| Tall Ship Sailing Holidays In 2012 Voyage Map 2012 |
||
Zen And The Art Of Steering - By Janet Hall |
You are reading an article from our |
|
It wasn't long after we'd left Amsterdam harbour, while we were still motoring along, that I had my first go on the helm. It went quite well: I had got the idea of how to aim for a point on the horizon and glance at the compass from time to time, and I was looking forward to steering while under sail. My chance came on the Isslemeer. There was a steady wind, a few choppy waves, and on the horizon a definite object to aim for, not some wispy cloud or indistinct blob, but a nice tower–like building, which lined up neatly alongside the mast |
 |
|
 |
I took over from Mary who had made it look easy. But once my hands were on the wheel it was a different matter. Trinovante’s bows lurched dramatically from port to starboard and back again as I made big turns of the wheel. I knew I was overcompensating, but could't find that steady course. John stood by patiently, presumably thinking I would soon sense the wind and waves and get the hang of it. Fellow crew members looked on, puzzled at the strange manner of steering I had adopted. Mary said quietly, ’Try to relax’. Good advice but I couldn't’. Mike stepped back from amidships to tell me that we were zigzagging. ’ Yes,yes. I know. I know.’ |
|
Then John said that some people found it helped to think of steering as though you are riding a horse. I briefly wondered how this inanimate steel boat could possibly respond like a horse but I suspended disbelief and put myself into horse-riding mode: light hands on the wheel, and, remembering that horses sense your state of mind, I thought calm and confident thoughts, and focused on that tower on the horizon. Immediately, Trinovante settled down. There was no more twisting and turning of the wheel and from then on a steady course was followed, and crew mates nodded in approval. So steering is as much,if not more, about your state of mind as what you actually do. |
 |
|
| SchoonerSail Limited, 16A Stafford Mill, London Road, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2AZ ::: Ships phone 07977 594 649 Company No 6133553 © SchoonerSail 2004-2011 |
||
