"In a world in which we are used to traveling at truly high speed, why is it so exciting to go 8 knots in a 35-foot schooner? Maybe it’s because it’s nearly double her average speed. Maybe it’s because if you sit to leeward you’re really close to that stream of bubbles hissing down the side and can sense the power transferred from wind force to forward motion by a complex array of wooden construction, spars, cordage, and sails- Motion that raises a beautifully curved quarterwave right at your shoulder and sends it out across the water to make known a vessel’s passing."