The Force of Sailing
Volume II Issue 1
One of the many positive aspects I have in my sailing career is to teach others how to sail. In addition to being a USCG Licensed Master and President of Shardana Sailing Charters, I am the head sailing instructor at The Sailing School, located in Riverside, NJ. Regardless of whether I am teaching a class or providing a captained sailing charter I always take pleasure to teach my clients a little bit about how to sail a sailboat. The central theme to sail a sailboat is “Use the Force”-- like in the Star Wars movies or “Focus your Chi” -- when practicing martial arts. Sailors sometimes call this experience “sailing in the groove”.
What does using the “Force” have to do with operating a sailboat you might ask? The answer is “Everything”. Operating a sailboat is both an art and a science. So a sailor must have a balance of feeling and analysis. This is what we call “The Force of Sailing”. When we have the right balance of feeling and analysis we experience a situational awareness and become one with the boat and the sea. I feel exhilarated when the Force is with me when sailing. Fortunately, I feel the Force almost all the time when I sail. That is why I sail! The experience of this feeling is unique to each individual because each person is unique. Sailing brings out the feeling in that individual in their own unique way.
Picture taken by Captain Andrew Seligman on one of his Captained Sailing Charters
Shardana Sailing Charters isn’t about me or my business partner Davis. Shardana Sailing Charters is about you. It is about bringing out the Force in you and being one with your surroundings, nature and the Chesapeake Bay. S/V Shardana’s sole purpose is for you to be one with the Force so you can take pleasure in Sailing Your Story. You can participate in sailing Shardana as much as you like or you can just lounge in our cockpit allowing us to sail the yacht for you. What do you want your Force to feel like? What will be your sailing story? Feel free to post in the comment section.
Here's to smooth sailin’ in 2018
Captain Andrew Seligman, President