Position: 20:00 LT 21˚13’S, 070°53’E
Date:Wednesday March 31, 2010

The best thing there is

I have often been asked ” What is it that makes sailing so wonderful? You are always underway and the only thing you see is water.” But water is not only water. I think that water is a very special element. It is a bare necessity for survival. You drink it, you pour it over your body or you lay yourself in it. If you cannot swim, you can take a ship, or you can wait until it freezes and do some ice skating or skiing. In early history man used the force of water to drive a water mill. Then they discovered that if you heat it long enough, it turns into steam containing even more power, to drive more powerful engines. What a tool, a kid can lift a ship all the way up in the locks, just by adding cup after cup into the bowl.
As peaceful as the water in a bath tub is, there are unknown powers hiding beneath. Currently the sea is calm and the 1000 tons of the Clipper cut easily through it.
Not so long ago we experienced how those same 1000 tons were thrown around as though it was a little toy boat in the bathtub of a child playing storm. The immense power enclosed can blow away entire beached and rocks. A streaming river dragging along everything that it finds in its way. What destructive force and the source of life at the same time.
Tonight we had a beautiful sun set again. What a beautiful sky and what beautiful colors.
If there were no H2O in the air it would hardly be as beautiful.
So, to return to the initial question. Yes, I do see a lot of water. Even in the sky. But there is so much more. Just take a look at a starry sky, any star stands for something making sailing enjoyable.
 
Andi Manser
Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam