The senses are the best instrument – Is sailing without instruments really so dangerous that you shouldn’t do it?
The senses are the best instrument
Is sailing without instruments really so dangerous that you shouldn’t do it?
For many it is a very dangerous thing to do, for others it is their daily life and way of life. Dangerous for the first, safe for the others? Why this is so and how to change it are the questions we are trying to answer in this video in the simplest and most understandable way possible.
Who could have imagined 30 years ago that we would experience a real technological boom in such a short time. In this time of flourishing all kinds of technologies, man is becoming more and more dependent on small devices and more and more alienated from other people. Everywhere in the world you will walk around the city, everywhere you will see young and old with smartphones in their hands. Everyone is staring at the screen. The conversation died down, and laughter is almost gone.
Modern life oppresses the senses
Man is a natural living being. Throughout, he has always been closely associated with nature. Therefore, we all have innate senses and a self-evident understanding of what is felt. Shifting attention to technology toys and the Internet has become a new parallel world in which more and more people are getting lost.
People who have completely submitted to the modern way of life have lost touch with nature and forgotten that they have a highly developed intuition and physical senses such as nose, ears, eyes and of course skin. All of this still works, only the minds of many have fallen asleep and are unaware of what the warnings coming from the senses mean.
There is nothing different at sea either. Here, too, the development and affordability of technological toys has taken its toll. Today, there is a general belief that you cannot sail without instruments and radar. Many say it is not safe.
Is sailing without instruments really so dangerous that you shouldn't do it?
Let’s look over our shoulder back to the distant and recent past.
People have been sailing the seas for millennia. They did this for thousands of years without maps and without a compass, and then for hundreds of years without engines and electronics.
It was not until 50 years ago, around 1970, that engines for boats began to be installed en masse in the Adriatic.
Before that, most sailed without engines. The boats were owned by people living by the sea and rare enthusiasts from the mainland. Many built boats themselves or bought used ones. Few could afford to buy a new one.
The senses are the best instrument
Everything has changed
From 2000 until today, many things have changed at sea. The Adriatic is now strongly dominated by fleet charter. Most of the crews on these boats have far too little time at sea to start using their senses for sailing and orientation.
I know what it’s like when your neck hurts after sitting behind the rudder for a long time. Of course, how could you not, when you keep looking up at the mast where the Windex arrow is pointing. It’s much easier to light an instrument that shows the direction of the wind and stare at it, isn’t it?
What’s easier isn’t necessarily good either! This direction leads to even greater dependence on technology. Because one instrument is not enough. Three more instruments need to be turned on, a plotter, sonar and radar so you can see on the screen what you would otherwise see live if you looked around.
No, that’s not the way to go!
When the senses awaken
The right path is very close. You just have to turn around and suffer for a while with a sore neck. Trust me, it hurts less day by day. You think it’s because the muscles have hardened due to constant exercise. Well, it’s not quite like that.
Only when guests who come to the boat for a day or two start asking where the instruments are and why you never look at the windex arrow at the top of the mast, you realize what happened to you.
The senses awoke. You now feel the wind in your hair, on your skin, in your ears, in your nose, in your eyes and in your sails, and you feel the resistance of the water at the helm. All this is information that tells you exactly from which direction the wind is blowing and how strong it is.
Then you become one with the boat. You are no longer a crew. You feel his every move, you know the cause of every squeak. You look at the clouds, their reflections in the water, the shadows on land and you know what’s coming. Sunny or rainy. Even if you don’t see the storm, you know exactly it’s coming, where and when you can expect it.
The senses are the best instrument
Give yourself a wonderful gift
All of this is a great gift that you can endow yourself with. Many people have already acquired this gift. Everyone who is a lot in nature or at sea has it. This is a really beautiful and useful gift. The most beautiful thing, however, is that such a revived feeling remains in a person forever. Once you realize this and other equivalent gifts coming at the same time, you will never forget it again.
Finally, let me answer the question posed in the title:
Is sailing without instruments really so dangerous that you shouldn’t do it?
The answer to this question is clear: an experienced sailor with developed senses and a lot of knowledge gained from experience is much safer on a boat without instruments than an occasional charter captain on a boat with all possible instruments.
What do you think about it? Write below in a comment.
