Am I the only one who talks to his boat?

[Marin]

Ever listen to a glacier or just the quiet in a small cove.

The sounds a glacier makes are among the most impressive I have ever heard. I don't mean the sound of calving-- I've only seen that from the Beaver so couldn't hear anything but the engine. But just standing next to a glacier and hearing it creak and groan and occasionally put out a deep rumble. Makes you realize how insignificant man is in the face of nature.

 

[sunchaser]

Long before the internet and emoticons appeared ( yes, those days did exist and quite nicely too), humans read and rewarded greatly authors who could articulate their protagonists feelings and statements to the happenings of the ships and animals that ply the seas. Great reads on this subject come from authors we are all familiar with since grade school such as Joseph Conrad, Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway and Jules Verne. Zane Grey wrote some marvelous stories about his yachting days aboard the Zaca. Captain Bligh and his crew talked to the sea and their small boat routinely as they found their way back to civilization after being booted off the Bounty, or so their epic written journals say.

Like being a Priest, Medicine Man or Mullah when talking to their deity, talking and listening to the spirits of the ships and animals of the sea is part of the human fabric, has been since the early Greeks started writing on this subject. Ignore these voices and discussions at your own peril so say some with Menses IQs.

As we have all known for years, Marin's Bruce talked him into becoming a door stop, that is one smart hunk of metal.

 

[skipperdude]

The sounds a glacier makes are among the most impressive I have ever heard. I don't mean the sound of calving-- I've only seen that from the Beaver so couldn't hear anything but the engine. But just standing next to a glacier and hearing it creak and groan and occasionally put out a deep rumble. Makes you realize how insignificant man is in the face of nature.

Even when they are not rumbling the sound of the ice tinkeling as it melts and bobs around is something to hear.

Ever hear an orca surface and take a breath?
The sound travels forever.

Have you heard an otter cracking a shell on it's chest

It took me a while to realize just what I was hearing.

I would have missed it if the stupid electronic noise maker was blaring away.

Slow down turn off the noise. Listen.

Can you hear it?

SD

 

[Marin]

Ever hear an orca surface and take a breath?
The sound travels forever.

This is one of the benefits of halibut fishing. We drift fish bouncing the bait off the bottom in 200-400 feet of water. The engine is off except when we start up to reposition ourselves for the next drift. Up the north end of Vancouver Island there is relatively little boat traffic and just the occasional float plane. So most of the time you're fishing in silence. Its amazing how much noise a simple tide rip can make. The first time you hear it, it's almost scary it's so noisy.

And yes, a whale surfacing is a really cool sound.

 

[jeffnick]

Ahah. To listen and ponder.

 

[JAT]

I agree with that part of it. Ignore or abuse any machine and it will "get even with you" by crapping out. But not because it has any sort of soul. That's just silly in my opinion. But because like any machine, it will break if you don't take care of it. Believing that an inanimate collection of fiberglass, wood, and metal has a "soul" and has "feeeeelings," is no different than thinking the same thing about dirt. Maintaining and taking care of a boat so that it will run right is one thing. Doing it because you think it acually cares is quite another.

I"ve also gotten oustanding service from a number of different horses in years past. I did talk to them.

Well, we all are entitled to our opinions... I believe that my boat responds to her care and maintenance... But hey...that is just my feeling...

I'm not particularly "ethereal"...but I think that what we often consider "inanimate object" to have feelings, a soul or karma...and rightly so. Maybe its superstition or presumptuous thought...but it works for me.

I guess its "different strokes for different folks"....

 

[Bugmon]

Let He / She, who has never swore at his boat ( talked to it) at some juncture - raise his hand now .
... and I will call you a liar.