Is Cruising on the Decline ?

[maxingout]

Before I left on my 11 year circumnavigation, there were lots of places in south Florida for liveaboard yachties. Now finding a marina that wants liveaboards is hard to locate in the Fort Lauderdale area. The regular yachties have been replaced by the Megayachts. West Marine in Lauderdale caters to the megayachts because the megayachts pushed the full time cruisers/liveaboards out of the area.

While I was in Fort Lauderdale, the Sailrite sewing machine company closed their Florida shop - not enough business to keep them in business in a south Florida location.

South Florida marinas are boat parking lots and not places for cruisers to visit.

As the economy squeezes everyone, you will find that the middle class will get squeezed out of the cruising lifestyle. The very rich will continue as long as it is fashionable. The dedicated cruisers and liveaboards will ratchet down their lifestyle and make whatever changes necessary to live their constrained dreams.

Money talks. The golden rule says, "He who has the gold makes the rules." The middle class aren't making the rules, and so the rules are not particularly friendly to those of us who have less cash to throw around.

If the economy goes down the tubes so that the megayachts leave, then the small yachties will have more clout. I don't see that happening any time soon.

Perhaps there will be a trend to older and smaller yachts for middle class yachties.

[SurferShane]

Well I am getting ready to head back up that way maybe after a quick sojourn in Tassie. To be honest I am just glad to here Cruising is not some sort of fad and I can again enjoy the wilderness with a handful of other dedicated cruisers. It is also pertinent that the situation might lead to myself meeting a lot of very genuine people.

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by maxingout

As the economy squeezes everyone, you will find that the middle class will get squeezed out of the cruising lifestyle. The very rich will continue as long as it is fashionable. The dedicated cruisers and liveaboards will ratchet down their lifestyle and make whatever changes necessary to live their constrained dreams.

Money talks. The golden rule says, "He who has the gold makes the rules." The middle class aren't making the rules, and so the rules are not particularly friendly to those of us who have less cash to throw around.

If the economy goes down the tubes so that the megayachts leave, then the small yachties will have more clout. I don't see that happening any time soon. Perhaps there will be a trend to older and smaller yachts for middle class yachties.

I can't disagree especially as this is one of the underlying reasons I have been both forced and at the same time volunteered to go cruising on a modest budget. In contrast, there are a lot of those bigger boats sitting idle at my so-called local “cruising yacht club”. Some of the bigger boats are also for sale at reasonable prices; a lot cheaper than they might have gone a few years back!.

[ardoin]

This summer and Fall, Back Creek was full of people preparing their boat for cast off this fall. More than I've seen in a few years. All of them have left, not their are only 3 boat on my pier. I'd say, the economy has improved enough to support the cruisers that planned for it and you should see the numbers improved from the US provided we don't double dip.

[thinwater]

For a time, 5-10 years ago, rock climbing became an extreme sport "fad." Gyms sprang up, stores added rock climbing sections, and the local crags--the ones near the road--became terribly crowded on weekends.

Then folks learned that climbing a rockwall, like daysailing or a leason, was exciting but tame and controlled, but that real climbing in the mountains was scary, skill intensive, often exhausting. that rescue or help were often distant, that it becomes an exercise in looking inside your head. Crowds never grew much in the real mountains, and then they actually declined in many areas. It turns out that most people don't want an introspective adventure that could kill them. They they want a "cool" expereince but only in a controlled environment and in measured doses, that will stop when they tire of it.

Cruising may be like that. Those that expect a "dinner and a movie" expereince and for sailing to be as predictable as driving will be disappointed. The portion of people that understand adventure will not increase.

Good.

[chala]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i tellye--is a real BEAR trying to find decent male cruising partner for a formosa 41 ketch and, me, a baby boomer female---too bad kat(feline, as opposed to 2 hulls or rig type) cant steer when he is on watch.....sailing off into sunset/sunrise isnt quite the "thing" whenye are solo...except for the awesome beauty we are gifted ...
i presume it would be funner to share this with somene, especially someone special

How can a genuine boat bum resist? Under a bridge, a woman who loves boats, the prospect of faraway destinations.

[savoir]

A big factor, maybe the biggest, is selling the house as so many cruisers must. House prices have fallen more than boat prices meaning that the war chest ain't what it might have been.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by savoir

A big factor, maybe the biggest, is selling the house as so many cruisers must. House prices have fallen more than boat prices meaning that the war chest ain't what it might have been.

Good point!

(If the traffic on this forum is any indication, however, there are still a lot of people getting bit by the cruising bug.)

[savoir]

Maybe they are all Wall Street types looking for somewhere to blow the bonus ? ? ?

[sailorboy1]

I'm sure in the last couple of years lots of people have had to change their plans with the money melt down. I can not really comment on the number of cruisers but the marinia and mooring field I stay at has been as full the the last couple of years as before. I did notice last year that boats didn't seem to be moving or being used, just "parked".

[TOM]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

I wonder if word is getting round that Australian beaurocracy is ridiculously administered, and sailing here is just becoming too hard.
Could be that overseas cruisers are giving Australia a miss...

The general concensus out here is that Australia is exspensive and hard work. When you can arrive in Malaysia and they give you a 90 day visa for free {with a smile} the thought of going to Australia and getting charged a small fortune for things like termites "yes sorry sir we will have to fly a dog up from Townsville to check your boat for termites thats $600 ...All our dogs business class.

Look I'm a proud Aussie i love this country ,but as a cruiser uinless you are well heeled give it a miss.

www.byamee.com

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I'm sure in the last couple of years lots of people have had to change their plans with the money melt down. I can not really comment on the number of cruisers but the marinia and mooring field I stay at has been as full the the last couple of years as before. I did notice last year that boats didn't seem to be moving or being used, just "parked".

Perhaps 4 or 5 years ago when real estate prices ( or stock prices ) were high, a lot of people cashed out and bought a yacht. Now all they can afford to do with that yacht is park it.

[Hudson Force]

Care should be taken not to interpret the "parked" boats in the marina as a sign of the decline of cruising. When Nancie and I purchased our first liveaboard cruising sloop in 1971 most of the boats in marinas were not actively used and this as remained true for all years to the present. What we have obeserved within our cruising area on the East US Coast, are changes in the availability of slips. During the seventies we found it was fairly easy to move from one location to another while keeping a slip where we could commute to our emplyment. During the eighties and through the nineties, finding a slip became near impossible. Now, some marinas that had no space available ten or fifteen years ago are only 60% to 70% full. In some areas this is partially due to the large number of slips that were built in association with waterfront condominiums that have since gone into bankrupcy and the former private slips, unsold, are now available to the public. We are only summer residents in New England and do not rent slips there. My observations are mostly from Florida activity. One additional interesting observation concerns the age of most cruisers. In the early 1970's most cruisers were our age,- in their twenties; and now, most cruisers seem to be our age!

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i tellye--is a real BEAR trying to find decent male cruising partner for a formosa 41 ketch and, me, a baby boomer female---too bad kat(feline, as opposed to 2 hulls or rig type) cant steer when he is on watch.....sailing off into sunset/sunrise isnt quite the "thing" whenye are solo...except for the awesome beauty we are gifted ...
i presume it would be funner to share this with somene, especially someone special

But look on the bright side, you get to make "all" the decisions. No arguments about use of storage space, how many tools/spares you really need, etc. etc. That special someone comes with strings attached. I have a spouse and like it that way but there are trade off.

[IdoraKeeper]

Most of the boats in my marina never move. Sail or power. In my own mind I refer to a book I have reverently re-read. Song of the Sirens by Earnest K. Gann. He has been personal hero of mine all my life. Mr Gann was a cruiser and an aviator and a trust fund baby (As well as a succesful author). I think it's a combination of personality and opportunity. Right now, a person must be strongly motivated to overcome the adverse financial conditions we are all faced with. Socially, we are taught to lower our expectations and submit.....Not exactly a mind set conducive to striking out over the horizon.

There will always be those that will go. There is a subconcious force in all of us who dream. For many a moment will come when that force is irresistable. That will never change.

Todd