The conundrum

My eldest daughter, Kristin, has a thing about noise, specifically man-made machine-type white noise, the type of which seems to proliferate with the advance of technology. While I, ever the technocrat, adore all things technologically cool, it occurred to me this weekend as Tim pulled the fuel lever to kill the engine that she may have something there. The silence enveloped me in the cockpit, punctuated only by the breeze, the bow wave, and the occasional seagull and I found myself sighing with relief. So much so, that when we neared "Party Beach", a strip of sand that hosts 3 or 4 dozen power boats each weekend, and began to play chicken with said bearers of drunken party-goers, I found myself bearing away just enough to head out to quieter waters at the roaring speed of about 1 knot. This may seem strange for the rider of the world's fastest production motorcycle and is, in fact, a conundrum I have been unable to answer yet when asked (and it happens often). There is something so primitively basic about the need for peace and quiet: thoughts need time to dance and blend without interruption, in order to culminate in those rare and wonderful epiphanies we sailors are famous for.

And yet...we packed up the bikes tonight to head home and as soon as I twisted the throttle...I guess I have a need for speed sometimes as well. I guess I'll have to ponder it a little longer next time on the boat. If those power boaters will just leave me alone long enough to think, that is.