Sail Far Live Free

Much has already been written about the wind.  One of my favorite wind quotes is from William Arthur Ward who said, "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." And another from Captain Christopher Shelton (from s/v Albatross and the movie White Squall ): "You can't run from the wind.  You trim your sails, face the music, and keep going." So now allow me to write a bit more about the wind, for sailing would be a lot more like drifting without it.   There are a few things in life that we can't see even with our eyes wide open.  God.  Love.  And the wind.  We can see the effects of all these things, but we can't see the actual  thing.  However, if we allow our other senses to open up, we can feel  them.  It amazes me that something as cryptic as the wind has the ability to carry a sailboat thousands and thousands of miles. And lastly, I'll finish my tribute to the wind...

I'm continually racing to catch my mind after fall haul-out as it sprints away from another oncoming winter. S/V Island Bound is safely resting on her jackstands and the winterization tasks are complete. The winterization of my soul begins with dreaming of sailing adventure. So I figured this is a good time to share one of my favorite "dreamer" quotes: "All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." The quote is from T.E. Lawrence, better known to some as "Lawrence of Arabia". The British army officer likely didn't have sailing on his mind when he made the statement in his autobiography, Seven Pillars of Wisdom . At the time Lawrence was serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks o...