I don't actually know. It's just something that slowly developed over time. Like, I always enjoyed cars since I was little, then into the equation came planes and trains at some point about 10 years ago or so, followed by ships.

So it's just transportation in general, I suppose. There is something about having your own little place that gets you someplace else, while the world is continuing to happen around you.
And in the case of large modes of transportation, that mingling of stories of the people there.
Sailing in particular sticks out to me because of how uniquely connected to the world around it it is, with no engine or animal needed to get you someplace. It's just making use of whatever elements around you are happening, or of course, being at the mercy of them.

And yeh, their speed and size make them very much the poster child of that small world that takes you someplace. Becoming basically an isolated little village of people working to make sure the thing arrives where it's supposed to.