The Red Knob

Sailing too close to The Edge? (You too, huh…)

As a boy and young man, my father taught me how to sail; he instilled the importance of safety and the virtues of good seamanship. We would sail around Gabriola Island and the Gulf Islands – just off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and depending on the wind we would always make our destination safely and in good time. Now the trick to sailing is a bit like being a boy scout – you always need to be prepared. You also always need to keep an eye on the sea and weather conditions and always be prepared for the unexpected; but you never panic.

Now, back in the day of the mediaeval mariners it was said that the world was flat and if you sailed to the edge of the world, you’d fall off into the abyss; that’s if you were lucky enough to get that far before falling foul of a large sea beastie waiting to suck you down to Davy Jones’ locker, or a Siren’s song luring you to an altogether different fate. Sounded like a nice bunch of girls though…

What’s this got to do with sex and sexual health? Well, sailing is about getting from point A to point B – taking into account the distance, the sea, the weather conditions, and the vessel you are steering – and of course the mariner’s hopes and fears. It’s a bit like foreplay; all the conditions and preparation need to be right, or else you’re sunk.

Sexual health in Britain is a bit like sailing. Yes, we have peaks and troughs of teenage pregnancies pushing in like an Atlantic low from the South West (an exaggeration – the South West aren’t doing too badly – perhaps there’s a lesson to be learnt?) and we have surges of STIs, coming in from the South East (not an exaggeration if you look at the figures for South London…), but as mariners, we should be able to weather out this storm; but only if the direction we want to go is within these areas.

What am I on about? Sailing against the wind is easy if you know how to tack. Anyone can follow and sail with the wind, but the real mariner can always get to where they want to go by tacking against the wind – still being able to move forward in the desired direction… The long and short of this message is – you can piss in the wind and tell me you’re doing something about sexual health, or you can tack close to the edge and consider a multi-faceted approach to delivering sexual health rather than the tired one track approach we’ve been following. Of course you may want to stay on your steady course and not panic rather than taking the shortcut. Choices eh.

Have a Happy New Year – The Red Knob.

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