Those who 'stop' cruising

[Frank]

In Laura's day 6 post,she wrote.. "I meet one of the liveaboards here at the marina. He confesses that he has been here way too long. What is it that makes cruisers stop moving? Is it fear? Is it comfort? Is it the same thing for all of them or is it different for every person? Do they just get tired?".....It is an odd thing, but very common.While in the Keys a few years back, a liveaboard on a 22fter rowed over in the anchorage to ask for plastic grocery bags.We stuck up a conversation. He was from NY and had sailed down, anchoring here on his way through. How long you been here I asked?...9 years he replied ! It is odd. I think people simply get comfortable,meet people on shore, get to know where to go etc. and seem to 'fit'. Thoughts???

[AdriftAtSea]

The nomadic lifestyle of long-term cruising isn't really for all people.  IMHO, a lot of people who go out cruising and then stop and set down roots went cruising to find something, and then found it in a place far from where they started and no longer need to keep going.

[Captain Smollett]

Even 'long term' cruisers like the Pardeys and the Martins put down roots for extended stays on shore.  There's no "rule" that says you have to ALWAYS be moving.  I think the essence of the lifestyle is the freedom to make your choice: 'go' when you want, 'stay' when you want.

[Frank]

I think you're right. They leave an erea 'searching'...then find an erea with an environment that feels 'right'.Probably slower paced and much 'simpler' than where they come from. Judging from the growth on some of the bottoms I've seen..."putting down roots" is a literal term ;)

[Zen]

more likely right, people cruise to find that place where they want to be. For some it is just out there...on the water... on the boat..for others it is away from where they are, that other place....island, cove, country, riverside.

[Lynx]

I have been in the Bahamas for over 1 month and have been told by the locals that less and less people are cruising every year.

Any thoughts?

Are the sail rags promoting the lifestyle out of existance?

There is also very few boats under 30 feet in Abacos Bahamas.

[psyche]

Publications in the US push 40 + foot boats as being average and required for cruising. A small boat has creeped up to 36 + feet. When I mention to friends that have refitted and equiped my 8.7 Columbia for offshore cruising and I am planning to go to the Bahamas and beyond they go for their cell phone to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist. Americans want to have the same luxuries they have on shore. I now read about equiping the boat with a washer and dryer and other "extras" that require more space. The boats have to be larger to carry the electronics and other equipment they have on board. You read about the earlier sailors that we follor like Roth, pardys, Hiscock and others and they sailed by a compass, stars, sun and developed  A keen sense of navigation and boat handling using charts that we would call outdated and suspect. The readers of those publications lose sight that the next port is not the goal but the adventure and the journey are the real destinations. Dan

[Pappy Jack]

Lynx,

I wouldn't complain too much about this if I were you. It just means that there will be less crowded anchorages ect. , ect.  I would hazard a guess that people are buying bigger boats and therefore are less likely to go sailing. I know, I know, it doesn't make sense but it is more of a hassle to take a big boat out for a day or a week or two than it does a smaller boat...right  ???(IMHO). I would assume that people with big boats also use them for weekend retreats that never leave the dock. What ever the reason it sounds like there will be better cruising out there with fewer boats. Let us know what you find out at the end of your cruise.

Fair winds,
Pappy Jack

[Frank]

 quote..." I now read about equiping the boat with a washer and dryer and other "extras" that require more space. "   I have that on Jubilee....just put a pic in my gallery under solar panels of laundry day  ;)



(Added it for ya, Frank! CapnK :) )

[AdriftAtSea]

Frank-

A bucket doesn't count as a washing machine... :)

I'd have to agree with Psyche, the modern cruising press seems to say that you can't go cruising unless you have a 40'+ boat.  What they seem to neglect to mention is that until about 10-15 years ago, a boat over 35' was an unusually large cruising boat. 

Unfortunately, too many people who want to go cruising today, want to be able to do so and keep all the luxuries and materialistic trappings of their life ashore.  This means that they need a $750,000 42' sailboat, with a washer, dryer, genset, watermaker, radar, 42' LCD HDTV, satellite TV, satellite phone, etc... This also means that they generally can't afford to leave until they've earned enough money to pay for all of that, which can put off their ability to cruise well into the future.

On one of the other boards I frequent, there's a guy who has a 40' Passport looking to buy a 50-something boat, because the 40' passport is not big enough... I laugh about it... and really hope that he doesn't have any serious equipment failures when he finally goes cruising.  His 100% jib is probably bigger than the mainsail on my boat. 

Another problem with the modern sailing press is that they seem to make it sound like you can't cruise safely on a smaller boat without all the electronics and gadgets that their advertisers sell.  On a 28' boat, do you really need an electronic MOB system?? I don't think so.  Better to rely on harnesses, tethers and jacklines, than to rely on electronics in a marine environment IMHO. 

I think Pappy Jack has an excellent point... the fewer the boats out there, the better it will be for many of us.   Of course, for us small boat sailors, that has always been the case in some ways, since we can often get into anchorages that the 40'+ boats just can't enter safely.  A friend of mine has a 42' boat that draws 10'.  Most of the anchorages I spend time in, he would be aground.

[Captain Smollett]

There also might be the 'nannyist' philosophy: don't do ANYTHING that might be (cue crescendo of dreadful, ominous orchestral music) --- UNSAFE.

Forget the real statistics that easily show that Lin and Larry sailing a 28 footer across the Atlantic is safer than 1 month worth of driving the highways of a typical American large city.  The psychological perspective that seems to be fostered by the press ("Agah!!!  An-OTHER sailboat crew had to be rescued off the big bad ocean") and in other circles is "Don't YOU try this, or YOU TOO might be a (gasp) VICTIM."

Coupled with this is the resistance of 'being free,' of setting your own course by going off the beaten path.  These two are related, of course, and no political discussion is needed.  We live in a "sport and recreation are ok, lifestyles aren't" type society - if you set your own lifestyle (cruising, backpacking, rock climbing, whatever), you are NOT fitting in.

Finally, we glue it all together with the simple fact that it takes work and experience, to sail the open ocean with something resembling safety.  We all understand this; many folks don't seem to, or don't get it "organically."  Take your average Joe "I wanna try something DIFF'RENT" out there reading and dreaming from SAIL; aside from all the misinformation he gets there, he then goes to the Internet to do a little research.  What does he find?

He might find a forum like TSBB where there is in general a good collection of small boat sailing knowledge, but most of it is geared toward day sailing and protected water cruising.  Many comments point toward the conclusion that even this type of sailing is a lot of work, bigger water is just not worth it.  Plus, it ain't safe.  "Heck, if I can be overpressed in 14.5 kts on a small lake on my Whizbang GeeHaa 20, what would I do on the O-C-E-A-N?"  Some folks will tell him outright "why make it hard on yourself?"

Or, he might find a group like rec.boats.cruising.  Um, need I say more?  Could there BE a faster way to turn off someone's "I want to learn about sailboat cruising" light?

But on there he might see the intrepid tale of a couple - Skip and Lydia - who 'had this dream and began to follow it.'  Then have had MASSIVE problems, or at least have been more candid than most in telling about them, that old average Joe thinks to himself "This IS too much work and it IS too expensive.  Why would I want to do something like THIS?"

Or, he MIGHT find one of any number of other forums or web sites, each with its own flavor.  Most will offer some reasons of why he SHOULD 'follow his dream,' but they will all give THEIR idea of the "must haves."  It will be a perpetual, confusing landscape of unattainability.  "Get a boat that's outfitted, ready to go.  You'll be glad of the money spent."  Or, "Get a project boat and spread your costs out, if you are not afraid of a little work."  The problem is, you cannot OVERESTIMATE the amount of work or money needed!!  How many B.O.A.T. jokes will he find?

So, picture yourself as this average Joe.  You have a little wonderlust and perhaps the desire to see the South Pacific - to have a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.  In the course of a couple of months, you will learn about the THOUSANDS of dollars the preparations will cost, the YEARS of experience you probably should get, the crew and/or boats lost at sea.  Your spouse probably does not share your dream, at least not immediately.

Etc.

Given the inputs, it surprises ME how many cruisers there ARE.   

 

[mrbill]

In an attempt to (reluctantly) participate more in my sailing adventures, my wife took sailing classes on a local lake. She flunked out but that is another story!

Anyway, the instructor very seriously told them that "sailing on the ocean is way too dangerous".

[AdriftAtSea]

Of course, it doesn't help to have people like Ken Barnes charging off half-cocked and then having to call for help.. and it seems that the disasters like Barnes's rescue off of Chile get far more press than did Donna Lange's successful circumnavigation in a 28' boat.

Then you have the media seeking idiots, like the Frenchman who was planning to row across the Atlantic earlier this year, and set off not once, but twice, from Massachusetts, and had to be rescued twice... both times less than 150 NM from land IIRC.  The first attempt was canceled since his boat, one he designed himself, was leaking to much to continue...the second was after getting clobbered by the remains of a RTS... ;)

Cruising long distance is a relatively safe thing to do in a properly prepared small boat, with a properly prepared crew.  You're not going to have the luxuries...and that is what they are... of endless running hot and cold water, unlimited electricity, heat and air conditioning, television, etc... and if you expect to have those... you'd best be ready to pony up some serious boat bucks to do it..and it certainly won't be on a Sailfar type boat...

[Pappy Jack]

Just another little bit of info. Ken Barnes and his BIG boat were just a few hundred miles (or less) away from Donna Lange's LITTLE boat when Ken had to be rescued. In other words, bigger is not always better.

Fair winds,

Pappy Jack

[AdriftAtSea]

Donna was one of the people who heard Barnes's distress call, and was in contact with Ken IIRC.

Just another little bit of info. Ken Barnes and his BIG boat were just a few hundred miles (or less) away from Donna Lange's LITTLE boat when Ken had to be rescued. In other words, bigger is not always better.

Fair winds,

Pappy Jack

[CapnK]

Anyway, the instructor very seriously told them that "sailing on the ocean is way too dangerous".

I'm laughing at that, but it's a painful type of laugh, maybe incredulous laughter... I *learned* in the ocean, on my own, after having read some books.  ;D

Somebody oughta get the spare tiller out and whack some sense into that instructor. Geesh...  ::) ??? ::)

-----------

Glass Half-Empty: Face it - most of our general population is literally almost too fat to sail (or any other type of exercise/strenuous lifestyle). And likely too lazy to want to do more than push a Start button, if what I see on a daily basis is any indication. I could get morbid about it, but there's no point in that...

Glass Half-Full: It means more open, freer anchorages for those of us who *will* take the time and make the effort, so I don't mind all that much. :)

I also wonder if the "less cruisers" is a reflection of our society moving away from sailing overall. I had several brews the other night with an English gent who left on his TransAt today (aboard a Hunter 37 he bought here). Among many other topics, he related to me how prevalent sailing is in France - apparently, it's all over the TV, and it's something that adults and kids do and talk about with enthusiasm. There is a national passion there, and sailors are held in the same regard as the 'sports heroes' are here.

Contrast that with the US where, even in our highly media-ated society, sailing is almost nonexistent. Lots of websites, granted, but very little mass media coverage of it as either a topic or a sport. Skateboarding, foot/basket/baseball, skiing, snowboarding, golf (heh) - but no dinghy racing, or windsurfing, or even much excitement about the big 'un, the (so-called?) America's Cup (which I must admit I have a problem generating excitement over, myself...).

So if in the Bahamas there are less cruisers, I guess I don't find it too surprising, given all the factors. I hope it's making your trip nicer, allowing you to get away from "monoculturism" for a bit of the arguably better "multiculturalism". ;) I'd kind of doubt that the rest of the worlds' cruising destinations feel the same impact, as there are more boats now, and I think maybe more people overall (from more nations) out cruising...

It would be an interesting to see the results of a survey, showing 'then and now' data. :)

[CapnK]

As an aside -

Hunters aren't generally known as bluewater yachts, and one might think the English gent was a bit loopy to be taking one 'Across The Pond' in mid-winter. That may be so (after all, it's *cold* out there right now!), but from what he was telling me (and if he was a con artist, he's a sailing-knowledgable con artist ;) ) this fellow has been a RYA certified sailing instructor as his main source of income for quite a few years, racing his own 10 Tonner in the Fastnet Race 4 different times. Among other things, like certifying Ellen MacArthur, he was also an official handicapper/yacht measurer for the RYA, and holds a Yachtmaster Offshore (& Examiner) certificate.

My only concern for him was that he wasn't able to rebuild/replace the standing rigging, which he stated was approx 20 years old - something I would *certainly* want to do, irregardless of the brand of vessel. However, he has done a TransAt passage 3 or 4 times before, and was making this trip solo, so the risk he's taking is his own. Hats Off to him, I hope he has a wonderful trip! :)

[AdriftAtSea]

Most Hunters in the <40' range aren't bluewater boats, but the Hunter 37 Cherubini cutter is a very capable boat, and I would guess that the 37' Hunter he is on is a Cherubini design. Still not an ideal time to be heading across the pond, but he seems to have the skills and experience to do so... and there's no risk of running into an RTS at the moment... :) 

For a bit more info on the Cherubini-designed Hunter 37... look HERE.

[CapnK]

Well, I hope he got a big boost yesterday, because it was a millpond (albeit a very cold millpond) here today! Good water for skiing, Polar Bear Club-style.  ;D

[macdiver]

I have been looking into getting my first boat.  In particular, I'm considering a small catamaran.  Unfortunately, not many for sell here in the US.  Over the weekend, I was at Barnes and Noble to pick up a christmas gift and I saw a book on multihulls.  The book was written by Gregor Tarjan.  I picked it up and sat down to read.  Throughout the book he keeps comparing 45 foot catamarans to 45 foot monohulls.  In the appendix he reviews several makes of catamarans.  The only one under 40 foot was the Gemini, which he did not give a good opinion of.  I think he said he was including it since it is the all time best sailing cat.  Maybe it is because it is one of the few affordable (relatively) catamarans still produced.  All I could think about while reading the book was who is his audience?  Who are buying all of these 45 foot condomarans? 

The reason no one is cruising is because everyone is working 70 hour weeks to afford their mcmansions and 45 foot boats and associated fees!!!