You know you might be a cruiser if.....

[mcerdos]

Let's add some more please...

You know You might be a Cruiser if…….

-You get your daily servings of fruit from rum drinks

-You wait for the tide to turn the boat so you can get a better wifi or cell phone reception

-It has been over six months since you had decent TV reception

-Your second car is a dinghy and your first car is your boat

-Your good flip flops are your dress shoes

-You have to visit more than two other boaters to find out the day of the week or date

-You have completed an exhaustive comparison of ways to get weather forecasts

-You forget to stop saying, “Over” when you chat on an actual telephone

-You have a wide brim, floppy hat with a neck guard and you are not afraid to wear it

-You blow a conch shell at sunset

-Your new fragrance is bug spray mixed with sunscreen

-You have a collection of left over laundry tokens

-Amazon Prime knows you by your first name (when in the USA)

-Amazon’s stock goes down when you are away from port

-You slow down around anchored boats

-You have a solar shower and you know how to use it

-You favorite purse is waterproof, dries quickly and has a spare kill cord hidden inside

-You wash out Ziplock bags

-Your first aid kit has duct tape in it

-Your cereal is stored in the same cabinet as your socks

[Freedom45]

Cruisers dress code:

Casual....shorts and a tee shirt
Work......shorts and a tee shirt
Shopping..shorts and a tee shirt
Social......shorts and a tee shirt
Formal.....shorts and a tee shirt w/o stains

[Pete17C]

you have a folding cart you call "the truck".

[senormechanico]

You measure a turkey or ham before buying it to make sure it will fit your oven.

[Adelie]

You eat everything out of a bowl using a spoon.

[JPA Cate]

"formal wear" means you wear unders.

You check the tide tables for the day in question before you make any appointment whatsoever.

Ann

And, yes, have said "over" when on speaker phone. Have noted landlubbers don't get it when using marine VHF phonetic spelling.

[Fore and Aft]

Start pumping your foot instead of turning on the tap for water!
After long periods on our yacht (only foot pumps for the water) it always takes a few days adjustment to remember that you turn on the tap for water!
Cheers

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Start pumping your foot instead of turning on the tap for water!
After long periods on our yacht (only foot pumps for the water) it always takes a few days adjustment to remember that you turn on the tap for water!
Cheers

Gave me a laugh. This would be funny to witness in a pub restroom. Some guy in front of the sink, rubbing his hands under the spigot, foot dancing around looking for a pedal. A skit obviously done by Monty Python. LOL

[Fore and Aft]

I must admit I have had a bit of a chuckle watching my daughter cleaning her teeth and trying to pump water onto her toothbrush. That little foot scanning around looking for the rubber step so she get some water on her brush and then finally she clicks and turns the tap on.
Cheers

[Jim Cate]

And then there's getting under a shore based shower, wetting down, shutting off, soaping up, rinsiing, shutting off, all within two minutes.

And actually turning off lights when not in use.

And having bus schedules from 15 cities in 5 countries in your computer.

And worrying about how many sheets of TP you have used.

And stripping excess packaging off groceries before leaving the supermarket and stowing it in their bin.

And saving lots of money because you have no shipping address to send things to.

And knowing heaps of folks first names, the names of their boats but not their surnames.

Odd lot, us cruisers!

Jim

[sailm8]

You have a perpetual rash on your butt from the dinghy.

[sailorita2002]

This kind of follows....( I wrote this a few years ago while still cruising in the Caribbean.

Small Victories!

Whether you are a full-time or part-time cruiser you find that life aboard a boat is different than life on land. Of course, many things are similar: meals, household chores, etc. But even those are down-sized due to the smaller size of your “house”. For instance, no large dinner parties, of course, and a hand-vac or whisk-broom are usually sufficient for any cleaning you choose to do.


You have new daily routines and seem to mark your days with the high points. Land-dwellers do that too though, but the high points sure are different for cruisers! Here are some of the “small victories” that we celebrate:


When it doesn’t take hours to get through with the Port Captain and Immigrations when checking into or out of a country
Your forwarded mail actually finds you and especially so if it comes quickly
When the day, or even a few hours, are sunny so laundry or other outdoor projects can be accomplished
Not dropping any parts, tools, or anything else in the drink while working on those projects
Finding some shade on the boat when the sun does shine
Catching a fish that’s not too big for the refrigerator or being able to share it if there are other boats around
Getting the overhead hatches closed before the full onset of the storm hits
Filling the tanks with that rainwater
Actually finding the item you were looking for in a village store (or on your own boat for that matter!)
Thinking you might have communicated correctly with a local using what little you know of their language and broken English
When the inertia from the outboard motor on the dinghy is sufficient to get you to the dock, but not at ramming speed
Going ashore and not getting eaten alive by mosquitoes or no-see-ums
Seeing familiar faces or boats when pulling into a new-to-you destination

While underway there are different routines and different causes for celebration:

Seeing dolphins always feels like a good omen
Night watches that are totally uneventful except for shooting stars and the phosphorescence on the water
When the winds and seas agree to give you a smooth ride instead of throwing you in the “washing machine”
Knowing you have enough fuel to get you where you’re going when the winds aren’t there or are on your nose
Knowing you’re really not aground even though the chart-plotter says you are
Having the anchor set the first time and not drag when the wind changes


And finally: knowing there is at least one cold one in the refrigerator, especially when you’re at anchor and a bar’s nowhere to be found!

[briblack]

the idea of a warm shower every day seems extravagant.

[Maka]

The ground moves under your feet when you 1st arrive in port.

[Tingum]

Your only belt is mossey green!