What do you enjoy most about cruising?

[belizesailor]

No schedule. Before I punched out to go crusing I managed large projects and schedule was everything. Do you know that Outlook's calender has a parameter you can set so that events cannot be scheduled closer together than so many minutes? I actually used to use that feature!!!

Having no schedule was a novel and enjoyable experience for me. Now, many years later, when I start feeling rushed, my response is to stop and have a beer and figure out an alternate course of action that does not involve me being in a hurry.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

1. Lot of constraints still exist - officials when checking in, visa limitations, weather, expensive marinas in popular areas. So I would argue it's a different type of freedom not complete freedom.

2. This one I agree with whole heartedly. The people are awesome.

3. I don't agree with this one. Life was good before cruising. I'm not trying to escape the world, so I don't get this one.

4. We love to visit new areas both isolated natural areas and vibrant cities. A water borne home is perfect for that as many natural areas are very difficult to reach by land and most historical cities were built around water transport so the historical centers often have excellent options to visit by water.

You may have misunderstood the original idea of my thread. Those are just a few of the reasons why my wife and I enjoy the cruising lifestyle. Each person contributing to the thread will have their own reasons for why they keep coming back. I included mine to get things started and could add more, but I'd like to hear from other members.

Ken

[sailorboy1]

I get a kick out of the "zen" answers. It sees going though all the troubles of sailing and having a boat is a lot of hassle for some of those experiences. I can do most of those by setting up a chair on my back porch.

The thing that makes time on a boat better is that you can do the things in new places. As we all know zen is best in new places.

[NewMoon]

1. The sheer beauty of nature, and all the wonderful creatures of the PNW coast, all around us. (we cruise mostly BC and SE Alaska).

2. Waking up in a peaceful remote anchorage.

3. The fine seafood.

4. The endless challenge and learning. Figuring out the weather, trip planning, solving boat problems, fishing skills, seamanship, etc.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I get a kick out of the "zen" answers. It sees going though all the troubles of sailing and having a boat is a lot of hassle for some of those experiences. I can do most of those by setting up a chair on my back porch.

The thing that makes time on a boat better is that you can do the things in new places. As we all know zen is best in new places.

Some of the reasons I think most choose to exit the porch and experience "zen" in new places, is to cast off the the bowlines such as the persistent cellphone, internet connection, city noise, traffic, responsibilities and break the daily routine, and then...enjoy a glass of wine, beer or cup of tea with some like-minded new friends.

[Dockhead]

I am surprised no one has mentioned sailing. All those are excellent reasons, but I actually really like to sail.

[rognvald]

Sailing, like hunting, allows Man to shed the ornaments of modern living and experience life and nature in its most primordial form. There are no restrictions imposed by others and we become totally responsible for our successes and our failures. We awaken an ancient ancestral memory that allows us to truly fulfill who we are as an individual ,and a species, and it is this link with our past that is felt most strongly by a few of us when we cast our lines and depart into the open sea. As man has become Civilized, he has also become sterile and has lost much of his connection to the natural world. For me, it is not the exotic ports, the divergent cultures, the bucket list of places visited, the friendship of other cruisers or a techno-boat that further ties you to the material world but rather this connection to nature which most of us have lost in our search for the meaning of life.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I am surprised no one has mentioned sailing. All those are excellent reasons, but I actually really like to sail.

I love offshore passages. I try not to bring it up because so many dont. Three week trip in a few months, that type of distance will be new.

[JusDreaming]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Sailing, like hunting, allows Man to shed the ornaments of modern living and experience life and nature in its most primordial form. There are no restrictions imposed by others and we become totally responsible for our successes and our failures. We awaken an ancient ancestral memory that allows us to truly fulfill who we are as an individual ,and a species, and it is this link with our past that is felt most strongly by a few of us when we cast our lines and depart into the open sea. As man has become Civilized, he has also become sterile and has lost much of his connection to the natural world. For me, it is not the exotic ports, the divergent cultures, the bucket list of places visited, the friendship of other cruisers or a techno-boat that further ties you to the material world but rather this connection to nature which most of us have lost in our search for the meaning of life.

I fail to mention the hunting aspect, spearfishing and hunter gathering. Which rings true with your post

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I get a kick out of the "zen" answers. It sees going though all the troubles of sailing and having a boat is a lot of hassle for some of those experiences. I can do most of those by setting up a chair on my back porch.

The thing that makes time on a boat better is that you can do the things in new places. As we all know zen is best in new places.

A 4wd vehicle, a backpack, a tent, and you can be isolated from civilization and other people and visit beautiful places all over in the US.
So if that is the major attraction, a big expensive boat is not needed.

I recall a trip up the coast of California with my friend (we sailed often on his Hobie cat in LA) we enjoyed the beaches at Pt. Reyes without a soul in sight.

And then I think of a trip into San Francisco to watch a Giants game, sitting in my little seat among 40,000, police/workers everywhere to keep everyone in line. Diversity is the spice of life.

[Stu Jackson]

Satisfaction. With a big grin to boot!

While I often sail the same waters, each individual trip is significantly different. Weather, wind, water all change each trip.

After 60+ years doing this, I still get a kick out of successful passages, however short or long.

Each one teaches me something, whether it's something I shoulda known or did and maybe forgot it (!), or an improved technique to do something I might have been doing many times in the past.

And, as part of learning, reading the many different points of view expressed on this and other boating websites, always helps, and usually brings a smile.

[robert sailor]

Rebel Heart you may not love long passages after your next one, LOL. Can't say I ever really liked crossing oceans, I've certainly done enough of it and I do love the anticipation of arriving in new places and there are odd days offshore I really like but long passages are not my zen moments BUT no other choice if I want to get where I want to go plus I'm too cheap to put it on a ship and won't pay someone else to deliver it so I continue to cross oceans. I enjoy the self sufficiency as others have noted, the Turks have a saying that sort of means "a place is just a place" in other words its about the people you meet and the times shared that I enjoy the most.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I am surprised no one has mentioned sailing. All those are excellent reasons, but I actually really like to sail.

Of course. But I kinda think that liking sailing is sort of a given when people are actually using a cruising boat as their means to travel... otherwise they'd be in a camper-van or on a plane like most people!!!

[SV THIRD DAY]

Sure the tacos, culture and anchorages of Mexico were great but what my wife and I now miss the most is the people and friendships we made while out cruising. In our 4yrs of cruising Mexico we met more interesting people and made more lasting friendships than the last 10 yrs of living back in "normalville".

[Kenomac]

This short video speaks for itself: