Sailors

I was at a meeting of sailors last night. Tough people, sailing their small ships along the coast or around the world. At dinner I sat next to an elderly gentleman who had sailed round the world, and he told me something about his trip, crossing the Atlantic three times altoghether. Another man sails singlehandedly down to the mediterranean and back, a woman regularly sails up to Sweden.

I'm not really much of a sailor myself, if I'm honest. Yes, I've crossed the Drake Passage more than once, and yes, I've crossed the Atlantic ocean, but I'm still not much of a sailor. I wasn't on such a tiny yacht, but I WAS on a sailing ship, a square rigged bark, a tall ship. I like the ship I work on, she's a beautiful ship, and that she's square rigged is unusual and looks very romantic.

I still don't know much about sailing, though, as I realised again last night. When the captain of my ship started talking about sailing manoeuvres. I sort of know, but I don't really. I know some of the terms, but am never sure what they really mean. I know there's sails involved, and a lot of ropes, and sometimes I pull on ropes, and I know more or less which sail is which, but that's it really.

The evening before my night out with the sailors I was at a Film Festival, the Northern Film Festival, a different kind of atmosphere and a very different group of people, different topics of conversation. Another world, just like the world on board ship is a another world.