by Joe Roissier

Created on: May 03, 2009

Why are we drawn to the challenge of the sea? Why have humans for centuries looked out past our limitations, both physical and spiritual and sought to understand what lay beyond? There is something in the human spirit, call it curiosity or the seductive nature of discovery that drives us to understand the things that seem to us at first, incomprehensible and unknowable.

I've gazed out over the Pacific Ocean many times and wondered what lay beyond the finely etched boundary of the horizon that blurred, and finally disappeared in the orange glow of the setting sun. I realized that these physical limitations were as much metaphors for the inner constraints that we place on our own souls when we look inward and ask ourselves why or why not?

Passing beyond our limitations, both exterior and the self-imposed interior variety is accompanied by a sense of triumph and exultation that a recluse poet of the 19th century expressed quite lyrically:

"Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,

Past the houses - past the headlands -

Into deep Eternity -

Bred as we, among the mountains,

Can the sailor understand

The divine intoxication

Of the first league out from land?

These lines were written by Emily Dickinson in Amherst Massachusetts about 50 miles from the nearest body of water. I thought if she could imagine these things, then I could live them and conquer whatever stood between me and the attainment of sailing prowess and true self-awareness.

The obstacles were considerable in my case. I hadn't been on the water since I was an adolescent. My father liked fishing and always had power boats. My memories are of acrid diesel fumes, stinking bait rotting in the hot summer sun, and seasickness. I wanted a different experience and so I decided to learn how to sail.

Sailing: The Science and the Art.

Beyond the ego-gratification and the process of self-discovery that comes to a middle aged man with the acquisition a complex skill like sailing, there are some practical considerations. Sailing even a small 8 meter boat can be dangerous. To be perfectly thorough, I decided to join a sailing club and take courses with instructors certified by the American Sailing Association. I took lessons in the basics of rigging, sailing, and navigating. I realized very soon that understanding the science of sailing could make the difference between having a great time on the water and disaster.

I also realized that contrary to what you see in the movies, sailing is a great deal of work. Gratifying

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