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The Case for the Steering Oar

My first experience with a steering oar was not auspicious. In Coast Guard boot camp I managed to talk my way into steering one of the big whaleboats used for training and racing. We must have had all the strong guys on one side as my best effort was not enough to prevent ramming one of the other boats; causing an automatic disqualification and my demotion to rowing guy. It took quite a few years before I realized that a steering oar is much more than a rudder. If I had used the oar function I could have avoided the collision.

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The Zen of Proa

When you stop to think of it, sailing and sailboats are a rather peculiar passion, one which non-sailors rarely understand. We are often asked: why sails; why do we not simply use an outboard? We have, of course, quite a number of personal responses, which are essentially statements that we enjoy it. But beneath that lies another, broader truth: within many hobbies such as sailing lie important reservoirs of alternative knowledge our culture, usually for no expressed reason, feels necessary to keep at hand, even in the absence of obvious purpose.

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