Author(s): Matt Vance

Society & Culture

To be on the sea is something magical. It is to be under fleeting illusion of being free and beyond the reach of the land with its attendant frustrations and pettiness. Under sail you are immediately confronted with a simple set of rules that require you to observe intently and engage your entire being in the enterprise of moving across the ocean. Despite the enormity of this effort the sailor has little effect on the sea. The wake of a yacht is quickly zipped up behind leaving no trace of your passing. The same cannot be said of the sea's effect on the sailor. It subtly unzips you, pulling out the stuffing that has lay buried by life on the land. How to Sail a Boat is an examination of some of that stuffing, revealing things about the sailor only the sea might know.