COMMENT
SHOULDN’T WE ALL BE GETTING OFF OUR PHONES WHEN AT SEA? SKIP MAKES THE CASE
The June issue article (‘Stay Connected’, ARC survey results on communication at sea) was timely as I need to upgrade the antiquated Iridium system on the original Pelagic (currently in Greenland). Based on feedback from the ARC, this was a superbly informative technical piece.
But the lead photo of the young sailor in the cockpit staring into his mobile phone provided me with an open goal for what can be construed as the sad, inevitable story of how we curmudgeons like to continually lament, ‘Well, that’s just the way it has all gone...’ As sure as an incoming tide is unstoppable, more sophisticated onboard communications are inevitable and I’m in no way advocating turning back the clock. However, read on…
I’m sure there must be at least one other reader who, on seeing that picture, said to themselves: ‘But what about that magnificent sunset? Surely better to stare into?’ Possibly this young man had recently trekked to both poles and climbed the seven summits and he was on a sailing holiday to recover, in which case I’d let him off the hook. But I couldn’t resist, with no disrespect, in thinking, ‘Why don’t you go play outside, son?’
Although author Toby Hodges does make the point that some of us still relish the idea of turning off the comms when we go sailing, the philosophical argument of such a dilemma falls to each individual. Well, someone needs to push back (I welcome plenty of letters backing me up, please) as counterbalance to trends that are clearly unstoppable, but can be mitigated and in this case by review of how we spend our time at sea.
So I will propose a separation of comms on yachts for utility and discourage comms on yachts for amusement. You’d be a fool not to have the latest affordable comms, not least for basic safety considerations. But in my view it should all end there.
Let’s face it, constant communication has become an addiction. This is obvious whenever we arrive back to mobile coverage along the coast: the phones come to life and instead of savouring those final days or moments up to making the dock, your senses are sadly turned off to wind, sea and current and that delightful motion they all bring to the vessel. Why distract yourself from those simple pleasures?
We all default to our phones when there is a signal. Why? Because we can. But I’d hazard a guess that when the Whatsapps, Instagrams and emails start cascading to your device there will be some welcome news from family and love
