Back On the Horse

In the last post I wrote about a longtime voyager who is hanging up his "solo" hat...and no one would argue that he hasn't earned the right to do so. In a similar vein here is a piece that appeared recently out of South Africa about a couple of sailors who, despite getting fairly well beat up in the Southern Ocean, seem eager to get back in the mix. It brings to mind the old adage of,"...get right back on the horse" though given their experience one could certainly understand if they'd opted not to.

I'm intrigued by how people overcome and deal with the element of fear that ocean going in small sailing craft involves. There is the fear of the unknown, of course. Anything could happen. There is the fear of losing control. Certainly if you need a lesson on not being in control go sailing on the ocean. And then there is the pure adrenaline-charged fear that the immensity and power of the environment will often deliver directly. I'd put the guys in the story squarely in this camp...they were apparently battered by immense rogue waves.

But despite it all many of us get right back on the horse. Are we crazy or just looking for something that we can't get in our ordinary lives? Maybe a bit of both.