Anchors away…

When it comes to singing, dancing, swimming I am the black sheep of my family. I would probably drown in 4 feet of god old H2O. Despite that my overworked Guardian Angel & Lady Luck have had their hands full as I have had the unique opportunity to row, sail, raft, paddle boat & motor boat!!

For a non-swimmer the chlorinated waters of the shallow end of a swimming pool are as intimidating as the vast expanse of an ocean. It does not help when wee babes emitting high-pitched shrieks jump in & out fearlessly, effortlessly & (with much envy I confess) enthusiastically. As a child I was forever cajoled, bribed or dragged (not necessarily in that order) to take up swimming. All I ended up achieving was six-sigma certification in the technique of how not to swim.

But as they say fools rush in where angels fear to tread so there I was a lean gangly newly myopic teenager all set for a 15-day camp for sailing. It was the summer of 1992, when I had the wonderful chance to take up sailing. It’s been an unwritten law in our family to take summer vacations in Delhi, Bhatinda, Ferozpur, Lucknow, Bareily.

So there I was in Bhatinda taking part in the sailing camp organized by some officers who had been part of the Trishna expedition (for the uninformed the Trishna was an all round the world sailing expedition organized by the Indian Army). The Generation Previous felt that they had to shield us from the new invasion of Cable TV & more importantly MTV. Well they succeeded in a way. We were kept so busy by the morning & evening sessions that we barely had energy or the inclination to while away the time watching the idiot box.

Day 1 we were apprised about the jargon used in sailing, the rules for safety, interpretation of flags, buoys & kinds of boats. I was more focused on how to wear the life jacket & my true learning for that day was to differentiate between port & starboard.

Legend has that once a great naval captain retired & his crew was eager to see the contents of his log box, which he had carried with him always. He had stated that in event of emergency that box had to be rescued at all costs. On opening the log box they found a piece of paper on which the great man had scribbled: Port-Left, Starboard –Right.

Subsequently we learnt how to man the jib sail and the main sail, row, and operate the paddleboat and motorboat. I realized then that I was a speed fiend (I am unable to ride even a bicycle). My instructors felt that in the interest of all mankind I should not be allowed to operate the motorboat. To think today I would have been the equivalent of Narain Karthikeyan (at least in motorboat racing).

If paddle boating was fun & not to exhausting rowing was the exact opposite. It made me realize that I had some very irate muscles after the deed was done. The God of Wind had deserted us; leaving us stuck in the middle of the lake and we had no option but to take up the paddle and row. Despite my first few attempts the boat did not budge an inch.

Row harder or else you will be stuck here all alone for always came the curt order. My instructor who knew how to swim told me he would leave me stranded in the boat. I am sure he had probably never heard of Maslow or McClelland but his motivation technique did get me moving or rather rowing. Finally after an exhausting excruciating forty-five minutes we did manage to get back to the jetty. I was dead tired & could not feel anything in my shoulders (the muscles were so stiff) but I felt 10 feet tall.

Sailing is an excellent example of how we can approach life. Head out the boat not in to the wind instead gently maneuver it so that the breeze pushes you ahead instead of toppling you. Simply put it’s viewing an obstacle not negatively but as an opportunity. Tack in time or change according the direction of the favourable wind & move on. Change is inevitable but change for the better is what will make us grow. Sailing teaches you to rely on your instincts, helps you to work in coordination with you fellow crewmember & adjust to an external change agent (the wind) which is completely out of your control.

Hey all the gyan aside, most importantly sailing is fun. You are still reading?? Go sail! Have fun.