Drawn to the Sea

[DailyLunatic]

OK, in my post ‘Born to Sailing’ a couple of replies that mentioned how they or their friends caught the ‘sailing bug’ intrigued me. Also, rognvald's which speculated on a sea faring gene...

-rognvald-
…I do believe there is an ancestral memory encoded in our DNA from extant populations that lived for hundreds if not thousands of years in and around a seafaring culture. Why is someone who lives in Oklahoma or Nebraska with no prior exposure irresistibly drawn to the sea?...

Rather than hijack my own thread I thought it might be interesting to see how many others NOT raised around sailing became ’Drawn to the Sea’. So, if you are involved in sailing, were not raised in it, (ie didn’t have a friend, Aunt, Uncle, or Cousin in it that drug you in, etc), then we’d like to hear from you. Tell us the long and winding tale that led you to us.


Me first:
I am a lifelong Science Fiction fan and while attending the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles I learned that the 1999 Convention would be held in Australia. I’d hate to go all that way (and pay all that money) and only see the inside of a convention hall. So, knowing that Australia was known for a Big Rock, Kangaroo Steaks, and the Great Barrier Reef I forwent the rock and learned to scuba just for the trip. I was living in the Piney Woods of NorthEast Texas at the time (an area not know for sailing or diving) and learned to dive in the mud puddles there (they called them lakes).


After attending said convention I spent two weeks on a Mike Ball Dive Tour liveaboard learning underwater photography. Only the first day was grey and I fell in love with the quietude, the sun, and the gentle relaxing motion. I know that there will be days with ‘less’ than perfect weather, but I want to live in those moments again… *sigh*


So… recently when my wife (a Philippina) made the unilateral royal decree that ‘we’ shall retire to the Philippines…
I asked “Are we going to have to sell our house here?”
She, “Yes.”
Me, “Then are we going to live on one of the nearly 7,000 islands where most inter-island traffic is by boat?”
She, “Yes.”
Me, “Then I have an idea…”


Quick as a wink I jumped online and researched motor yachts, prices, and operations costs and [EGAADS!!!] fuel costs. Down cast at my shattered dreams, my buddy at work suggested sailing. He'd taken a day class on a local lake at the YMCA, but otherwise knew little. I was not remotely interested in racing, or getting wet (the part he liked) but looked into it anyway. I soon learned that there was much more to sailing than racing and took ASA101. Hope to become better and better before retirement...


So, Love of Science Fiction → Love of Scuba → Love of Sea → Love of Sailing.

-sterling