Sailing as a meditation practice
The Many Doors of the Dharma
I was lucky to start sailing in school owned boats when growing up in Norfolk. As a teenager I explored the rivers and Broads, with wildlife like kingfishers, dragonflies and water voles to discover. As an adult with a challenging job, before I discovered meditation, I found taking off for a few days in a borrowed or hired sailing boat, allowed me to let go of difficulties at work, and allowed my brain to slow down.
Sangha sailing holidays give others a chance to share this experience. Each year we hire traditional sailing boats, with 4 people sailing and living for a week on each boat. Living mindfully with other practitioners, sharing the space on the boat, sharing the cooking and other tasks, helping each other to work the boat, one’s sense of being a separate self gets less. The wind is constantly changing due the effect of bushes and trees, and wind blowing along a river bends to cross banks at right angles, we have to be equally flexible! Although the Broads and rivers are mostly fresh water, they are affected by tides and river currents. We try to go with the tide whenever possible, when this is not possible we have to find the slowest current on the inside of bends. Being fully mindful of the present moment is essential and becomes a habit.
We travel relatively slowly, whilst stopping to enjoy places of beauty along the way. We can walk to the coast from Horsey Mere to feel the sand between our toes and paddle or swim in the sea. We have time to feel the sun on our faces and the wind on our skin. We notice the sound of the wind in the reeds and the different sound of wind in trees. Birds and animals are surprisingly approachable in a sailing boat. Our mental commentaries get less, and a sense of peace and happiness arises.
This is more than a holiday it also works like a retreat, connecting fully with the present moment and the natural world around us. There is a lot of evidence that re-connecting with nature is good for our mental and physical health. Sailing is only one way to re-connect with nature, gardening, walking, cycling, organised wildlife holidays and working in nature are other possibilities. Organisations such as Trees for Life and The Conservation Volunteers (formerly BTCV) offer working holidays on conservation projects. Working as a volunteer and staying for free on organic farms worldwide (‘WWOOFing’) is another good way to reconnect with nature and to meet like- minded friends.
To connect with the energy of the Sangha Sailing Holiday, please read a lovely poem by one of previous participants:
A poem by Cindi Lai, reflecting on the Sangha Sailing Holiday 2025
Green grasshopper hitching a ride on the boat through the low and ancient bridge at Potter
Heigham
Swallowtail caterpillar – carefully camouflaged – attempting to eat enough milk parsley to
transform into a chrysalis
Meadow Brown and Peacock Butterflies basking in the sunshine
Dragonflies and damselflies daintily passing us by over the reed beds
Wasps tempted by the sweet smell of homemade fruitcake
Mosquitoes tempted by the sweet smell of new flesh at dusk
Kingfishers dashing to their nests like a flash of blue
Bittern booming in the distance, Marsh harriers gliding over the reeds
Ducklings and cygnets dutifully paddling behind their respective mothers in a line
Geese noisily gossiping to each other
Reed warblers welcoming us with their song
Cows ruminating with their young calves
Dogs panting in the heat – thirsty from a long summer walk
Seal colony swimming out to sea, beckoning us to join their family out in the North Sea
Three experienced skippers patiently encouraging the novice sailors; attempting different
kinds of knots, working together to gently sail the three wooden boats from Hunter’s yard:
Lullaby, Lucent and Lustre through the Norfolk Broads.
