by Ray Jason
Embracing the "Old Ways"
My education as an ocean sailor was an exquisite blessing. That’s because in my early days we still learned The Old Ways. Nearly a thousand years of hard-earned wisdom was generously passed along to those who wished to wander The Wide Waters.
We could read the clouds and decipher the probable weather for the next few days. We carried barometers, and knew that a rapid decline meant a churning hell of wind and waves was headed our way.
Tragically, that ability to “read the signs” was vaporized nearly overnight as electronic devices slithered aboard almost every boat. Mariners were no longer watching the Sea and the Sky for tell-tale clues. Instead, they were staring at screens.
To go to sea, you no longer had to know how to fix your position by the stars or determine your depth by the color of the water. You just needed the latest electro-gadget.
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