It’s not hard…

by John Curnow on 25 Apr 2017 Well of course it is, but that’s the gig, right?! I mean if it were not so, then we would not have articles on Mission Ocean, the ARC, Lisa Blair or Jon Sanders, which might get the spotlight, but there are the great tales from SV Crystal Blues and the Blue Water Cruising Association also to immediately show that this affliction absorbs all manner of folk.

So what is it? What could wield such power from near or afar? What has no voice, yet speaks in utter Tolstoy-esque volumes? What has a kaleidoscope of colours and images, so as to appear like a chameleon, but just the one name? What stretches so far, has defined barriers, yet is so utterly universal as to be used as a datum point? What is both completely frozen and also totally balmy, all at the same time? What can influence other elements of the planet when it chooses to wield its awesome power as the biggest single item on the planet?

Well then it is little wonder that we talk about the power of the sea. Yet normally, when you see that sort of line you think of many things. Perhaps it is rogue waves, erosion of the beach, the pounding of craft on rocks, or surfing large boats down glorious swells.

The difference this time was that I got to thinking about the way the sea brings people together. Perhaps this in turn was because I had been speaking with the co-founder of the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club, Ken Thackeray, and also Committee Member, Evan Johnston. Inside seven short years the club has gone on to be 5,500 members strong (and growing, how!), with many of them ensuring they will be at the rendezvous on the Great Barrier Reef this coming August.

Demonstrating the way the sea brings people together, the club now has members from 17 countries, with Serbia the latest to join the list. That’s a long, long way from the Queensland coast, and I could think of no better example to illustrate the very power we speak of herein.

Finally, and perhaps as the very exclamation mark I search for, perhaps I was even more profoundly influenced than I first realised by Bill Maher’s video that I attached to the bottom of the piece on Lisa Blair. One reader wrote in to say, “I loved the video at the end. It would be very funny if it wasn’t so true!” You can watch it now for yourself now and see if it makes you stand up and pay attention, too!

Ultimately, we have the power, so let’s do something good and positive with it…

Are you out there plying the seas and got something to say? We’d love to hear from you via editor@sail-world.com Also, if you would like to receive our newsletter each week, then please go to the 'Newsletter' button at the top of the Sail-World home page and enter your details. Simple...