The Psychology of Voyaging

Image borrowed from Cruising Outpost, now again Lats & Atts

I wrote a blog post some time ago which caused multiple friends to write to me how much they enjoyed reading it. It has to do with the loss of ambition, and replacement of ambition with contentment, especially as it relates to sailing but also in general. I have often examined the psychology of different aspects of sailing and voyaging, and I wonder if it’s a topic that should be explored more deeply.

I’m not a psychologist, but I could imagine examining challenging thoughts from a sailing perspective. Some topics that I have already explored in my writings include:

• Why children stop sailing during junior sailing programmes
• Why racing destroys sailing for some people
• What gives winners an edge in racing
• How does the mindset of a solo distance sailor adapt
• How do novice sailors overcome their fear of crossing oceans
• Why women don’t take the helm often enough
• Mind training for racing sailors
• The “what if” exercise for distance sailors – a lesson from astronauts
• The psychology of seasickness
• The effects of boredom and fatigue on awareness
• The stress of confinement and isolation on long journeys
• The difference in mindset between racers and cruisers
• The onset of contentment in cruising
• The quest for adventure by sailing
• The balance between fear and boredom
• The beneficial effects of connection with nature
• The calming effect of blue water
• The moral aspects of environmental preservation
• The trust in your boat and your partner when times are tough
• Why some people buy a boat and never leave the dock
• Why other people buy a boat and sail off never having sailed before

These are all topics I'd love to explore with a psychologist. That psychologist or psychoanalyst would have to be an experienced sailor, I imagine.

I did a quick check online for material that may have been written on the subject. I tracked down a book on remaining competitive when sailing dinghies. Another titled The Mind of the Sailor: An Exploration of the Human Stories Behind Adventures and Misadventures at Sea.  That sounds interesting but not readily available. An older title from 1988 The Psychology of Sailing: The Sea's Effects on Mind and Body could yield some good thoughts. I managed to track it down, and I'm reading it now, but it's not where my head was. I'll just have to keep thinking about this all and exploring it on my own.