Sailing vs Cruising

[thomm225]

So is there a difference?

I'm thinking there is a big difference between those that want to motor or sail a few miles then hang out a marina (or anchorage) on a condo style late modern fin keel boat for a few weeks and call it cruising compared to those that have an objective to sail the world or their immediate area for a few years

This sort of goes back to the full keel boat threads that have recently popped up.

If you are constantly on the move for a few weeks, months, or even years then the old narrow full keel boats that can be had at a very low price might be the best boat to purchase at least until you figure out if you actually enjoy the cruising life since it isn't about hanging out down below etc unless it has to do with sleep or bad weather

[Mike OReilly]

My view is that sailing is exactly that; the act of sailing a vessel. Cruising is about traveling on a livable boat by sail or engine. So some cruisers sail some of the time.

I am a cruiser who lives and travels on a sailboat. I move my home around by sail some of the time. I’m not a sailor, I’m a cruiser who sometimes sails.

[laika]

My take is everyone has they're own ideas and reasons for going. Near or far, big or small.. If you're where you want to be and leave a good wake behind you, I'd happily call you a cruiser.

[belizesailor]

Why do you care how it gets categorized? Decide what it is you want to do and go do it!

Screw categories and the opinions of others.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Rangemarker25

So is there a difference?

You know, I was going to do a real reply. But your second paragraph just seemed insulting and targeted that I realized what the real objective appeared to be.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

You know, I was going to do a real reply. But your second paragraph just seemed insulting and targeted that I realized what the real objective appeared to be.

It does read like pre-biased post.

[thomm225]

Certainly sorry to offend.

Maybe I should have asked what's it like to actually cruise constantly rather than be on a constant retirement vacation (which for some that have worked hard all their lives would be great!)

I'm just one of those that thinks it's a bad thing to actually retire.

In the Call of the Wild when they pulled a sled dog out of the traces because he was too old and slow, he'd still chase the sled until he could no longer keep up

Does this help explain my question?

[john61ct]

If your primary goal is to make others happy, then you need to keep looking for feedback as to how you're performing.

When you only need to please yourself, there's no way someone else can pass judgement on how well you're doing it.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If your primary goal is to make others happy, then you need to keep looking for feedback as to how you're performing.

When you only need to please yourself, there's no way someone else can pass judgement on how well you're doing it.

My primary goal is as I said , "to find out what it's actually like to cruise constantly rather than be on a constant retirement vacation." (and how to prepare)

When I say constantly, this means with the necessary stops for supplies, rest, and human contact

Can you shed some light on this from your past cruises that lasted at least a few weeks off the grid?

[J Clark H356]

It’s about moving from point to point and how comfortable you want to be doing it. Some cruisers are very minimally equipped and they are like basic campers. They eat canned food, have minimal Facilites, and minimal comforts. Other cruisers have full time generators running, heat and air, onboard internet, satellite tv, freezers, refrigerators, gas ranges with ovens, full enclosures for the cockpit, autopilots, sonar, radar AIS and heads with showers with hot water and shower everyday. I am in the later category and my wife and I are spending our 1178th day on our Hunter 356 since we got it new in 2003. We anchor out some, stay mostly in marinas when cruising and that’s our choice. By the way, we’ve sailed this boat just under 10,000 miles, so we have a little practical experience at this. We enjoy our environment but we don’t criticize those that are minimalists. Whatever you want to do, go do it - your way. We do and we don’t care what others think about our choices. We are happy doing it our way.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by J Clark H356

It’s about moving from point to point and how comfortable you want to be doing it. Some cruisers are very minimally equipped and they are like basic campers. They eat canned food, have minimal Facilites, and minimal comforts. Other cruisers have full time generators running, heat and air, onboard internet, satellite tv, freezers, refrigerators, gas ranges with ovens, full enclosures for the cockpit, autopilots, sonar, radar AIS and heads with showers with hot water and shower everyday. I am in the later category and my wife and I are spending our 1178th day on our Hunter 356 since we got it new in 2003. We anchor out some, stay mostly in marinas when cruising and that’s our choice. By the way, we’ve sailed this boat just under 10,000 miles, so we have a little practical experience at this. We enjoy our environment but we don’t criticize those that are minimalists. Whatever you want to do, go do it - your way. We do and we don’t care what others think about our choices. We are happy doing it our way.

Thanks for the info.

I'm sort of toward the minimalist side, but I cannot do the canned food thing day after day.

And if it's too hot for days on end, it's probably time to head north or where there is some breeze.

I'm hoping I can adapt once I'm on the boat for more than a few days to a week at a time to sleeping in a confined space, drinking barely cool beer, and eating what I have that's somewhat fresh

Plus I'll need electronics that will probably cost as much as I have in my boat, plus lots of books, and internet plus sat phone

The working/high tech world has spoiled me somewhat, and I simply cannot go too far backwards to an era with no Coms etc

[belizesailor]

(duplicate deleted)

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Rangemarker25

My primary goal is as I said , "to find out what it's actually like to cruise constantly rather than be on a constant retirement vacation." (and how to prepare)

When I say constantly, this means with the necessary stops for supplies, rest, and human contact

Can you shed some light on this from your past cruises that lasted at least a few weeks off the grid?

How do you define "cruise constantly"? Do you mean literally always underway or just sailing from port to port?

Always underway, as in crossing oceans, I would call "voyaging" not cruising. See Lin & Larry Pardey for an example of iconic voyagers. They prefer to be offshore underway on a small boat.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_and_Larry_Pardey

Thats not most cruisers.

Also, cruising is not a vacation, its a lifestyle. Im just wrapping up 3 solid days of boat work...thats not vacationing.

Most cruisers I think (casual observation, no hard data) are part-time cruisers. Meaning they cruise part of the year and do something else, like live ashore or travel, the rest or the year. This works well with the seasons...as hurricane season is not typically considered an ideal time to be out cruising.

A smaller percentage of cruisers are full-time, meaning they live on the boat full-time. However, most will still seek safe harbor for hurricane season or winter (depending on cruising grounds)...thus they are not typically "cruising constantly" either, but hang out somewhere for offseason.

Does that paint a better picture for you?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Rangemarker25

In the Call of the Wild when they pulled a sled dog out of the traces because he was too old and slow, he'd still chase the sled until he could no longer keep up

Does this help explain my question?

Absolutely not. I don't know if you asking something’se. Seems you are just insulting cruisers because they don’t just constantly sail. Btw what sailing and cruising have you done?

[S/V Illusion]

Not sure you are sure what you ask. That wasn’t a typo sentence by the way.

We sailed the Pacific from LA to New Zealand. Now we sail around the Caribbean from Florida and often sail around Florida for a few days at a time.

We also just returned from a 2week cruise aboard the Emerald Princess around the Med.

Semantics is irrelevant.