ABSTRACT:
From the perspective of sailors such as Christopher Columbus, Vito Dumas, and Bernard Moitessier, who have expanded our understanding of sign systems as well as the margins of culture and human experience, my presentation will explore the semiotics of their unprecedented journeys through the seas. Few activities like long journeys at sea involve such a persistent, varied and vital interpretation of signs and sign systems. Their writings enrich our understanding of the relation between the journeying man and the signs they read, signs that come both from nature and human experience. Their journeys, which, as I will discuss, are relevant to our times, are themselves a sign at a higher level which captures our imagination as we try to make sense of this signifying mystery and challenge that is life.
