Landlubber

Three rough rides on the sea let me know I was a landlubber. At one time, I had thought that sailing as a hobby would be something I might pursue. The romance of the sea as conveyed via books, photos, films, smells, the beach, vistas of and from the ocean - everything about the sea is compelling to me, except the experience of actually being on the water. I was going to qualify that by adding "especially when it's rough", but at this point, apprehension of seasickness and its extremely unpleasant queasiness gives me cause to approach every nautical trip with trepidation. Of course, the world abounds with suggestions for prevention and cure but once you have motion sickness, suggestions of the well-intended around you just add insult to injury. I have been OK, however, on ferry and riverboat rides around the city. Distraction can be helpful and the vistas around the island of Manhattan are spectacular enough to keep one's mind off any pitch, roll or yaw. This photo was taken of lower Manhattan from a river boat. The highly reflective, rounded building just left of center in the photo is 17 State Street, about which I have previously posted - click here. I love the quote from a story by Isaac Asimov. In it there is an anecdote about a seasick passenger whom a steward assures "nobody ever dies from seasickness." The passenger responds "For Heaven's sake, don't say that. It's only the hope of dying that's keeping me alive.'"

A note about the word landlubber - I misunderstood the derivation of this word, thinking the word lubber a play on lover. Lubber dates back to the 1300s and means a clumsy person. Landlubber dates back to 1690 and refers to an unseasoned sailor or someone unfamiliar with the sea and is a sailor's term of contempt for a landsman. I'm OK with the insult :)