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THE ARMCHAIR SAILOR

Students arriving for their first day of a sailing instruction program often have completed some research into the topic, if for no other reason than to pick a suitable sailing school. These students have a richer and more rewarding learning experience than those who have no previous exposure. Their new sport becomes a fascinating journey through history, and changing theories, techniques, and experts. One of the first thing these students will note is that sailing is a very 'opinionated sport'. Opinions are part of the scientific process, where they are known as the hypothesis. In all sciences, however, the hypothesis must be examined through 'test' or more correctly, experiment. Hypothesis with no testing or proof are very popular in sailing. They often represent fact in what is known as the realm of the Armchair Sailor.

Certain aspects of sailing, such as aerodynamics, have been studied and tested through science over long periods of time. They can be considered as 'truth beyond a doubt'. In scientific testing, however, experiments rely on technology. As technologies improve, new experiments sometimes disproves old theories, even in well-understood fields as aerodynamics. The development of the wind tunnel and computer modeling are examples of technologies, which changed certain theories on aerodynamics. These theories had previously been studied only with animal wings and human-engineered prototype wings. Because new technologies in testing are always appearing, it is prudent for the information-savvy sailor to be prepared for new changes on theories in sailing, and to keep an open mind. A closed mind will only keep him in the past. Living in the past is a habit of Armchair Sailors, and one will find their expertise is useful along historical lines more than anything else.

In addition to theories in history and particularly sciences, like those on aerodynamics, there are also theories (and even guesses) on more mundane yet practical things in sailing, such as what brand of marine toilet is better than the other, or how to fix a barbeque. The Armchair Sailor enjoys these topics every bit as much as the historical and scientific trivia, but the operative word is, again, experiment. As these mundane issues are generally related to boat maintenance and maintenance products, one can only experiment if one has a vessel to experiment on (only a vessel owner does maintenance, upgrades, and equipment purchases). More often than not, the Armchair Sailor is restricted in boat ownership, and since many topics of discussion are as temporary as a current model of marine barbeque, one must be careful if listening to the Armchair Sailor about these topics. The exception to this rule is the yacht broker who may be required to mediate certain maintenance issues, sends considerable time on the water during sea trials (although not overnight) but who may not actually own a yacht. The brokers are generally full of both historical and current knowledge, and are required to keep up-to-date as the boat inventory for new-boat brokers is continually modernizing. The only deficiency in a yacht broker's data would be follow-up testing, as the 'test vessels' may disappear from the broker's area.

The sailing instructor is another individual who may have considerable experience and many theories, but may be restricted in yacht ownership. As with the broker, not owning a vessel will hinder the instructor’s own tests on current maintenance, or techniques, etc. Instructional time on a company boat with students may be all the exposure an instructor gets, and provided the vessel does not offer any challenges this will restrict his knowledge to theoretical. Some maintenance information may actually come second hand from the students (who will soon disappear and restrict follow-up). Instructors do go on overnight cruises with students (cruise and learns) and so they differ from brokers in that they will have current overnight cruising experience and local knowledge. This may be in such things as local geography and sea conditions, which change from one year to another and must be current. Sailing is about adventure, though; so don't ask your boat-less instructor for any adventurous stories or insights, as adventure and safety of students do not mix. There may, however, be some good (albeit dated) stories to be had if the instructor has crewed offshore or on racing vessels, and this is the next type of sailor.

The racing environment is another source of potential Armchair Sailors, and this depends on what the commitment or involvement the individual had on the vessel. A quick survey among athletic and outdoor populations living in a coastal city will show that most of them have, at one point, 'raced' or been on a racing vessel. Since there are not that many racing vessels per capital in a given location, it's safe to assume that most of the individuals chose a very temporary placement on a racing boat. Sailboat racing involves the most modern materials, techniques, and technologies of the sport, and is by common consensus the best source of information and experience for a sailor wishing to crew on another individuals boat. It is also exciting, fun, and a great social activity. The first placement of a new crew, however, is one that requires little input from the crew. That position is called ballast or 'rail meat'. Most choose not to involve themselves further in what could be the most interesting environment in sailing; staying and learning in the team throughout a series of races. Often all it takes is listening and watching, and that is all up to the individual. It is too easy for those wanting quick acknowledgement to become lazy, and use the exploits of a successful vessel they spent minimal time on to become another form of Armchair Sailor.

Having mentioned the importance of sourcing information from actual yacht owners, it must be mentioned that the owner in question must actually sail the vessel. Many yachts never leave the marina, even though the owner has applied much new equipment, maintenance, and even new design and sailing techniques to it, sometimes for up to many years. The vessels have become 'hangar queens' and their owners could become potentially the greatest source of current knowledge, or the most drastic maritime failures, if only they ever pushed off from the dock. Motoring about the bay for an afternoon does not count for sailing, incidentally.