Over the last few months, Emelie and I have embarked on a new adventure: learning to sail. It started with finding a sailing club willing to welcome novices, registering as temporary members, and bravely showing up each Sunday hoping to be taken aboard. Taking turns week by week, we’ve gradually moved from awkward beginners to slightly less awkward novices.
While we can’t effectively record video when things are hectic on the water, there are occasional moments when there is plenty of crew, so I put together a short video with some of the footage we managed to capture. Thank you to the generous skippers who have taken us out so far.
My most recent trip out was particularly memorable. With just the skipper and me on his small vessel, we navigated a range of conditions from dead calm to exhilarating 20-knot winds. Experiencing maneuvers both at the helm and rigging gave me a growing appreciation of sailing’s intricacies. Holding our heading purely by feel, feeling the wind and water communicate through the tiller and the backrest, was an almost meditative experience—even though our top speed was only 6.2 knots, the sensation of being “in the groove” was thrilling, intensified by the steep angle of the boat heeling as I nailed our angle-to-wind and the sails filled.
Why Sailing?
People have asked why we would choose sailing over flying for our upcoming family adventure. Sailing aligns beautifully with the ethos of our project, Living More with Less. Our goal is to travel sustainably, minimizing environmental impact while fostering deeper connections with communities we visit along the way. Sailing not only significantly reduces our carbon footprint, especially if considering additional local travel between minor destinations, but also slows us down enough to genuinely experience and appreciate the journey itself. Instead of rapidly jumping from one location to another, sailing compels us to embrace patience, reflection, and simplicity, values at the heart of our project.
The Challenge of Sailing with Children
Despite our enthusiasm, we recognize the challenges ahead, especially in securing crew positions aboard vessels willing to accommodate a family. Experienced sailors seeking crew opportunities vastly outnumber available positions on the apps and social media groups I have been looking through, making our goal even more ambitious. Many skippers understandably prefer experienced, all adult crew, with women getting the most opportunities, particularly on longer journeys. This adds another layer of complexity to our preparations—we must not only build our skills and confidence but also convince a skipper of our reliability and resilience as a family.
Nevertheless, each step we take into sailing reinforces our commitment to this mode of travel. It encapsulates our broader aspiration: demonstrating a life of intentional simplicity and impactful generosity, as we navigate toward a more connected, meaningful existence.
At some point soon we will also take Adam and Dani out on a sailing dinghy so we can all take a turn at the tiller and trimming the sails, experience a capsize and righting the vessel again, building greater confidence and understanding of the principles, as well as being a fun activity in its own right.
We’re optimistic and motivated, knowing every nautical mile will bring valuable lessons and stories worth sharing.
Stay tuned as we navigate this journey, one wave at a time.
