The Values of Learning from Water

In The Nordic Secret Lene Rachel Andersen and Tomas Bjorkman described education in the Scandinavian countries as focusing on "...the way that the individual matures and takes upon him or herself ever bigger personal responsibility towards family, friends, fellow citizens, society, humanity, our globe, and the global heritage of our species, while enjoying ever bigger personal, moral and existential freedoms.”

We believe learning based on water experiences is an effective way to achieve those broad and profound goals. Learning from water certainly includes all of the sciences, many of the arts and humanities, and a huge dose of personal development.

Boating is only one way to learn from water, but its benefits can be profound:

• Small boats help us learn “self-reliance, teamwork, forethought, honesty, endurance, tolerance, and modesty” (Community Boatbuilding Manual)

• Family time that is “simple in means, rich in ends” (Arne Naess)

• Skill development: safety and responsibility, boating handling, navigation, maintenance

• Environmental learning: weather, wildlife, geology, water science

• The profound experience of being in an environment that demands our full attention

Dan Segal wrote in WoodenBoat, March/April, 2009.

I remember, as a 12-year-old, setting out on a minuscule inland lake as owner and skipper of my own boat for the first time. Even though the boat was tiny and the pond was so small you could swim across and back without thinking twice about it, in my mind the adventure was the equivalent of a schooner starting across the Southern Ocean.

A long-time river guide on the Rio Grande at Taos said to me: "Being on or near moving water is a spiritual experience."

Bodies of water are prime places to do what Norwegians call friluftsliv. Frilftsliv translates as "free air life," but that doesn't capture its full meaning and benefit. Friluftsliv is as simple as just being outside, but the Norwegian philosopher Aarne Naess said its purpose is "wholeness and joy."