The seafarers who deserve respect…

A long conversation with my old friends John and Jane in Durban helped me articulate something that I was feeling while sailing across the Atlantic. I had plenty of time to ponder modern technology – and, of course, the flip side: having no technology at all. 

I thought a lot about the seafarers of old, setting out in their leaky wooden ships, bound for the unknown… The Christopher Columbuses and Vasco da Gamas, the Vikings, the Phoenicians… Not knowing where they were sailing to. Think of the bravery in that.

Looking around me, what do I see? A 21st century yacht, with electronic chart plotter and satellite communication system. And above all, the knowledge of exactly where I am headed. A short trip across the known world. The only challenge is doing it alone – and my ability to do it alone is itself largely the result of modern technology. 

It’s interesting, isn’t it: instead of judging things by how the world is now, lengthen your perspective to 400 years. That’s not very long in the history of the world, but it does put everything in context.