| Day 832 Zen Sailing |
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| Sunday, 02 August 2009 | |
 Day 832 - August 2, 2009 Wind SSE 15 to 20 knots, Course WSW, Speed 4 knots, Position 5*49n by 17*49w Zen Sailing In the ancient orient, the story goes that when a man reached a certain age he was free to go on a 1000 day walk. This was his reward for a life of worldly duty. Now he could wander from town to town, into the nature or wherever he pleased. I often spoke of this story over the years as I tried to explain one aspect of the 1000 day trip I am on. I delved into many forms of spiritual knowledge and I kept Zen in mind. A sailing writer called what I do "Hands off Sailing". That title is too mundane to describe such a hard won sacred act. I decided I must try to explain "The Art of Zen Sailing" and the steps I took to discover and learn. As I balanced my boats and learned to make them go where I wanted, I often used "Body English" the way a golfer uses body English to influence his golf ball. This is skill combined with an unstoppable urge to use invisible forces. When we completed our Antarctic expedition in 1987 and left the Falklands for the north Carib, the first ten days were variable, then we arrived in the Easterly Trades and for 30 days we sailed wind on the beam, full sail, wheel lashed until we arrived in St. Barth. The western side of the equator near Brazil usually doesn't experience calms and variable winds like the eastern side where I am now. It was only when we arrived that I realized that we had never changed the sails or adjusted our ropes. This voyage and act of accomplishing something by apparently doing nothing I called "Zen Sailing". One cannot go directly from intellectual heights or meditation directly into Zen sailing. There must be a long process where sailing becomes second nature and even more that that, a test, initiation and transformation must be passed through. In our case, it was the Antarctic expedition, where we sailed hard, risked our lives, extended ourselves and survived. Once we reached the trade winds, the crew was not compelled to tweak the lines and the course. We just let the schooner go. Now I wander for a time in the tradition of ancient man, no course, no destination, with hardships and ecstasy, open to fulfill the law of my nature to discover and reveal the heavenly divine. |
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