The Reason

The ancient Romans left dry land and boarded ships for two primary public purposes – commerce and conquer. This is understandable: vessels were hard to build, challenging to steer, and expensive to maintain. And although we can speculate that some of them – as the poet Catullus – may have also pursued recreational activities at sea, they went mostly unrecorded.

In Europe, private boating became a sought-after upper-class pastime in 17th-century Netherlands – where along with policing illegal waterways activity, yachts started welcoming merchant boats back home – and subsequently rose to further popularity in the British Isles, upon the return of King Charles II from his Dutch exile. Not long after, the first yacht club in the world was founded in Ireland.

Many different aims – such as for instance environmental, safety, or exploratory – fuel today’s navigation.

When we reflect upon the motives that drive our human actions, in many cases they are easy to discern. But at times we may find ourselves on difficult journeys, where we struggle to explain, or accept the events unfolding in our lives and in front of us. In these cases, could optimism be our reason?