Sailing your way to the horizon of life

Ahoy! What we know about sailing is limited because of the unpredictability associated with being at sea. But it could be a fun sport to get trained. We have a situational advantage with a long coastline and there is tremendous opportunity to interested parties to develop sailing teams for Olympics. The need to engage in more water sports is the idea behind taking up sailing as a career. Sailing can be exciting and fun for water lovers and swimmers alike. Experienced fishermen should be the prime candidates for training in this sport because of their familiarity with the sea.

There are many hotspots on India’s coastline which one may explore for the purpose of training and also as a tourist sport- examples include Kolkata, Visakhapatnam , Chennai, Mumbai, Goa and Dwaraka. Entering the domain of Sailing at the Olympics should be on the agenda for next Olympics from India. Life’s not as easy as you see from sea but it is surely adventurous when pursued. Aesthetic value is a factor that sportsmen can enjoy while at sea should you be a fan of art. Needless to say that those who can sail are good at sailing the ship of life efficiently too- this is one more reason to pursue sailing as a career.

Courage, responsibility and power are qualities one can expect from a good sailor- at least these are what you see in Popeye the Sailor man. Nobody appreciates sudden change but sailing changes your perspective of life- a chance to inspire youngsters towards the physics of sailing. Also in its true sense of the word, sailing is a lot of physics in the form of aerodynamics. Understanding sailing practically helps understand the underlying principles of physics better and broadens the mind to appreciate and use new designs for sailboats.

Life offshore is an attribute that one can appreciate if he/she traces back their history of discovery. All the unexplored lands were a result of this wonderful sport which was not so much of a sport back then- it was a method of navigating to lands and this potentially introduced the concept of inter-continental trade. To imagine that sailors in history used the position of stars to navigate their sails in particular directions tells us how inter-disciplinary the field of sailing can get. Also, it can be said with considerable confidence that sailing is the forerunner of the present trading through shipping. Waterways are great sources of economy to most countries now. Goods that cannot be exchanged through air are going to be transported only on these massive water bodies. Territorial occupancy of water bodies by countries is a painful concept to sailors and it can get pretty political when combined with untimed travel in sea making sailing a risky profession.

Sailing as an exploratory tool gives us an idea of the changing seasons due to earth’s tilting angle- primarily the flow of trade winds across the oceans that bring moisture laden clouds onto landmasses. The multiple perks of this sport are only a few but the dangers associated with it have to be dealt very carefully. Even a slightly careless mistake can be fatal at sea thus this sport should not be taken up by light-headed ones.

When it gets to playing as a sport, sailing can get pretty rule-based and stringent because of its long standing existence and practice. Everybody can vouch for the fact that with the advent of technology in every aspect of life, it is no wonder to find modern day sailing a very fancy technologically driven sport. There are all sorts of equipment to monitor the position of a sailing boat from the shore and for controlling the speed of the sail to automatically bringing the mast up or down based on the prevailing winds. There are many ways one can compete and be a winner in this sport especially because there is no standard for skill, it all depends on the innovation of the sailor and how he uses his skill in sailing away to success. Personal interest holds a high position in pursuing sailing as a profession. If one is motivated to take it up as a means for living, it can get pretty rough if one doesn’t have the right attitude towards it. Corporate entry into sports has been a motivating factor to pursue it- an example is sponsorship of the Sailor of the Year award by Rolex.

All in all, motivation driven sports are very few and sailing falls very much so in this category and to sail is to be hailed. It is a respectable profession and one should credit the voyagers for introducing us to the reigning sport of the sea- sailing!