Living the Dream

[thomm225]

This statement was made on another thread but has stuck with me. (especially after some of the arguments I've had here. Who was right or wrong in those arguments doesn't matter)

"I was thinking about this the other day, grown men sitting in tropical anchorages, living the dream while name calling on the Internet at people they don't even know on the other side of the world? Talk about missing the point!"

We that think cruising is the answer to our old jobs, life, retirement, etc may need to think again.

Can we these days in our fast paced, high tech environment simply sail off and anchor in a tropical paradise and be happy?

Or can we simply cruise nonstop for long distances with crappy food and little exercise?

It's something to consider before spending say $20,000- $350,000 on a boat

[MarkJ]

It's a great question...
Last week in the Heineken Regatta we needed some volunteers to do some different jobs, most pretty basic. Lots of cruisers volunteered: Lawyers, IT specilists, writers, professionals of all types.
The most over qualified Regatta organisation in history!
So it is weird that we work.our butt off in high powered intelectual.jobs and then.retire and expect our brains to.go on vacation too. Well, they don't!

I use the internet, forums, news services, Twitter etc to stay informed, to contribute, to entertain and be entertained. And also to help folks following in my wake.

So people expect me to stop being interested in the world and just sit under a palm tree with a fishing pole?

Get real!





Mark

[Banshe]

I'm living the dream and loving it. I'm currently anchored at Tarawa Kiribati, having just completed a solo circumnavigation. I'm waiting here for the cyclone season to end, then it's back to Australia. The Whitsunday Islands for the southern winter, then? Who knows. The world is my oyster.

Wish I could share some of my happiness with you.

James

[ol1970]

I totally agree, I think if you are retiring and going sailing to escape something you are never going to be happy. I think I'm blessed because I can be equally happy staying at the Four Seasons or the Red Roof Inn...eating street tacos or a filet the size of babies head at Morton's.

True happiness is a state of mind, not balance in your bank account or a location you are anchored in.

[44'cruisingcat]

Like GPS, AIS, chartplotters etc, we use the internet because it's available. If these things weren't available, we'd still be out cruising.


Some of our favourite anchorages are places where there is no internet, no cell coverage, but we still stay there as long as the food lasts.

[oldragbaggers]

I think it may be a false assumption that everyone who goes cruising is "running away from something." Maybe some are, but I wonder if they are the majority. I know we have a dozen newbies a week show up here and say they want to get away from it all and head out to sea, but I seriously doubt that many of them do.

Many of the sailors and cruisers we have met over the years seem to be all-around adventurers and have a lot of gusto for life in general. They weren't sitting on the couch evenings and weekends for 40 years and then just decided to sail off into the sunset. Generally it is something they worked toward, usually while enjoying local sailing and cruising as well as other types of adventurous activities along the way, and the idea to go cruising was to take that love of sailing and thirst for adventure to the next level, not something they were running from.

I know for us we have enjoyed every bit of our 37 years of marriage and have had so many adventures. A lot of them involved boats and sailing, but many of them didn't. Camping, hiking, long distance cycling, have been other platforms from which we've experienced the beauty of the world, and if something happened tomorrow that we couldn't retire and/or couldn't sail we would still continue to fill our lives with adventure of some kind, because it adds joy, and life is to be lived, not to escape anything. We have just always loved sailing and living on the water. We love to travel. It is an experience we have always wanted to have. It's really just that simple.

As far as being on the internet, I am sure that is something I will always do because being social and writing are both a part of who I am, and always have been. When I was a young girl I journaled daily, I created slang books. Later as a Navy wife I was a prolific letter and newsletter writer. Then came the internet...woo hoo, cloud nine!!! It became so much easier to keep in contact with the people I cared about and to meet new people from all over the world and exchange information, experiences, and ideas with them. Honestly, how freaking awesome is that?!?!. Certainly not out of boredom, I just love to write, learn, share, and communicate. It sure wouldn't mean I am not enjoying cruising or that it somehow didn't turn out to fulfill my expectations. It would just be me doing one more thing that I enjoy. As far as the arguing.....not sure how to address that one. Some people just seem to like to push buttons and the anonymity of the internet removes our usual inhibitions and makes it easier to be uncivil.

I do think we have a tendency today to over analyze everything. Maybe people just do what they do because they like it and it makes them happy. Even when they seem to be miserable. I think there are even people who aren't happy unless they have a **** storm of drama going on, even in a beautiful, tropical anchorage.

[Banshe]

Hey Oldragbaggers... Couldn't agree with you more.

James

[Celestialsailor]

I think I'll always enjoy ghe Internet to stay in touch with people, update my blog or just simply catching up on world news. Honestly, I think I sail 5% of the time and hang out the rest, either upgrading systems of doing a little on land excursions. The reality for me is, I'm a type A personality and wold be bored just laying around on a boat. I'm also a people person and enjoy helping out.
To address "I was thinking about this the other day, grown men sitting in tropical anchorages, living the dream while name calling on the Internet at people they don't even know on the other side of the world? Talk about missing the point!" I don't think they are sitting around anchorages doing that as much as sitting around there living rooms (or mothers basement) making trouble.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by thomm225

This statement was made on another thread but has stuck with me. (especially after some of the arguments I've had here. Who was right or wrong in those arguments doesn't matter)

"I was thinking about this the other day, grown men sitting in tropical anchorages, living the dream while name calling on the Internet at people they don't even know on the other side of the world? Talk about missing the point!"

We that think cruising is the answer to our old jobs, life, retirement, etc may need to think again.

Can we these days in our fast paced, high tech environment simply sail off and anchor in a tropical paradise and be happy?

Or can we simply cruise nonstop for long distances with crappy food and little exercise?

It's something to consider before spending say $20,000- $350,000 on a boat

Hi, I'm the one that made that statement . The point I was trying to make was regarding getting upset with people on the internet that you don't even know instead of enjoying the lifestyle of cruising, not the use of the internet.
The internet is a big part of my cruising life, in fact I would find cruising alot loneliest without it. I believe it adds to cruising life as does all the technology we use.
Cheers Dale
Freeform .

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[daletournier]

I also agree that happiness is a state of mind....I find that state of mind easier to achieve cruising than I do trekking the normal path.
Cheers Dale .

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[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by daletournier

The point I was trying to make was regarding getting upset with people on the internet that you don't even know instead of enjoying the lifestyle of cruising,

People don't change.
They think they will, but they won't/can't/don't.
When we were first flying out to buy the boat my GF at the time said: "In 12 months I'm going to be a completely different person"
Who? Who are you going to be?
A sun tan doesn't change you unless you are a psychiatric basket case.

People still debate under a palm tree if they debate at home.

For me life is wasted if I don't debate, if I don't grab an opinion and analyse it, if I stop being interested in politics in Australia or the world (go TRUMP!).

As for the land lubbers somehow accusing cruisers of being lesser because they use forums whilst cruising that just goes to show they have a mindset like the ex-GF: not attached to reality.

For those not yet cruising: you better start now working out how to entertain yourself. Maybe start studying history, geography, languages now in colleges etc because that sort of stuff will make your cruising life much better. Tourism is knowledge but seeing a pyramid without the context of history is a waste.



If anyone wants to argue the point I have p.l.e.n.t.y of time



Sent from a stupid phone that replaces words with weird stuff.

[daletournier]

Hey Mark, yep agree 100%. A angry (or what ever else) man at home generally brings it with him cruising etc. One of the big problems for most is , they get a boat ,start to cruise and get smashed between the eye's with time, lots of it. It's either your friend or your enemy. The "normal " world is full of external distractions that take your time, no need for you to be responsible for it your self, life steels it and you then get to bitch that it has. With cruising you actually get the chance to take your time, own it, and be responsible for it, not many are ready for that. The Gf is about to get back on after along time off, this will be interesting in regards to the above. Me, personally , I love having the time to sip my coffee and enjoyably waste as much of it as I want doing what ever I want. The western brain has this need to feel productive, the prison warden being guilt if your not, this is not always the right mentality for cruising. Small increments of productivity spread out over time is one of the things I like about cruising compared to the never ending list of must do's when I was involved in business.
Cheers Dale.

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[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hey Mark, yep agree 100%. A angry (or what ever else) man at home generally brings it with him cruising etc. One of the big problems for most is , they get a boat ,start to cruise and get smashed between the eye's with time, lots of it. It's either your friend or your enemy. The "normal " world is full of external distractions that take your time, no need for you to be responsible for it your self, life steels it and you then get to bitch that it has. With cruising you actually get the chance to take your time, own it, and be responsible for it, not many are ready for that. The Gf is about to get back on after along time off, this will be interesting in regards to the above. Me, personally , I love having the time to sip my coffee and enjoyably waste as much of it as I want doing what ever I want. The western brain has this need to feel productive, the prison warden being guilt if your not, this is not always the right mentality for cruising. Small increments of productivity spread out over time is one of the things I like about cruising compared to the never ending list of must do's when I was involved in business.
Cheers Dale.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Beautifully said. I always laugh when people ask if it takes longer to cook on an alcohol stove. What does it matter? I don't know, I don't care either. That's a shore life mindset where you have to get it done quick because you have to get the kids to soccer practice or help them with homework. Cruising is different, and I never minded if it took 2 hours to prepare a meal and do the dishes. Time takes on a different context on the boat.

[boatman61]

The Cruisers Dream is like the fantasy of Normal Childhood.. something that enjoyed a brief existence that is no more..
What exists in reality is a bunch of tired old fat men desperately chasing a fantasy.. no longer can one sail a world where the skipper/owners ticket is sufficient to travel anywhere.. today is just a succession of layered officialdom that presses more and more everyday.. everywhere you go.
And that's definitely not the dream as it existed in the 50's, 60's or even the 70's.. but you keep on deluding yourselves.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The Cruisers Dream is like the fantasy of Normal Childhood.. something that enjoyed a brief existence that is no more..
What exists in reality is a bunch of tired old fat men desperately chasing a fantasy.. no longer can one sail a world where the skipper/owners ticket is sufficient to travel anywhere.. today is just a succession of layered officialdom that presses more and more everyday.. everywhere you go.
And that's definitely not the dream as it existed in the 50's, 60's or even the 70's.. but you keep on deluding yourselves.

I don't know Boatie, the reality may be a different from what I thought it would be, but for me it still beats the other reality. Officialdom is definitely part of cruising life but it's still alot less than the crap I've dealt with back in Oz. Most of us need something to look forward to, and cruising gives me that, where to next? There were times last year when I was sailing towards smoking volcanoes, had canoes tied to the side of my boat, dolphins at the bow,diving with Manta rays , and went swimming in the middle of the ocean with a beautiful girl on perfectly calm day in the middle of absolutely no where .......I'd say that's living the dream .
Yes retired but only 47 and not fat yet!😁

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