But we are united under one: sailor
Issue 99 : Nov/Dec 2014
I’ve grown weary of the labels that divide us: deniers, alarmists, extremists, centrists, greens, tree-huggers, libertarians, progressives, socialists, and communists. Also One-Percenters, Occupy Wall Streeters, Tea Partiers, Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen Xers, Gen Yers, workers, taxpayers, and welfare takers. I won’t even start on the religious labels we use.
Sailors have one thing that unites them: sailing. Our favorite activity is a social equalizer like few others. If you handle a sailboat well, it matters not what your political, religious, or environmental views happen to be. You will be respected by your fellow sailors. Your job status (or lack of one), the neighborhood you come from, and the car you drive may matter elsewhere, but they don’t matter much at the local marina or yacht club where you keep your boat.
If your boat is a bit larger or a bit smaller than the next guy’s, that’s unimportant if you keep it up nicely and handle it expertly. Even if you’re a brand-new sailor who has just arrived at the marina and is learning the ropes, you’ll be instantly accepted as part of the community of sailors. Your dockmates might laugh at your humorous learning experiences but will forgive you for them because they have all been there and suffered the same indignities.
You can be a racer or a cruiser, a trailer-sailor, a keelboat sailor, or a multihull fanatic. You can favor the catboat, the schooner, or the junk rig. It matters not. You can be sailing a good old boat or a shiny new boat. You can be a circumnavigator, a local coastal sailor, a weekender, or a daysailor. You can sail in salt or fresh water — or even on “hard” water. You might be a solo sailor or a family cruiser or a partier. All are loved the same (pretty much) and accepted among the community of sailors.
I have observed, however, that there is just one thing that still divides us. Sailors have yet to welcome powerboaters into their midst. Trawler boaters and former sailors can gain admittance to the club. But woe upon those power yachters who have no previous sailing experience.
Sailors are perfect in every other way. Maybe we should work on being just a bit more open-minded when it comes to our fellow boaters, the stinkpotters.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
