When I was rummaging around in a 100-year-old copy of The Rudder magazine recently I came across a delightful little
paean to the sailing ship. It was written by the editor, Thomas Fleming Day,
and it was naturally a little one-sided and biased — faults totally eclipsed by
the man's passion and his command of the language. I think it ought to be
inscribed on a bronze plaque and put on display in a prominent pace to remind
everybody, not just the sailors among us but everybody, of what we have lost,
and what still remains that we can be thankful for. But judge for yourself:
"Unquestionably the sailing vessel is the most majestic and
perfect creation of man. It above all his works embodies those perfections of
detail which, taken as a whole, form a beautiful and inspiring object. He has
never wrought in any other line a fabric which in its actions so mimics the
graceful and delighting movements of a symmetrical and buoyant living thing. It
seems to embody the very spirit of enterprise that created it. It confers
beauty upon the element that it traverses and takes from every change of the
seam sky and air a fresh grace and a more enchanting appearance. And when we
realize what it has done for mankind: how in the shadow of its sails empire
have sprung up and grown to greatness, how cities have flourished, races been
nourished and houses in plenty and splendor; how it broadened the world only to
bring its widely parted lands closer together, binding all in the golden bands
of trade. When we recall who have trod the decks of these ships, who built,
navigated and fought them, the master men of the ages, the welders and shapers
of our present civilization. Thinking of these things we cannot but regret the
passing of the sailing ship."
To which I can only add, 100 years later, that ships under sail still
have not completely passed away, especially small ones, and for that we should
be truly grateful.
— Samuel Butler
Tailpiece
A Seattle sailor has invented a combined corkscrew, can opener, and bottle opener. It saves losing them overboard separately.
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for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
There is a strange synergy between sailboats and violins.
ReplyDeleteTwo of Einstein's favorite hobbies were sailing and fiddling. A great many violin makers are also boat addicts.
The violin, also considered a "perfect invention" in that it has not been improved upon for the past 300 years-still going strong.
Oded Kishony
violinmaker