Rediscovering the Simple Joy of Sailing

Published: Wednesday, July 15, 2020
By: Ken Quant

This year has certainly tossed us all a few curve balls. For the first time in as long as I can remember, we do not have a relentlessly-packed summer schedule of sailboat races, parties, events, and family gatherings. I have also managed to check enough items off the “honey do” list this spring that it’s actually turned into a “honey don’t” list. With all this new-found free time on our hands, and our boat finally floating in the marina, I think this is the perfect summer to rediscovering the simple joy of sailing.

As most Great Lakes boaters know, summer is usually a wonderful crush of activity as we try to cram a year’s worth of fun into four or five nice weather months. For us racers, this means an almost endless flow of boat prep and crew gathering to keep the program on-track. As fun as it all is, it can also be exhausting. Rarely do we get the chance to just go sailing for the fun of it these days.

Back when I first fell in love with the sport in my early teens, I couldn’t wait to just get out on the water and sail. Any excuse was viable as long as I could hook up with my new sailing friends and get out and experience the beauty and thrills of being propelled by the natural force of the wind. Although the lake was only a couple of miles away from our house, it was a world away for a kid that grew up on the city streets. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to meet some other kids who had family access to boats and the water, so anytime they asked if I wanted to go sailing, I jumped at the chance.

Some of the greatest days of my life were simply spent sailing beach cats back and forth across the 12-mile width of Lake Winnebago on a screaming reach. Our two-man crew worked in such perfect harmony with the boat that we didn’t even need to discuss our actions. If we hit a puff, sails were instinctively eased. A lull, we instantly moved inboard off the trapeze wire without a word. If we flipped, no big deal, we just got to the business of righting the boat. No matter what the sailing gods tossed at us, we were ready. Our only goal was to simply enjoy the wind, water, and waves while pushing the boat to ever greater speeds.

Sailing is much more complicated these days. Larger boats mean more work and larger crews. Springs have become consumed with boat prep and our races involve a lot of organization of people and schedules. Our crew is fantastic, but the boat’s needs no longer get addressed with instinctive actions by all onboard. No matter how experienced we are, it still requires a lot of communication to coordinate everyone just to make a tack. There really is nothing simple about how we sail any longer.

That’s why this summer of cancelled events seems like a fleeting chance for us to reconnect with the pure pleasure of just sailing for sailing’s sake. To once again soak up the natural beauty while enjoying the accomplished feeling of making a boat go without the noise of an engine. No beating into waves to get to a race mark this season, just the pure joy of sailing on an easy reach with no particular goal in mind. A perfect chance to rediscover the simple joy of sailing.