What ever happen to the REAL cruisers?

[Cadence]

You forgot the silly Captains hat. If you want to look truly stupid...always wear a Captains hat.

Truer words were never spoken.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Cadence

You forgot the silly Captains hat. If you want to look truly stupid...always wear a Captains hat.

Truer words were never spoken.

A captain's hat does come in handy in non European foreign ports. Captain's hat, clean white shirt, white or dark pants(not jeans, no shorts), and shoes(not flipflops). You will be treated professionally. One's hat signifies one's position in foreign lands, especially in the near east.

A goofy floppy hat or baseball hat marks you. And its not a nice mark. We cut through many wait lines in countless ports by looking and acting like professional skippers.

Got to remember the military is a very high status and important institution in most second and third world nations. A captain's hat connotes a military like manner and gets respect and results.

Look the part, be the part.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Mike of course is correct but humans being humans seem to need lots of other humans around, most of the time to feel secure. Just imagine if you were in that anchorage on that island that hardly anyone goes to, well you might be boarded and killed, you get the picture. There are just a few cruisers that strike out on the road less traveled and they usually have wonderful experiences that are not available on the milk run but that takes more balls than most cruisers have.

Come to Canada my friend. Lots of out-of-the-way places with few people around. And I promise we won't rob you or kill you ... unless you're sailing close to Toronto or Vancouver, then all bets are off

The idea that people today don't have the same kind of knowledge and capabilities of older farts, (I mean older generation ) is simply an ever-regressive argument. I'm sure the same crotchety complaints were made against cruisers who bought those new fangled fibreglass boats back around the late 1960s: "Doncha know that Real Sailors sail wooden boats! Damn kids... Now get off my lawn!".

I agree, technology like GPS lowers the navigation bar, and this certainly makes cruising away from shore easier. This means more people can now do what only a few Priests of Celestial Navigation once did. But when the magic GPS box goes puff these people are screwed, so knowing navigational basics is a good thing.

But here's the thing ... it's not an either-or situation. You can do both. Use the tech, but maintain basic skills.

[zeehag]

captains hat-best be earned.
my uncle earned his. navy and merchant marine, tallships and steam..
wore it with pride and honor. was respected up and down hudson river until his death in 1998, at age 95. he and his boat were both made in 1903.

today no one has earned the scrambled eggs they wear nor do they understand the honor implied with its wearing and identity.\
is a damn shame.
i learned from the best, and am most grateful.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I've done a fair amount of flying close to the ground (F4 and F16) and don't think age has much to do with it at all. Reflexes really don't have much to do with it if you're doing it right. Much more important is to ALWAYS keep your priorities straight and never for even a second forget that hitting the ground has a near 100% probability of killing you. I know that sound obvious but lots of dead folks forgot that basic tenet for just a second or two at the wrong time. They allowed themselves to be distracted by lesser issues when they shouldn't have. If Ag's been crop dusting for a long time, it's really obvious that this necessary instinct is hardwired into him and there's virtually no chance that he'd forget his habit of NEVER forgetting where the ground is relative to him for ANY reason.

One technique we used to use to determine where your low altitude comfort level was would be to roll into about a 3 or 4 g level turn for about 180 degrees and when you roll out see if you are still at the same altitude you started at. If you're below your comfort level altitude you will have instinctively climbed a little but if you're comfortable at that height above the ground you will actually have done a level turn and will be at the same altitude. I'm betting that Ag pilot could do 50' AGL level turns all day long and I wouldn't make that same bet about someone with less than a couple of thousand hours as a cropduster or regularly flying very low for some other reason. It's not physical, it's almost all right between your ears. One caveat is that low level flying is something you have to do regularly to stay good at it and I can see where someone who used to be comfortable at low altitude but has semi retired from the business so isn't as current as they used to be could get into trouble if they didn't take a little time to step themselves back down to the levels where they used to be very comfortable. Maybe that's what's "done in" the older crop dusters you mention?

I hear what your saying but I don't agree with you. Age just takes away your edge in really fine flying, I don't think there are too many fighter pilots over the age of 60, do you? If you are right in your assumptions then there would be hundreds or thousands of fighter pilots in that age group.
I taught aerobatics for many years and did odd small air shows, I know I could teach right now but my hand eye coordination is not what it used tobe. Yes there are fellows that can play hockey into their 50's, well one anyways, Gordie Howe and there are some pilots that seem to defy all odds against them but on average age just takes a toll and the stats support that. I have lost several older duster pilot friends that were excellent pilots. Crop dusting in some parts of the country is not an entirely safe occupation.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

At no point did the op demean anyone. Merely stating that with the advent of GPS, it changed cruising forever and filled anchorages with affluent people with little knowledge of boat maintenance or navigation.
If they appear foolish, they do it to themselves.

I made no reference to the OP in my statement suggesting that some might malign the wealthy with prejudice. It's not common to have every post in a thread refer to the OP. Actually, I was inspired by your post #83. Like your statement above. These affluent people with little knowledge of boat maintenance and navigation are usually bringing professional crew with very credible skills. Sure, they are not cruisers as you or I, but they do allow many people to use our skills professionally.

My caution is simply that we should not malign the character of people simply because they are poor or wealthy. I will admit that I am most comfortable among people similar to myself. I do not choose to dock at fancy yacht clubs with uniformed staff and I don't feel comfortable in a impoverished harbor where I'm thought of as wealthy. Still, I would not disrespect these people.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I hear what your saying but I don't agree with you. Age just takes away your edge in really fine flying, I don't think there are too many fighter pilots over the age of 60, do you? If you are right in your assumptions then there would be hundreds or thousands of fighter pilots in that age group.
I taught aerobatics for many years and did odd small air shows, I know I could teach right now but my hand eye coordination is not what it used tobe. Yes there are fellows that can play hockey into their 50's, well one anyways, Gordie Howe and there are some pilots that seem to defy all odds against them but on average age just takes a toll and the stats support that. I have lost several older duster pilot friends that were excellent pilots. Crop dusting in some parts of the country is not an entirely safe occupation.

Did my service time flying old caribous(C-7) in Southeast Asia back in 69-71. STOL type of plane. Usually fussed around at 150 knots at about 200 feet elevation, much less sometimes. Did it 24/7 for a solid 9 months and still got lost in the clouds without instruments. Every day was a new day and at least I and my squadron never got use to, nor comfortable with extremely low level flying. Always a pucker factor. In my 70s now and no longer have the attention span nor quick judgement needed for low level flying. Doubt if other old folks would either. Most folks older than 65 could not live long pulling the g forces a fighter jet would subject them too. Cardio system just too old, eye's corneas too hardened, and so forth.

[robert sailor]

[QUOTE=robert sailor;2134030]I hear what your saying but I don't agree with you. Age just takes away your edge in really fine flying, I don't think there are too many fighter pilots over the age of 60, do you? If you are right in your assumptions then there would be hundreds or thousands of fighter pilots in that age group.
I taught aerobatics for many years and did odd small air shows, I know I could teach right now but my hand eye coordination is not what it used tobe. Yes there are fellows that can play hockey into their 50's, well one anyways, Gordie Howe and there are some pilots that seem to defy all odds against them but on average age just takes a toll and the stats support that. I have lost several older duster pilot friends that were excellent pilots. Crop dusting in some parts of the country is not an entirely safe occupation.

[robert sailor]

I want to be clear that some folks defy Father Time for awhile longer than the rest of us in many different occupations but time does take a toll on all of us. I still ride race bikes,fly and sail but if I want to continue living then I have to learn to dial back on the risk taking a bit more than I did even 10 years ago. Even if I did believe in heaven, which I don't, I'd be in no hurry to get there.

[Srqdiver]

Originally Posted by SV Sailfish

Ah... the well monied. We had a half million dollar sled pull into the fuel dock here yesterday. All aboard had matching polo shirts with the boat name and logo. Looked to be a family. Very spiffy indeed. Twenty something kid hops pff and I hear him tell dad he would top up the "gas". He did. Junior pumped almost 100 gallons of gas into his daddies' high end turbo diesel fuel tank. I just walked away grinning.

I change my own oil. And all else. Why? Not because I can't afford to pay someone, I can, but so I could learn all the boat systems aboard and how they work.

Wow! I hope I am never around you if I am in need of help.
That was just wrong and shows no consideration for life or safety of others.
All this because the can afford a little more than you.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

At no point did the op demean anyone. Merely stating that with the advent of GPS, it changed cruising forever and filled anchorages with affluent people with little knowledge of boat maintenance or navigation.
If they appear foolish, they do it to themselves.

To me the fact that an affluent person made it to the anchorage suggests they in fact know enough.

This whole thread is just about different forms of being a boat snob.

I'm more considered about what people do and how they behave once they get to an anchorage over how they got there.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Look the part, be the part.

Yep...nothing quite says I'm a professional like a stupid captains hat. To me...that's a mark.
Sure, go into a Port Captains office, shaven, smelling like you bathed recently and not wearing rags. You'll get a lot more mileage with a kind word and being jovial throughout a conversation... as does speaking a few words of the language.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Yep...nothing quite says I'm a professional like a stupid captains hat. To me...that's a mark.
Sure, go into a Port Captains office, shaven, smelling like you bathed recently and not wearing rags. You'll get a lot more mileage with a kind word and being jovial throughout a conversation... as does speaking a few words of the language.

Each to their own attitudes. We noticed that professional captains, even on a fishing boat, would wear their hats into the port offices where others were also wearing their hats. Its a courtesy thing that we picked up on. Shows respect, but of course most Americans are unfamiliar with that concept when abroad. Not sure being jovial is a good thing. In the Persian Gulf area, it shows a decided lack of respect, that you are not taking them serious. Perhaps you have not traveled to those parts?

[Don C L]

It's the wear and tear and diesel and dirt stains that make the hat.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Don C L

It's the wear and tear and diesel and dirt stains that make the hat.

Watching Thelma and Louise have you? We usually use rags to wipe our hands rather than our clothing. Try it.