on being a sailor

"And if a man is a born sailor, and has gone to the school of the sea, never in all his life can he get away from the sea again. The salt of it is in his bones as well as his nostrils, and the sea will call to him until he dies."
                                Jack London

It's fruitful to read this kind of narrative of only to break away the calcification of the soul that develops from exposure to modern sailing culture, especially via Facebook and YouTube. The you will see "sailors" battling the seas on so called "small boats" of fifty feet or more with every kind of electronic device and bucket loads of cash behind them. 
The dearth of literature about hard men sailing boats less than 25 feet on tight budgets means that the deluge of overinflated ego's afloat hog the limelight and become normal. 
Who cannot be heartened by the antics of the ageing Swede Sven Yrvind or Val Howell's solo transAtlantic race in a pokey Folkboat, or Bill Tilman's yacht based climbing expeditions in remote locations? Understated stories of slightly mad men engaging in the pursuit of hardship under sail. Contrast this with the modern day "sailors" who seek fame, profit and the pursuit of followers above all else. 

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