Saturday, May 30, 2015

Waypoint sailors

Nowadays hordes of new generation cruisers jump on the bandwagon of sailing around the world. The initial passion of discovering and experiencing the unknown had to make way for the number factor. Today the reason is "to be counted".  To be able to say you've done it. Or perhaps to say 'could afford it', since everthing cruising has become so ridiculously expensive. Therefore the today cruiser crosses the oceans with blind trust in human developements like gps, sattelite and insurance. 
The time when a certain amount of skill and interest were required to be able to navigate. Or finding a good star and horison at exactly the good time of morning or evening to take a bearing of and work out with lots of maths and tables and what have you's, where on earth (actually on the ocean) are you in order to ensure you continue in the good direction, are all things and facts which fill history books now. 
In an idyllic anchorage up in a sheltered creek in Savusavu Bay one day, motored True Blue Ozzie yacht passed us on their way out. They made a confusing zig-zag-turn between empty moorings. We thought they were busy with other things and not on attention. A short while later, the South-African catamaran Impi also passed us on their way out. She up on the bow keeping a lookout. He charging at too high speed as was his habit, between the yachts. At exactly the same place between the empty moorings, Impi made the exact same confusing and unnessary (in fact a more risky maneuver towards the coral edge, than safe) zig-zag-turn between the empty moorings. It instantly struck us clear as lightning - waypoint sailors. Not allowing themselves to trust their own observations and logics. Yet, Impi advertises his waypoints on his blog, for other insecure cruisers to follow?
From time to time we also wish for waypoints...