Kris Von Kreuger shouts over the howl of wind and lash of spray. And he's a veteran sailor. In an age when the Navy increasingly relies on advanced technology to drive its ships and keep them safe, mastering the art of sail might seem an anachronism. After all, the Navy's last sail-powered ship, the Severn, was towed away in 1909.
Machines are useful, but fallible.
Sailors of small boats develop a keen eye and acute feel for the power of wind and water that translates into a knack for handling big ships. Seasoned sailors can feel the current begin to twist a ship in a narrow channel, can foresee the collision course of an oncoming vessel, can sense how the wind will affect a tricky high-seas maneuver. Machines often can tell you where you are. Sailors know where they're headed. That only comes with experience.