by Ray Jason
Recently,
when sorting through some
mementos, I encountered three
short quotations
that had helped launch the Sea Gypsy decades
of my life. It was startling to discover how
much power and enchantment they still possessed. Allow
me to share them with you.
“...whenever
it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul … I account it high time
to get myself to sea as soon as I can.”
Herman
Melville
“I
must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky,
And
all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by.”
John
Masefield
“There’s
a race of men that don’t fit in,
A
race that can’t sit still;
So
they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And
they roam the world at will.”
Robert
Service
That
final quotation is particularly important to the subject of this
essay. When I first began to wander the Wide Waters, it was not
because I felt forced to do so. It was because I chose to do so.
But
in today’s society, there is a large segment of the population that
is scorned with such venom, that I believe that their best strategy
is to escape from the abuse that is heaped upon them in the
terrestrial world. I urge them to revitalize their lives with
freedom, substance and adventure by heading out to Sea.
Who am I referring to? You
might have already correctly guessed. It is young,
white, straight males. I
am not recommending that they join a navy or a merchant marine, but
that they sail away from the growing
and darkening madness in
their own little freedom ship. It is much easier and cheaper than
you might think and I’ll explain
all of that later in this essay.
The
Problem
Our
world is now so profoundly upside down, that the men who are
supposedly basking in White Privilege, are, in fact, the only
unprivileged group in our society. Here is the reality.
Black Power is applauded. Gay Pride is trumpeted. Female
Empowerment is enshrined. La Raza is muy bueno. The Indigenous are
revered. And Trans “persons” are heroic. But if you advocate
for white, straight men, you are immediately a bigot or a racist or a
Nazi, and usually all of the above.
When
men are accused of Toxic Masculinity that is usually code for “men
who are not among the various victim groups – in other words -
white men.” They do indeed suffer from toxicity, but it is on the
receiving end.
98%
of deaths in war are men. Only boys have to register for the draft.
93% of on-the-job fatalities are to males. On average, men live 5
years less than women. 80% of suicides are committed by men or boys.
Mothers get sole custody of the children 83% of the time. In the
USA there are 7 federal agencies dedicated to women’s health
issues. There are 0 such agencies for men.
As
bad as it is in the larger society, it is far worse in our colleges
and universities. The campus
has become a combat zone with white guys in the cross-hairs. It
is so
extreme, that there are now over 2 million more female than male
students in so-called higher education.
This
makes sense. After all, who
wants to attend classes based on White Male
Guilt or
the Evil Patriarchy. A
student can find plenty of
courses on Black Power,
Gender Studies, and
LGBTQ Issues. But
if you ask if there is a Men’s Issues class, you will be vilified
and met by frothing protesters trying to run you off the campus.
Fortunately,
there is a humorous upside to this tragic situation. Even though you
might not achieve a degree in Feminist
Geology, you will not be saddled with enough student loan debt to
make you a wage slave to the System
for the rest of your life.
If
a young man turns to entertainment for escape from this emotional
bludgeoning, what does he find? Movies, television, advertising
and the internet are filled with messaging that describes
white guys as either soy boys or over-the-top Neanderthal alphas.
There is never a depiction of a bright, happy, fit, sensible young
white man who is an asset to his friends and
community.
But
as dire as this whole situation seems, I have an answer. And it is a
good one. Come with me, let me help you escape.
The
Solution
Don’t
walk away from this madness. Don’t even run away from it.
Instead, you should sail away
from this
lunacy and rediscover your self-worth. Escape from the pathological
ugliness that the post-modern West hammers you with, and explore the
world on your very own handsome, self-reliant sailing home. The sea
gypsy life provides more freedom and security than any style of
living on our planet.
Your
vessel is a complete self-supporting
system. Your power comes from solar panels and a wind generator.
Your sails are your primary propulsion, but you have a sturdy diesel
engine for when it is needed. A
compact water-maker converts sea water into drinking water, plus you
can also catch
rainwater to keep your tanks full.
You
have the mobility of a backpacker, but with the creature comforts of
a bachelor apartment. Your
library includes both
actual books
and Kindle titles.
You have a big stash of movies on an external hard drive that you
play on your laptop. Your sound system is compact but righteous.
Your
little ship has plenty of
food on-board from your last port. And
you also have
a back-up stash of long-life foods from prepper outlets.
You’ve been wisely
buying your alcohol
economically at duty-free
stores in various ports. And
the beer is always cold
in your 12 volt fridge.
There
are reasonably-priced radios on-board that you can use to monitor the
world or communicate with it. Your laptop holds nautical charts for
the entire planet in electronic form. You have them backed up on a
memory stick, and you also have sufficient paper charts should the
satellites go down. You can
choose whether you want a security profile that is minimal or
full-Rambo.
*******
Tactics
So
how do you get from where you are now, in a world that belittles you
and makes your days
miserable, to a lifestyle full of travel and adventure, where you are
the master of your own destiny? Would you not gladly trade your
cubicle or check-out counter, for a job
that actually makes or fixes
something, and where you are the boss?
It
is easier and cheaper than you think. I should know, since I have
not lived ashore since 1992. Here are a few photos of my strong and
handsome ship/home.
Let’s
begin. You need an ocean-capable sailboat and a trade that can be
performed in many places. If you live near the open sea, you can
pursue both of these simultaneously. If you live inland, you can
learn your portable skill first and then head for the coast.
Here
are some trades that are valued in any port on the planet. Welding,
diesel mechanics, outboard motor specialists, refrigeration repair,
marine electronics, radio technicians, sewing
experts for canvas projects
such as awnings and sail
repair, woodworking,
fiberglass repair, scuba diving to clean boat bottoms, electricians,
inflatable dinghy repairmen,
plumbers and computer geeks.
All
of these skills can be learned fairly swiftly, and
relatively inexpensively. If it is on-the-job training, you actually
get paid to master the craft. If it is through a trade school, you
can work at a
“get by” job while learning the specialty
that will grant you amazing independence.
The
basic tools for all of these skills will easily fit aboard a
sailboat. Show up in any
anchorage in the world with one
of these trades,
and you will be hired and
respected. Incidentally,
nobody will be prowling the waterfront, desperately searching for
hedge fund managers!
Meanwhile,
as you are mastering a new craft,
you can also be learning basic sailing. Go down to a local marina
and present yourself to some owners. You will usually find folks
who are willing to exchange boat maintenance work for sailing
lessons.
Plus,
many communities have free
or low-cost sailing
instruction programs. Yacht
clubs are always needing crew for their racing programs. Plus,
libraries are full of both how-to books and inspirational books
filled with great sailing stories. I’d particularly recommend
Tales of a Sea Gypsy
… because I wrote it. Here
is the Amazon link.
And
the internet is a great
source of extremely helpful
information via sailing blogs and Youtube videos.
After
you have learned to sail, and you
have acquired a trade that
is valued anywhere in the world, it is time to find your own dream
boat. You will have been
accumulating information on the type you want and what you can
afford. They are insanely cheap compared to houses, and they don’t
tie you down - they liberate you.
Being
young and skilled and motivated, you can find a neglected boat at
a great price that you can live aboard as you fix her
up. There are tens of thousands of orphan boats scattered about the
planet
just waiting for
someone to return them to beautiful,
seaworthy condition. And
after a hurricane, when
the insurance adjusters have written them off, you can discover
astonishing bargains.
To
whet your appetite, go to www.yachtworld.com
and then go to the used boat section and type in sailboats under
$20,000. You
will be stunned by the incredible
listings that appear.
Conclusion
Stop
battling the System! It is too massive. It is too uncaring. It
will crush you without remorse. Instead, acquire a skill that is
useful and noble and in-demand. Learn to sail, and find yourself a
modest but sturdy vessel.
Then
come join our worldwide sea
gypsy tribe. You will be welcomed. And amazingly enough, we are
mostly white and straight … and damned fine people!