Get a few cruising veterans round the yacht club bar, and you can bet that in not too long talk will veer nostalgically towards the good old days - that golden age when rivers weren't littered with moorings, anchorages were always deserted and “stinkpots” were almost unheard of.
It's tempting to look back wistfully on less crowded times, but there's a lot to be thankful for in today's cruising scene. How many of us would really swap our roller furling genoas, controlled from the security of the cockpit, for kneeling on the foredeck, up to your waist in water, wrestling with piston hanks?
We would not want to go back to pre-Decca and GPS days, either. Yes, there was tremendous satisfaction when you got it right, but surely no navigator, however skilled, didn't occasionally suffer that chilling sense of uncertainty.
And then there was the horribly inadequate kit - endless heavy sweaters, clammy plastic "oilies" and cold rubber boots - before wonderful fleece, thermals and breathables came along.
And general lack of creature comforts. We still resist on board TV - we go sailing to listen to the birds or just enjoy the peace - but we're very happy to have a fridge, hot and cold running water, a shower, and heating, all completely unheard of on affordable cruising yachts when we started.
So let's celebrate sailing as it is now, with the safety and reassurance of GPS, chart plotters, radar and all the rest, a civilised on board lifestyle, and state of the art kit that keeps you truly warm and dry.
Wind and tide still provide endless adventure and challenge if that's what you want. But if you just go down to the boat at weekends looking for a break from the stresses of everyday life, there's nothing wrong with that.
The important thing is to enjoy things as they are now. Because despite all the aggravations of ever-growing bureaucracy, ever-rising marina charges and all the rest, the fundamentals haven't changed. There's still absolutely nothing better than "messing about in boats."
