Environmental Talents

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by phiwum

A boat without a sail isn't a real boat, Bill. Better to sit and listen to an old salt like me.

Honestly, my experience is quite limited, but I've thought a bit about sailing on rivers. In some areas I sail, the tidal current can reach close to two knots. That doesn't sound like a lot, but you have to think a lot more in those conditions. A river has a steady current. The Mississippi flows at about a knot at the headwaters and more than 2.5 knots at New Orleans. I guess that 1 to 1.5 knots is pretty typical for a calm river.

Going upstream must require efficiency and planning. Knowing the behavior of the current and being able to read it from the landscape in unfamiliar areas must be a skill.

But, as I said, I don't know much and I didn't grow up on boats. I'm a very casual daysailer.

I didn't claim to be all that experienced with boats but even I could tell that being on a boat in a very large lake is different than being on a river. Therefore, I was compelled to concur with your assertion.

I'll let you argue with my stepfather about the definition of a boat. He grew up with the Ohio River literally in his back yard. The river bank was their backyard. He now lives along a smaller river in the area, The Where the Wabash and White Rivers fork together along the Indiana-Illinois border.