In the anonymous "The Seafarer," the speaker writes much about the terror and hazards of seafaring during his time. When he writes that no man is so proud, etc., not to feel fear when "the sails unfurl" (42) he's simply telling about how treacherous sailing is during his day. It's not that he's afraid of the sails, he's afraid of what unfurling the sails means! I'm not a sailor, but I've always assumed this means the voyage is getting underway. That's what scares him.
Sailing the sea is treacherous for the narrator: it involves smashing surf (6) and sweating in the cold (6); feet cast in icy bands (9,10), hunger that tears at his sea-weary soul (12), a world blown clear of love and hung with icicles (16,17), and freezing waves (19).
He is afraid of seafaring, and when the sails unfurl it is time to shove off.
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