Sailing to Simplicity: Life Lessons Learned at Sea - Hardcover

Scherer, Migael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071353267 ISBN 13: 9780071353267

Publisher: Intl Marine Pub, 1999

Synopsis

A lyrical voyage of self discovery for all sailors. Sailors are interested as much in the journey as the destination. This collection of thirty beautifully written and evocative vignettes and the simple lessons they convey will appeal to any sailor--or anyone who knows a sailor. Familiar yet profound, these observations reaffirm why time on the water is time well spent. Migael Scherer offers vivid glimpses of life aboard--of trimming sails, anchoring, making repairs, being fogbound--that convey bold, simple, thought-provoking truths. And she reflects on what her boat and the sea have taught her: a zen-like wisdom and peace of mind, flexibility in the face of chaos, a deeper appreciation of the richness of each moment. All in all, this is a marvelous affirmation of the beauty of sailing.

About this title

About the Author

Seattle-based author Migael Scherer has been cruising the waters of the Pacific Northwest and living aboard since 1974, when she and her husband launched the sailboat they had spent two years building. Her cruising experience includes four years in Southeast Alaska and three trips on the 1,500-mile Inside Passage. Her first book, Still Loved by the Sun: A Rape Survivors Journal, won a PEN/Albrand citation for distinguished nonfiction and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. She is author of numerous magazine articles and of the oft-praised A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound (International Marine, 1995).

From the Back Cover

"Sailing to Simplicity" is a lovely, captivating book. Migael Scherer's writing is like sialing itself - a whole world of complexity distilled into moments of pure, elemental beauty. Whether you're the captain, a crew member, a passenger, or just someone who loves to watch, imagine, or dream about life beneath filled sails, read this book." - Richard Nelson, author, essayist, and American Book Award nominee.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Weathered In There was no way we were going to cross Queen Charlotte Sound that day, much as we wanted to. Gale warnings, winds to forty knots, seas to fifteen feet. Wed stay where we were and wait it out. Something about the word wait makes me fret. Instead of relaxing in the present, I lean into the future. Being where I am seems enforced, and I look for ways to break free. Short of stupidly throwing ourselves into a rough sea, there was no freedom from this little inlet. Wed anchored up one of the protective narrow arms, but what had seemed so welcoming when we thought we would be there only one night now seemed to wall us in. Huge cedar and fir grew thick, straight up from the steep shore. No relief of beach, let alone a suggestion anywhere of a trail. We were stuck on the water. Not that going ashore had much appeal when the rain started. An artist wouldnt need a colored palette in this climate, I thought, looking out the pilothouse windows. Rain streaked the view, which was every shade of gray: ashy boughs against striated trunks the color of wet cement, a low, pewter sky. Dull and spirit-flattening. I felt submerged in the grayness, my movements slowed, my vision dimmed. The water itself wasnt gray, though; it was tea-colored. Paul was napping in the main cabin, a book spread open on his chest. I reached for my own book and wandered into another time and place until, hours later, my shoulders and back demanded activity. I stood and stretched. Wisps of rust-colored foam on the rain-pocked water moved steadily out the inlet. Must be a stream somewhere back up there. Did you say something? Paul asked. He was now taking apart a fishing reel on the galley table, trying to figure out why it wouldnt cast. This foam, I said, I wonder where it comes from. The rains let up some. Wanna find out? We pulled on our rain gearboots, bib pants, the worksand launched the dinghy. We both wanted the exercise, so we took turns rowing. The farther up the inlet we rowed, the stronger the current was against us, and the more foam there was on the brown water. I dipped my finger and licked; it was only faintly salty. We heard rushing water, and turning a corner, we saw the rocks, the spilling lagoon beyond, and everywhere billowing, swirling foam, enormous suds in a giant bubble bath. We looked at each other, eyes shining, and Paul rowed right in. He shipped the oars, and the current carried us, laughing, the foam circling us like sheep, crowding over the gunwale and filling the dinghy with bubbles that hissed and disappeared. Back in again, and again, and out with the current, whirling in the rain.

Edition details

• Publisher: Intl Marine Pub
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0071353267
• ISBN 13: 9780071353267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192