Cruising and racing.

[Ozzie]

http://smallcraftadvisor.com/message-bo ... abed42d2e1

I thought you all may enjoy the above link which comes from some browsing on Small Craft Advisor. I'm not a member there, the only forum I'm on is this one, but I find some interesting reading there.

Absolutely not knocking racers , I enjoy many other aspects of boating as well as sailing , such as kayaking and fishing , which I also share with my wife and family but this thread articulated my own philosophy on sailing particularly well.

I couple of quotes


I think that the competition gene can be very active in many but at the end, we all love to sail for our own reasons.
I am not a racer at all. I just love to sail and I even love ghosting along the shores and creeping into narrow channels where the deep keels never go.
I am perfectly happy at about three knots!


And


I have a Tee Shirt from Good Old Boat that reads "Are we there yet? Who cares?" This is my philosophy completely. I read that if you are in a power boat you are always thinking of when you will get "there". In a sailboat you are already "there".
I am not a racer at all. I just love to sail

[Mark]

Touche Ozzie, my exact sentiments
Cheers
Mark

[Dr. Peter]

I am a racer, but not in 563s. I am the foredeck come cockpit hand and even when cruising I like to get the best from the sails. I think the number one difference between racing and cruising is that racers - race! Their head is in race mode. Whenever my "racing' skipper starts to wander. I say, "get your head in the boat. Let's race!" Racer's don't switch off. We are always tweaking.

When I cruise my 563 I keep my approach much more relaxed (well I do try) and my rig is very simple and does not respond to tweaking. There is little point.

Cruising and racing are different mindsets and different rigsets and all are equally acceptable. What ever rocks your world.