My friends introduced me to sailing about 14 years ago, and I was addicted immediately. It is freedom. It is edgy. It is driven by intellect. Thinking people sail. And perhaps, and best of all, it requires you to slow down.
Two things. Travel times are exponentially longer when sailing. For example, traveling from Houston to Galveston Texas by car takes about 45 minutes. Houston to Galveston by sailboat takes about 6 - 7 hours. The boat that I sail on has a top speed of 7 knots -- that's about 6 miles an hour. We travel at about 5 nautical miles per hour. So you learn to take your time, because all you have is time. And at most points of sail, you can't do anything but watch the world go by very, very slowly.
Secondly, while it is easy to plan for the unexpected, the unexpected often occurs. And that slows you down. Once we were prepared for a quick 6 hour sail home, and the causeway was closed. So we anchored out for 4 hours. Waiting. Patiently for the bridge to open. There was nothing we could do but anchor, and polish the teak. Today we waited for a hurricane gate to open -- we waited for an hour and a half while workers finished the day on the gate. So while we MIGHT have been at the dock at 5:00 p.m. It was nearly 6:30 p.m. So things that you take for granted in your daily commute, are actually not common place in sailing.
This slowing of time gives you the opportunity to think and ponder on many things. Most often I turn to prayer -- not for fear -- but for the beauty that surrounds me. For this force of nature, water, that I get to be upon.
And this is a thin place.
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