Why Do We Make It So Hard Sounding

[Exile]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

but it's fun....seriously....yes....all this misery is fun....I can't see where people think this can't be fun......it's so easy to do......

I always liked this definition:

Sailing, (sa ling),1.n. the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expence. Henry Beard

[sailorboy1]

there is a current ongoing thread that was started Jan 4 about setting your anchor that has 117 posts

yes, we don't make it seem hard

[steamgoat]

It is harder than it used to be due to too much information.This means too much to worry about and plan. Cruising the Bahamas last year I was always glued to the weather each morning, when I did it 35 years ago it was ,look at the sky,looks a nice day ,let’s go. Never had a weather forecast for a gulf crossing,looks ok,let’s go. Too much information equals too much to worry about. (but it is safer! )

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

there is a current ongoing thread that was started Jan 4 about setting your anchor that has 117 posts

yes, we don't make it seem hard

That's not proof of making it hard. It's proof that there is almost never one single right answer to a cruising question or challenge.

If there was only one answer for every cruising question, there would be no discussion forums like this; there'd be nothing to discuss. Indeed, there'd be no gathering on the docks with folks havin' a good yarn about the way it is.

[Davy J]

Oh boy, a philosophical sailorboy thread.........

Didn't read all the pages, so may be a repeat.

It's not all that difficult, but here is an experiment.....

Find a stranger on the sidewalk, hand them the keys to your boat and tell them to have a fun day............

How do you think that will work out?? Most folks couldn't figure out how to untie the dock lines. You have forgotten all the little things you learned that now make it seem easy.

Another thing, things have actually gotten easier. When I started cruising a GPS was a luxury. Need a weather report, tune the VHF to channel 2 or 3. An EPIRB cost a couple thousand dollars.

Today, I can stream youtube videos to my TV thru my phone hotspot, see the weather and wind forecasts for up to ten days out, while anchored in the Everglades.

And to newbees, the language is foreign..... halyards, mainsheet, rode, starboard , port, windward, leeward. They have no idea.

Like I said, you have forgotten all of the little things.

[MicHughV]

I agree with Steamgoat...my first trip to the B'mas was made without a single navigational instrument...no gps...no chartplotter...no anything....nada...zilch...nothing...had the time of my life...all hand plotting....lines and "x's" plotted on a paper chart.....I went everywhere....no problem at all....dead reckoning....easy as pie.....
no cell phone.....want to reach me, send me a letter....post restante...never a problem...

Never bothered about weather, as I could never receive any forecasts...just left...took my lumps as they came...never had any weather that stopped me from going anywhere..

nowadays, people are rooted in fear due to information overload...any wave over 6" high "looks bad out there"....

I agree with Sailorboy though....some threads have an over abundance of useless information....I'm guilty of it myself....just chit-chatting at times.......

But at the end of the day, I go about my business, just as before...I don't know anyone here....it's all just print....read it, think about it....sometimes respond...sometimes not...sometimes just shake my head...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Like I said, you have forgotten all of the little things.

I haven't forgotten about the little things and hope I still know them. But they weren't very hard to learn. But at the start they definitely sounded hard because the book etc. made it seem that way.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I haven't forgotten about the little things and hope I still know them. But they weren't very hard to learn. But at the start they definitely sounded hard because the book etc. made it seem that way.

My partner oft commented that the the books made it seem like the boat (and the water) want to kill her. I suspect that was their purpose.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

Is it "hard" or does it just require some learning? Is cooking pasta al dente " hard" or do you just have to learn to know what to do?

Both It can be hard so it most things it requires some learning, practice, and experience to become proficient.

As you said, no different to cooking different dishes well and correctly. That may seem hard to some people too initially.

But speaking of learning, you see multiple comments here that some cruisers aren't even interesting in learning the correct names for the different ropes onboard, and even think that this is somewhat silly, so...

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Both It can be hard so it most things it requires some learning, practice, and experience to become proficient.

As you said, no different to cooking different dishes well and correctly. That may seem hard to some people too initially.

But speaking of learning, you see multiple comments here that some cruisers aren't even interesting in learning the correct names for the different ropes onboard, and even think that this is somewhat silly, so...

I doubt they are cruisers that don't want to learn the correct terms. Maybe arm chair or dockominium cruisers.

[MicHughV]

I ponder these things....

Take cars for instances...most car makers have pretty much maxed out their ability to mess with car bodies, engines, suspension, etc....there is little to differ one make from another...

So what to do....add glitz and glimmer...chrome....stylish bodies....add " infomation systems.....fancy stereo's"...no modern car is made without a computer screen and a gazillion knobs and buttons that can pretty much do everything except wash the dishes...cars can even park themselves now...

I think the same applies to modern boats, every possible type of gadgetry is now available..chart plotters....AIS....gizmo's of every kind.....EPIRBS's, water makers, cell antenna's....sat phones...and much more...gensets...multiple a/c units...repeaters above and below....and much, much more......boat designs also follow suit.....it's all about space...comfort...ergonomics...twin wheels.....twin rudders....endless list of stuff....

the new age sailor doesn't leave the dock anymore without consulting a dozen different apps....the weather this morning....the weather this afternoon....the weather tomorrow....and it must all be perfect for departure...any glitch anywhere calls for the trip to be scrubbed...

it's a tad confusing.....especially so for a newbie...

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Both It can be hard so it most things it requires some learning, practice, and experience to become proficient.

As you said, no different to cooking different dishes well and correctly. That may seem hard to some people too initially.

But speaking of learning, you see multiple comments here that some cruisers aren't even interesting in learning the correct names for the different ropes onboard, and even think that this is somewhat silly, so...

Cooking is an interesting analogy for this, specifically bread. Watch the plethora of sourdough videos produced over this year and you are left with the impression that sourdough (or any bread) is challenging. In fact it is very, very easy and actually harder to screw up than be successful. Unless you are looking for the one that looks like the one in the picture.

But bad-looking bread tastes just as good. and sailing a poorly trimmed boat (in moderate conditions) gets you just as far and is just as fun.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I doubt they are cruisers that don't want to learn the correct terms. Maybe arm chair or dockominium cruisers.

Probably true.

Any specialized community or profession will naturally develop its own lingo or jargon. It's an efficient way of communicating with those of the same tribe.

It's certainly not necessary to know your sheets from your halyards, but it makes it easier. And seriously ... of all the things to learn about cruising, knowing a reef line from a jib sheet is really not much to ask. There's a whole lot more to learn, and most of it is a lot harder than that.

[ShinyHappy]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

no easy answer here.....I learned that there are no " ropes" on a boat....a " rope" is a "rope' in a store, but when it comes aboard it adopts a name..the first time I ever stepped on a sailboat I was asked to grab that "sheet"....but I saw no linen in sight..how a "rope" came to be called a " sheet" was beyond my ability to understand at the time.....the same line that a "sheet" is made from can also be a "halyard"....now we have two weird names for the same " rope"..etc, ad infinitum....the worst was having to use the " head" when wanting to use the bathroom....sailing is a strange sport for sure.....it has a vocabulary all of its own....it can be very confusing for someone not acquainted with boating...

I agree that the terminology hinders some of the learning. It's no a language I grew up with so I had to stop and think rather than just understand basic stuff. Even here someone was to the spar and it took me forever to figure out they were talking about the boom.

[Narfi]

I am reminded of this,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Esp. the third one