SPORTS January 30, 2006 Issue

SAILBOAT RACING—THE GREAT EQUALIZER

JOHN SPARKMAN

BY MOST STANDARDS, my 25-year sailing career would have been judged successful. Those adventurous globetrotting years included competition in sailing events around the world, a small part in a successful America's Cup defense, and a great job in the sailing industry. I worked hard and played hard.

But it wasn't until I was introduced to Christian Science that I fully understood that my real life-purpose was not to impress others with my accomplishments or human labors, but to express what I was learning about the nature of God, and myself as His reflection. The more I learned, the more satisfying all my endeavors became, including sailing. For me, it was a new take on success.

I remember racing one day on Narragansett Bay, off Rhode Island. The noise of luffing sails was deafening, and a dozen or so boats were all jockeying for the most favorable position on the starting line. Time was ticking away, and a faceless voice was counting down from ten in a measured one-second cadence. The voice droned, "... three ... two ... one ...," and the starting gun cracked. Sails were trimmed in tight, silencing the noise, and the soothing sound of bows cutting through the waves calmed the chaos. At times like this, the account of Jesus' rebuke to the wind and seas, "Peace, be still" (Mark 4:39), acquires special meaning.