boating, sailing, yachting, sailing

drinking beer

the best thing to do on a boat is PARTY of course. I bet you knew that you were going to get several answers like this one

Mine is a canal boat in the UK.
My favourite occupation while boating is locking my boat through the different levels safely.
It’s so satisfying to see husband drive her out of the lock and to close the gate behind him.
It takes a bit longer these days because I had to promise him I would stop jumping across the lock gates when I reach 70!

Just being on the water is enough for me.

There are many times I will just take the boat out and do a quick loop around the lake. Nothing wrong with that, especially now that we have ice on and it won’t be until April we have open water again.

fishing is something I use to occupy my hands while spending time on the water.

As soon as it has boating involved it is a favorite activity for me. Even working on them. Even bright work maintenance. Even servicing a Volvo in a narrow bilge.

I even work on other peoples boats 1) for money and 2) for fun. (Just don’t tell them or they will want a discount ‘cos I like it so much.)

Most especially I like teaching people about sailing and boating, any level and any age, and racing Herons locally in stove hot Competition with some of the most competitive and highly skilled sailors in Australia, and our kids. (10237 in that link is heavyweight national champion two years running, 10192 is his son who is this season often beating all of us – it’s great!!)

There is nothing like half dozing in the cockpit as the gloaming settles softly as a sigh across a mirror smooth anchorage. With a belly full of self caught fresh fish, calamari, crustacea and shellfish sipping a cold beer idly watching a Southern Osprey pick a fish out of the water 10 metres away, and later falling gently to sleep to the distant whale song as the Southern Right Whales sing their calves past. It’s a deeply spiritual experiance.

I am not too much of a puritan, as I own still one of my commercial boats from my commercial fishing days and do like sometimes to use obscene amounts of fossil fuels in pointless screaming about – I also quite enjoyed driving a 450 hp jet oyster boat at ridiculous speeds sliding it empty across the waves at 50+ knots – total adrenalin kick that was!!

Most of my best memories involve boats, from the earliest age. So I will indulge my other great activity and passion about boats – nautical writings, with a series of quotes and exerpts from some of the great authors and minds of ages past – and to prove that this is a very old question too…

Rat had it right you know in ‘Wind in the Willows”, I have loved this all my life and who has not heard this or at least a garbled version :-

“Do you know, I`ve never been in a boat before in all my life.”
“What?” cried the Rat, open-mouthed: “Never been in a-you never–well I–what have you been doing, then?”
“Is it so nice as all that?” asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in
his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat
sway lightly under him.
“Nice? It’s the only thing,” said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. “Believe me, my
young friend, there is nothing–absolute nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
Simply messing,” he went on dreamily: “messing–about–in–boats; messing about in boats–or with boats,” the
Rat went on composedly “In or out of ‘em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of
it. Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach
somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you’re always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you’ve done it there’s always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you’d
much better not. Look here! If you’ve really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river
together, and have a long day of it?”
-”The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame

I can’t forget this one :- “There is little man has made that approaches anything in nature, but a sailing ship does.
There is not much man has made that calls to all the best in him, but a sailing ship does.”
- Allan Villiers

This is my yardstick for the last few years :- “For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die.
So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed
with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze. ”
- Richard Bode

And this very succinct observation from 2200 years ago :- “He who would keep himself busy let him equip these two things: A ship and a woman. For no two things involve more business once you start to fit them out, nor are these two things ever sufficiently adorned, nor is any excess of adornment enough for them.”
– Plautus (200 B.C.)

Our family have always called engine powered craft “stink boats” :- “When you get on a motorboat, it’s because you want to go somewhere.
When you get on a sailboat, you are already there!”
-Terry Whyte

“Voyager upon life’s sea;
To yourself be true,
And what’er your lot may be,
Paddle your own canoe.”

Dr. Edward P. Philpots 1844

“How calm! How still! The only sound the dripping of the oar suspended.”

William Wordsworth

Those last two sort of speak for themselves.

Some really great answers given already so let’s just add…

Being on the water doing whatever and the opportunity to meet and get to know so many great people. It’s truly great getting to know so many wonderful folks that end up being friends for life.