InlandSailing.co.za

Digging out some old newspaper to clean off the braai grill last night, I stumbled on a back-issue of “Tread Magazine – Mountain Biking with Soul”. It was sufficient motivation for me to buy the latest copy this morning, stirring in me a long-dormant love for riding my bike in the wilderness. One of the things that grabbed me was how the techno-scene has moved on. 29′ers and disc brakes are now all the rage. Forget the fact that for a dualie, with 100mm of travel, if you’re short, then there’s no way you’re actually going to get a bike like that to fit! So, in the current MTB scene, I fear my [by my own standards at least] ultra-cool Silverback carbon-fibre hardtail with Rockshox Duke’s up front, boring 26″ wheels and standard friction pads on the rim is positively retro. Quaint dude!

And so too it is with IT tech gadgets. iPads are the current cool “must haves”. Forget the inconvenience of dragging around a smartphone, a PC, an iPad and a Kindle. You’ve just got to have the full electronic portfolio to be in with the cool kids. I’m not immune, however different. I’m seriously shopping for a graphics tablet add-on for the Acer to allow me writing and drawing capabilities direct into electronic format. Not a necessity, just an emotional want.

And I guess this malaise it also translates to sailboats and sailiors. There’s always something newer. cooler, more hip to buy. I’m thinking it may be an option to trade in the kids for that new Harken roller-furler, or better yet upgrade to a larger boat. After all, they do say “bigger is better” and just maybe a bigger boat will entice my non-sailing family to become regular crew? And what is all that “I must sail around Cape Horn” before I’m a proper sailor?

The only satisfaction in the new, the different, the cool is the immediate and very, very temporary rush of the purchase. It wears off all too soon and becomes yet another “thing” in the clutter bin. Something else to drain emotonal energy, cash and time.

And so, I intend to stick with my aged, yet beautiful little sailboat. Sure, she needs a bit of work, but she sails just perfectly and I get a lot of enjoyment out of her. I cruise her regularly, sometimes in company, most often alone. She’s my escape from city living, my weekend cottage, my “sanity bench”, and I don’t need a bigger, newer, flasher boat than her to fulfil all these desires.

And there are plans afoot to acquire a trailer and perform a slow and relaxed refit on the hard. Maybe while she’s out of the water, and in between weekend refurbishment, I’ll dust off that old, aged and “un-cool” mountain bike and head out to the mountains for a different kind of solitude…..!