A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to go sailing with some friends. As I haven't done this activity before, I was actually looking forward to it. However, by the end of the day, I realised that this activity is actually not for me.
See, it was a very mental thing. One Saturday, we set off for Werder, where the boat was located. We brought some food, and our plan was to sail in Großer Zernsee as well as in Kleiner Zernsee, two lakes on the Havel River. I have no clue about sailing, and my swimming skills are rusty, but in any case, the water wasn't really my worry.
Rather, it was the wind. See, the boat didn't have a working engine. And the wind wasn't that strong. The weak wind was pushing us toward our destination, but it was pushing against us on our way back. There were times when the wind was indeed strong, and that I must say, was fun. We had to do this zig-zag motion in order to sail against the wind, but honestly speaking, the most tense moments were when the wind wasn't blowing at all. In fact, we had to paddle at some point, in order to reach the port and park the boat at the end.
So I later evaluated why I didn't enjoy the activity. It's most probably because I felt powerless. If a train breaks down in the middle of nowhere, I could get out of the train and just walk. If a plane breaks down during flight, I probably would be in a state of shock that I wouldn't have time to think about it, and I'll be dead soon. But if a boat doesn't move in the middle of the lake because there is no wind, then the sight of the shore being so close and yet also so far kills you. Not to mention the fact that there are plenty of other boats zooming past you with engines, while you're stranded in the middle of the lake.
In the end, I was miserable. I hated the mental aspect of this activity. I hated that I couldn't simply stop what I was doing and walk away from it. So I might not find myself sailing again any time soon. But at least I learned something new about myself.
