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Every Boat is a Platform for Adventure There have been many terms to describe sailing ships and boats down through the years. One of my favorites has always been "magic carpet." Of course, this is pretty much aimed at us pleasure sailors. I doubt if those under working sail would have shared this mystical reference. I just viewed a DVD called "In the Wake of the Zaca" (see Books and DVDs), which tells the story of the 118’ gaff-rigged topsail schooner Zaca. Commissioned by millionaire Templeton Crocker and patterned after the famous Bluenoose fishing schooner, the film follows the boat through its many lives as a luxury yacht, scientific research vessel, navy patrol boat, and party boat for Hollywood swashbuckler Errol Flynn. After all this, the boat finally rests at the dock, a stripped, decaying derelict until being discovered and brought back to her former glory as a fine sailing yacht. Everybody loves a happy ending. The film got me thinking, there are many such storied boats, but their legends are really just reflections of the people sailing them. The Endurance is famous for Shackleton’s amazing survival story; the Spray for Joshua Slocum’s intrepid circumnavigation, putting tacks on the decks to discourage the natives from boarding her; and of course the Bounty cannot be separated from the notorious Captain Bligh. Good ships all, made famous, or infamous, by the men who sailed them. If you asked any kid nowadays, the most famous sailing craft would be the Black Pearl, of Pirates of the Caribbean fame. So you see, it’s the stories that bring the ships to life. And it is true for all of our sailing craft. Every boat is a platform for adventure. Maybe not as grand and glorious as some stories but nonetheless storied. In our Letters section, Christy Haase describes her adventures on Aoelus, her Heritage 20 as "a comical and heartfelt journey of far more than fiberglass and canvas." Nicely put, for when it comes right down to it, boats are much more than just fiberglass and canvas, but memories of the waters under her hull, the exaltation of the wind in her sails and sharing of people, places and things experienced by those aboard her. Large or small, truly each ship, your ship, is a platform for adventure. |
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