Our ambition is to send you away in a positive and receptive state of mind, ready to respond to the wider world in a constructive way. 

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The rhythms of the SNARK

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Life aboard Snark follows the rhythms of the world. 

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The changing seasons dictate the length of the day and bring dynamic weather in changing proportions, influencing when and where we can sail and the activities we can offer. They bring changes to the landscape, particularly the hills and woods of our West Country base, and the wildlife we share the seas with, and they bring different foods that directly influence the menus we offer onboard.

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Each day the tide rises and falls, and each month, the height of the tides changes with the waxing and waning of the moon. The tidal currents ebb and flow at different times and rates, opening up different destinations and directions of travel.

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The wind in our sails oscillates and the weather changes as the eddies and waves of the atmosphere roll across the oceans, providing challenges and opportunities in equal measure.

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Waves rise and fall in response to the wind, time and tide. They can be soothing or daunting and will influence how we sail and where and when we go. The mood of the sea changes with every influence, its colour, texture, shape, and behaviour are a direct reflection of the world above.

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Some rhythms we can predict years in advance, others only hours ahead. We'll help you understand and feel their influences and, in doing so, help you share our sense of being in the world.

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Our itineraries seek to be in harmony, rather than fight these rhythms. Although planned ahead, they will evolve depending on the immediate circumstances.

 

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The naming of the SNARK

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Snark is named after the mythical beast in Lewis Carroll's poem ‘The Hunting of the Snark’, written in 1876. It is often described as a nonsense poem, but it is anything but. It follows the hunt for the elusive Snark by a disparate group of men, each burdened with his own struggles and how some of them at least find themselves on the hunt.  

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Towards the end of his life, Carroll, or Charles Dodgson as he was properly known, finally conceded that the poem was an allegory for the pursuit of happiness. At the end of the poem, the Baker meets with the Snark and:; 

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'In the midst of the word he was trying to say, 

In the midst of his laughter and glee, 

He had softly and suddenly vanished away, 

For the Snark was a Boojum you see.' 

  

For those of us who continue to search for meaning and purpose in life, the pursuit of happiness may sometimes appear to be a false destination. It seems it cannot be a permanent state, being on one side of an apparent continuum from despair to ecstasy. We should remember, however, that Dodgson was writing at a time when Epicureanism was still in vogue and that his idea of happiness is a simple one. 

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In this world view, the greatest good is to seek only modest pleasures to attain a state of tranquillity, freedom from fear ("ataraxia") and absence from bodily pain ("aponia"). This combination of states is held to constitute happiness in its highest form, achieved through the pursuit of a simple life. 

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