On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:57:02 -0400, katy
wrote:

Gilligan wrote:
"Ellen MacArthur" wrote in message
reenews.net...

This post is absolutely brilliant. In life one should always strive to
simplify, to reduce to the essentials.


Wind generators. Solar generators. Diesel generators. Shore power
cords. Fridges. Freezers.
Air conditioners. Water heaters. Microwave ovens. Propellers. What do all
these have to do with
sailboats? I think the answer is people like that don't want a sailboat.
They want to put their house
inside a boat. That's OK if they just stayed far far away from people who
don't want to be hassled
by all their commotion. And out of sight of people who don't want houses
navigating around.
Not to mention their air pollution.


Why do anchorages these days have to smell like an airport or a
truck stop?

All the crap they must haul around with them is a form of denial. They
"enjoy" life through possessing material objects.


Why does the biggest smelliest noisiest boat always anchor right upwind of
the fleet?
They can't seem to stay away. They get as close to you as they can.
It's as if they really want to
bother you. The one thing all boats need is a decibel meter. If it gets
higher than normal speech then
it explodes and sinks the boat.... YES! And they need a diesel fume
detector. If it goes off it empties
the holding tank into the bilge.
I always thought sailors were a quiet, uncomplicated group. I've
discovered there's way too many
selfish people who aren't sailors. They're Winnebago drivers lost on the
water.... They're confused.
They think Spock said "the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the few
or the many."

Cheers,
Ellen

This post is so excellent, I feel have almost ruined it by the addition of
my comments.

When things become "commercialized" (that is, money to be made) the entry
bar is lowered. Things are made comfortable, easy, "safe" and "fun". There
are some things this will never happen to. Things that require great
physical expenditure and suffering. Things that only pay in contentment and
are not fun.


Ya know, Chanteuse hasn't got any of the stuff mentioned on board...but
I am not going to sit and criticize someone else because they either
want, need, or just have that equipment. .............

I certainly will depending on the noise and smell.

I've been anchored in a protected cove with opening ports, hatches and
windscoop my method of cooling and had boats come up running
generators so they could have AC and TV and/or loud music devices.
Generally they are the same idiots who will not tie off their
halyards, let them slap against their masts all night since, with
their boats closed up, and the drone of the genset and AC, they can't
hear them.

Frank