with a judge to keep custody of his children when he did it, to defend his choice of a life and his parenting style, and that he lost and took off with them anyways.

So I think the quote is a continuation of that conversation with people who just did not 'get' him, and as he obviously turned it over in his head for a long time, it's written with a strong voice and taken to it's logical end.

I agree with him, but would balance it with less certainty of having figured it out or a value judgement of other people. I think he felt more judged by his community and so thought and wrote in those terms.

[msponer]

Originally Posted by CharlesFCook

Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... cruising, it is called.

I have not been able to distill my thoughts on this coherently, but here's a quick stab at it:

Modern sailing requires suspension of disbelief. You have to strongly believe in an odd aesthetic to appreciate it. I believe it shares this with mountain climbing, camping, hiking, and other things that are hard and physically difficult, but are fundamentally impractical.

There are much 'better' ways to get places, and 'better' places to stay once you are there.

If you don't believe in the aesthetic, then I think the whole illusion evaporates and there is little reason to do it.

So I think there's a tendency to see someone doing it differently, and to think "You are doing it wrong."

The day I left from Galapagos for the Marquessas, a mega-yacht was also leaving on the same journey. The captian confidently told me that they Will be there next Saturday, in 7 days. Everyone on board was excited about their "big trip", but ... of course, their experience was completely unrelated to mine, one of just heading off into the unknown.

It's a bit like talking to someone who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and saying "Yeah, I once drove to Canada."

So I think there is a matter of degree there. And you can't really make easily defensible dividing lines, because it really boils down to what, exactly, the aesthetic is.

The last time we were in the Pacific I thought that we'd lost something with the GPS. I just did not like having a number in the cockpit staring at me, telling me if this was a good day (7 knots!) or bad day (2 knots!) or stupidly messing with my mind that we would get there on Saturday afternoon, no, wait, Monday evening, no, Wednesday at 4pm. Because they were all good days and it was just annoying think about when we would get there. So we turned off the GPS and navigated traditionally most of the time, and found such joy in it.

This of course is even a more extreme aesthetic than is common. And the desire to do it was entirely fueled by something unique to me and completely in my head.

So I feel that telling someone else they are doing it wrong is problematic. Since the right way is completely made up in our own heads, and we are starting from a completely ridiculous set of values in the first place (ie: let's sail there instead of fly).

[youmeandthed]

We're all just battling the fourth dimension, time. To each their own.

[rebel heart]

Seems like the kind of thing that someone only gets to lament when they've lived a middle class life (or better) in a first world country.

[David_Old_Jersey]

It's better to be rich and happy than poor and miserable.

Living poor gets old real quick, and is surprisingly hard work - perhaps a hobby lifestyle for a tiny minority (afloat or onshore), but even they have the reasurrance that can always re-enter the "evil" world onshore.......you don't need to sit on a mountain top (or a boat) spouting nonsense to acheive either enlightenment nor to obtain happiness in life - can even do that sitting in a cubical or wielding a shovel.

IMO much of the time a story about folk who can't simply hack it onshore..........and seeking to self justify.

[youmeandthed]

I'd say being poor and ignorant of any other way of living (and happy) would be a better life than rich and aware of the things you don't have.

[callmecrazy]

And for those who are too lazy to read... I'll just leave this here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MgGqrc8PLs

[callmecrazy]

It always saddens me when people equate being 'poor' with being miserable.

I've lived in some pretty rough neighborhoods with the poorest of the poor in the US... and even at the time (despite me not caring very much), I was always surprised at how certain people were very happy with their lives. They were just as 'free' as anyone I've known since.

And of course, there's all those rich bastards that waste their lives chasing money and fancy 'things' in their attempt to satisfy that big hole inside themselves.

There are happy people and sad people, money has very little to do with it.

As for Hayden... I'm pretty sure he was talking about how easy it is to buy a big boat and go sail around the world. That's not a true challenge. A true challenge, is when you find a way to do something that seems impossible. For example, buying a boat and sailing around the world with very little money.

Having money means having an easy life, not a happy one. Not having money, means having a very challenging life, not a sad one.

[callmecrazy]

And to add to that, the satisfaction and accomplishment of a triumphant victory over poverty is something a rich man will never experience in his life. When you've lived your entire life being told you can't do this, can't do that, and then you do it anyway, despite your situation, or the odds, or the missed luxury, you are a wealthy person.

The path is narrow.

[shorebird]

"Its only fun being poor when you're not."
me

[atoll]

Originally Posted by youmeandthed

I'd say being poor and ignorant of any other way of living (and happy) would be a better life than rich and aware of the things you don't have.

given the choice i'd rather be rich and ignorant,after all ignorance is bliss!!

i blame it all on that women in the bible,she should never have eaten that apple,and condemmed the common man to delusions of grandure,with out knowledge the human race would never have know what it was missing!