Four people, three sails, 15 knots of wind from the west, a couple knots of current going east.
Why do we identify wind by where it comes from, but current by where it's going? Because you can see the water move, you can watch the bubbles and flotsam proceed on their journeys. With the wind, nothing is seen, and all that is felt is a blast from one direction, the source of the waves.
According to scientists, who probably figured this out with brain imaging machines, when humans use tools the tools become extensions of the body. I don't know if the imagers have asked the proper questions yet. How big can the tool be? How complicated? How many hours does it take to incorate the tool into the body?
I think my brain thinks that the boat is part of my body. When the boat is happy, I'm happy. When the boat starts bobbing, I feel a sort of tension and discomfort. Pitch, roll, yaw, and vibration hold a conversation, silent. To listen better I close my eyes.
After I feel the downward plunge of the boat with my calves, I wait in suspense to feel the boat knife through the next wave, wait for the smoothness or the vibrations, the pitch backward or the slow lift. But just as with a body, I feel what the boat will do next, just after I see it in the shape of the waves.
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July 21st, 2019. Hyannis, Ma.