The spartan comfort of a cruising dinghy runs contrary to the prevailing trend in contemporary yachting towards the sybaritic and showy. Yachts grow larger and ever more luxurious by the day. Hot and cold running water is now normal, as well as a fridge and central heating. The traditional chart table has become a sophisticated ‘nav station’ equipped with a vast array of electronic instruments. Typical on-deck systems include a powered anchor winch and sophisticated sail-handling equipment. As the sails are functionally unnecessary to propel a modern yacht, they are generally used only in open waters. Close-quarter manoeuvres are always done under power.
Dinghy cruising is a diametrically different attitude to sailing, a delight in simplicity and minimalism. It is the same sensibility that attracts fell-walkers and climbers into the upland landscape on foot. A powerful 4x4 would be much more comfortable, but the experience of wild country is heightened if you only take the minimum of simple gear with you. The sea is the last great wilderness on Earth, a place of escape from the stress of modern life. To go out onto it in a small open boat is to experience all its beauty and splendor in the most direct and powerful way.
If dinghy cruising can be compared to wild camping, yachting is like caravanning – the urge to go into the natural environment, taking all the comforts of home with you. There is nothing wrong with caravanning, but it appeals to a different sort of person. To cruise in a dinghy is to confront many conventional assumptions about the best route to contentment in life. A cabin yacht displays status and success, and this is important to many people. The owner of a cruising dinghy does not cut the same social dash, but the modesty and simplicity of dinghy cruising brings its own particular rewards.
