Flowing tale of a poet in a boat

Time on the Ocean: A voyage from Cape Horn to Cape Hope

SEAFARERS are a superstitious bunch. Theo Dorgan’s sailing trip round Cape Horn to Cape Town began at a port in Chile, on a Friday. You’re not supposed to set sail on a Friday.

“I never in my life met a deep-water sailor who isn’t intensely superstitious,” says Dorgan. “If you ever want a box in the mouth, go out on deck in a force nine and start whistling. People will queue up to give you a dig: ‘We’ve got more than enough wind. Thank you’. I would always pour a drink over the stern, for Poseidon, as a libation. We carry all the evolution of the human mind inside ourselves. The reptile brain, which is preternaturally connected to the world – before conscious thought ever even evolved – has this sense that everything is in touch with everything. A lot of layers get stripped away out at sea.