First, before I talk about something I think is important right now, here’s another little sailing clip I found to set the scene. I was around 15 in this one (between NZ and various parts of French Polynesia):
“Heave to” is a term used in sailing.
This is when you fix the helm and sails, so you don’t have to steer the boat. ..
You slow, or stop any forward motion, but you do get a break from steering, which could be particularly relevant in heavy weather.
Sometimes the “heave to” is necessary.
A lot of times though, it’s just tempting. Most of the time, we can (and need to) face the weather and still steer the boat.*
While it might seem like a good idea under the current circumstances to pause all forward motion and watch a lot of Netflix, at some point we still have to come back up top and face the weather.
In crazy weather if we can maintain some level of forward motion towards our goals, it’s a great way to prove to ourselves that we still have agency, regardless of the conditions.
*check out up to the 0:14sec mark in the clip. This was 40-60kt tailwinds – with zero sail area up, the boat was still doing 20+kts down the faces of the waves. The autopilot can’t steer in this, so it requires someone on the wheel 24/7.
