"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Hmm, must be something about going out on bowsprits in the middle of the
night that has warped my perspective.

Do you think someone who has grown up sailing only roller furling boats
with all line handling done from the cockpit can be considered a competent
sailor? This has some parallels with the GPS Vs pencil and chart
discussions.

--

Roger Long



Good point! :-) Having had the mailsail clew snap in the middle of a night
shift and miss my head by about a foot is, I guess, something along the
lines of what you were talking about.

No, I don't. That said, after one becomes proficient, I don't see the need
to perpetuate the ritual of going forward if I don't have to. Also,
single-handing makes this much more difficult and dangerous.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Bowsprit, another bad idea from the past. I have had more time on
older "dangerous" boats than I do on square riggers and the comparison
is just as pertinent. I am not sure whether being a competent sailor
is useful at all if it just means knowing how to use antique hardware
and arcane tasks. Surely being self sufficient and knowledgeable is a
good thing but at what expense? There are many old fashioned things we
might spend time learning about but we dont. How many kids today could
set the points on an older car?
I've spent a lot of time on certain "thrilling" sports but have always
been happy to give up old fashioned ways for more modern safer ones. I
even learned how to use a GPS. My peculiarity about paper charts
concerns aesthetics, not safety.
Once again, do it your way but I assure you that this idea of being a
competent seaman is about as useful as being competent with a buggywhip.

I apologize for seeming to be critical and I hope that you and your
family really enjoy your boat. Endeavors really are nice.