Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Wine Dark Sea



One of the most gratifying things about this month's group writing project Top Sailing Destination on the Planet is that many of the contributions have been by bloggers from whom I hadn't heard before. Most of the usual suspects have been absent without leave this month, but the newcomers have filled the gap admirably.

Today we have a post from another first-timer whose blog isn't even a month old yet. And he's another "senior" Laser sailor, to boot. The author of Reaching Broadly sails out of the Abu Dhabi Sailing Club. I've never sailed in the Middle East but rumor has it that the Laser Masters Worlds will be in that part of the world next year, so I might have to follow his blog to pick up some tips. I did like his story about how on hot days (and I guess that means really really hot in Abu Dhabi) you have to hose the Laser down after you take the cover off so that you can touch the spars!

Our friend's top destination is The Wine-dark sea. I am sure that all my readers know that the phrase "Wine Dark Sea" first appeared in Homer's Iliad in the the scene where the grieving Achilles looks out to sea just after the funeral of his beloved Patroclus. But, in his post, the Broad Reacher is referring to the waters around the Dodecanese islands, the northern part of the Croatian coast and Turkey around Gocek which he would like to explore with his friends from the Abu Dhabi Sailing Club.

So now it's time for YOU to tell us about YOUR Top Sailing Destination on the Planet.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Drifting along the shore on a beautiful summer morning, watching the wildlife on shore. Planing across a mile of bright sunny water on a breezy afternoon. Cruising around a peaceful inlet as the sun sets behind the pines. The New Meadows River off Casco Bay in Maine is the best spot to sail in the world.

With your boat, be it Laser or Sonar just in front of the house, it's only a couple of minutes to be afloat whenever the mood takes you. 1 mile across and 3 miles from the open bay, there are many smaller inlets and islands to explore. Seals can be seen basking on rocky ledges when the tide goes out. Ospreys and Eagles are often seen sitting watching for prey and their babies can be heard calling for food.

If you feel peckish yourself, Cundys Harbour is on the other side of the river where Holbrooks can supply you with a drink, ice cream, or a lovely lobster roll while you sit on their pier amongst the lobster boats as the sun goes down.


Each Sunday all the local sailboats have a handicap race around the buoys with everything from an Optimist to a Tartan 38. The Excuses Tea follows as competitors sit on our deck, overlooking the river while drinking tea or lemonade and cookies. The results are read out and excuses start to flow with many stories about what might have been if only!
What could be better?
Diabolo214

Sam Chapin said...

I like the Wine-dark sea. Hard to leave comments there... another GOOD for Tillermnan.

Keep Reaching said...

Thanks, I am new to blogging, so I may not have all the settings right - I just fiddled with the Post Settings and hope it is easier now.

Chris Partridge said...

Of course, Homer called the sea 'wine-dark' because there was no word for blue in Ancient Greek. They had to call the sky 'the bronze'.
I know this from watching QI on the telly.

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