A few (hopefully) interesting questions...

[edvol44]

Hello! I am not a cruiser, but God willing, I will be before too long, I lurk alot but thought it would be a good time to ask a bunch of questions.

1. What do you do all day? At anchor, in marina, coastal, on passges, warm weather, cold weather, etc. What do you wish you were doing? I can think of a bunch of things, but Im always up for suggestions.

2. Has not knowing the native language been a problem for you? When, where, and how?

3. Ever sail the Bissagos islands in Africa? They look like they'd be nice, but I've heard the place is a complete narco state. Or cruised extensively elswhere in africa?

4. Is the CG Auxillary worth joining if you have a boat?

5. Tricks for dealing with beaurocrats or people trying to shake you down (either foreign or domestic)? In poorer countries, I've heard carrying a bunch of cheap toys with you to give people to give their kids can be a cheap solution to people wanting bribes, because usually one of them has a family and cool toys are a luxury they don't get much. Maybe that only works in Afghanistan though...

6. Do you have to pay taxes (other than income/sales taxes) in the US if you live on a boat?

7. Ever lost your glasses/contacts/all of your corrective eyewear? What did you do? I'm pretty dang blind without them...

8. Ever sink something thats contraband in a country you're entering with a bouy or something in order to recover it later? (Legally of course)

9. Where's your favorite place to go? Where do you wish you could go but havent yet or never will be able to?

10. Do you swim ever for exercise/fun when you are far from land? Other than the obvious of unfavorable sea state, when is that a bad idea?

11. Is a yawl rig worth it? For the sail + all the stuff you can handily mount to the mast?

12. Ever been befriended by marine life? (Porpoise /seagull/penguin that follows you everywhere, etc)

13. If you could get a letter of marque to go hunt pirates, would you?

14. When returning to the US, as a US citizen w/ a US boat, how does that work? Do you just, sail up to whatever bit of coast you want and go about your business or do you have to go to specific places to deal with customs or whatever? If so, how do they know you werent just out cruising along the US coast?

15. Of all the countries you've visited, who had the best music and/or most unexpectedly good music?

I got more questions, but I should probably just look them up... Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on all this. I cant wait to meet you all out on the water someday soon! Anyone I meet irl who answers interestingly/informatively gets a beer! (Unless I'm out of beer, then they get tea or a gin and tonic or something or an IOU made out of the least water-resistant paper I can find)

[mrlassiter]

If you get good, detailed answers to all these questions, write a novel, get it published, then after you cruise for a few years, write a sequel, get it produced as a major motion picture, then retire rich.

[edvol44]

Excellent plan! Hopefully I can do that! Now if people would just give me those answers.... Dont have to answer all of them at once if you dont want, you could just answer one. I could make an individual post out of each of them, spread over time, if that would be better.

[Teknav]

...by the time I knew all the answers, they changed the questions on me... : Mauritz

[mrlassiter]

Okay. I choose #2: foreign language difficulties... Wife was born in Japan, they don't grasp, in totality, the concept of plurals. When she says, ' Can you get me a Kleenex? The baby heeds a wipe.' Do NOT simply hand that woman a Kleenex! For, surely, hell and brimstone will raineth down upon you!! No, indeed, she meant the WHOLE BOX! Everyday, everywhere we go, at the most inconvenient times!

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by edvol44

1. What do you do all day? At anchor, in marina, coastal, on passges, warm weather, cold weather, etc. What do you wish you were doing? I can think of a bunch of things, but Im always up for suggestions.

Hmmm, not an R rated forum, so I can't go into any details

Originally Posted by edvol44

2. Has not knowing the native language been a problem for you? When, where, and how?

Never a problem. Just make sure you practice charades a lot before you go cruising and brush up on your drawing skills. Oh, it does help if you learn how to make cow and sheep and chicken noises for when you visit the butcher (yep, I have resorted to that LOL).

Originally Posted by edvol44

3. Ever sail the Bissagos islands in Africa? They look like they'd be nice, but I've heard the place is a complete narco state. Or cruised extensively elswhere in africa?

No, I have more than enough excitement cruising here in Europe.

Originally Posted by edvol44

4. Is the CG Auxillary worth joining if you have a boat?

If it is anything like the Aussie equivalent it is certainly worth joining whether or not you have a boat .

Originally Posted by edvol44

5. Tricks for dealing with beaurocrats or people trying to shake you down (either foreign or domestic)? In poorer countries, I've heard carrying a bunch of cheap toys with you to give people to give their kids can be a cheap solution to people wanting bribes, because usually one of them has a family and cool toys are a luxury they don't get much. Maybe that only works in Afghanistan though...

Smiling a lot works for me .

Originally Posted by edvol44

6. Do you have to pay taxes (other than income/sales taxes) in the US if you live on a boat?

Doubt you would be exempt from sales tax.

Originally Posted by edvol44

7. Ever lost your glasses/contacts/all of your corrective eyewear? What did you do? I'm pretty dang blind without them...

Prescription diving goggles work well in an emergency.

Originally Posted by edvol44

8. Ever sink something thats contraband in a country you're entering with a bouy or something in order to recover it later? (Legally of course)

No need, just drink all your alcohol before you arrive.

Originally Posted by edvol44

9. Where's your favorite place to go? Where do you wish you could go but havent yet or never will be able to?

Right here right now is my always my favourite spot now that I am on the water.

Originally Posted by edvol44

10. Do you swim ever for exercise/fun when you are far from land? Other than the obvious of unfavorable sea state, when is that a bad idea?

White Pointer territory springs to mind. Fun thing to do otherwise, particularly hanging onto a trailing line when you are sailing (as long as boat speed is not much over 4 knots and you haven't been recently mean to your crew).

Originally Posted by edvol44

11. Is a yawl rig worth it? For the sail + all the stuff you can handily mount to the mast?

Never considered one. Sloop rig is faster and as an ex racer I have a need for speed.

Originally Posted by edvol44

12. Ever been befriended by marine life? (Porpoise /seagull/penguin that follows you everywhere, etc)

Do fish count when you are swimming with a bag of bread?

Originally Posted by edvol44

13. If you could get a letter of marque to go hunt pirates, would you?

Aussie here. We are not into vigilante activities.

Originally Posted by edvol44

14. When returning to the US, as a US citizen w/ a US boat, how does that work? Do you just, sail up to whatever bit of coast you want and go about your business or do you have to go to specific places to deal with customs or whatever? If so, how do they know you werent just out cruising along the US coast?

Big Brother is watching.

Originally Posted by edvol44

15. Of all the countries you've visited, who had the best music and/or most unexpectedly good music?

Italian love songs make me melt .

Originally Posted by edvol44

I got more questions, but I should probably just look them up... Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on all this. I cant wait to meet you all out on the water someday soon! Anyone I meet irl who answers interestingly/informatively gets a beer! (Unless I'm out of beer, then they get tea or a gin and tonic or something or an IOU made out of the least water-resistant paper I can find)

Beer is acceptable, but I wouldn't say no to a G&T

[denverd0n]

Alright. I'll take a shot at a few of these...

Originally Posted by edvol44

6. Do you have to pay taxes (other than income/sales taxes) in the US if you live on a boat?

There are some states that charge a "personal property" tax on the value of your boat. Usually amounts to somewhere between 0.5% and 2% of the value each year (more often closer to the bottom end). Of course, you don't have to pay a property tax, like homeowners do.

Originally Posted by edvol44

7. Ever lost your glasses/contacts/all of your corrective eyewear? What did you do? I'm pretty dang blind without them...

Carry a spare pair. I do this pretty much all the time.

Originally Posted by edvol44

10. Do you swim ever for exercise/fun when you are far from land? Other than the obvious of unfavorable sea state, when is that a bad idea?

Yes, I have. Some people get freaked out by the idea of swimming in water that is thousands of feet deep, but if it's over your head anyway then what difference does it make, really?

Originally Posted by edvol44

14. When returning to the US, as a US citizen w/ a US boat, how does that work?

You are required to check in with customs. There are people who don't bother, and frankly not all that many get caught. But some do. And the penalties can be pretty severe. If you want to take the risk, that's fine, your choice. But don't expect any sympathy if you get caught, your boat confiscated, yourself fined and/or sent to prison.

[Capt.Alex]

I think you well get better results if you separate your questions into individual threads. I don't have a long enough attention span to go through your list of questions and answer them in one sitting. I do hope you get the answers you seek though.

[tbodine88]

Of all the countries you've visited, who had the best music and/or most unexpectedly good music?

I like Jazz, and often can't find a good radio station, but in Puerto Rico, I couldn't find any bad stations. Plus the fact that My spanish is rudimentary meant many of the comericials were appealing as well

[edvol44]

Originally Posted by Capt.Alex

I think you well get better results if you separate your questions into individual threads. I don't have a long enough attention span to go through your list of questions and answer them in one sitting. I do hope you get the answers you seek though.

That is a better way to do it, wise Capt. Alex. I will do as you advise.