Disillusionment with Cruising?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

@ atoll - perhaps she took a cruise and accidently found she didn't need to leave - no plan.

...and having an inflexible mindset in a plan also leads to disappointment.

Travel light into the field.

hurdles vs barriers,most people fail because they allready have this in their mind set............nevva giv up

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

...If life at it's core is not meaningful then new experiences, fun, leisure, new wife, indulgence or thrills can only mask that fact for a while. If that was your circumstance, then you might be disillusioned with whatever pursuit you ventured into.

Greg

I think this is one of the most profoundly truthful responses so far. And can apply to any situation we place ourselves in. I'd go further and take a more buddhist viewpoint - all of these things are cravings. If it wasn't sailing, it would be something else we want. There is no meaningfulness in anything - sailing etc. We project meaning and importance. Once you let go of that and just be, you will find a greater freedom.

Don't be a Walking Ghost.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by atoll

SELL THE KIDS ON EBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,GET A MISTRESS,AND GO SAILING!!!!

I tried they kept getting returned as warranty failures.

Dave

[Khagan1227]

Not trying to be an a$$, but if you have to ask the question, cruising probably isn't going to be the answer.

As a friend of mine always says, "you gotta wanna".

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Khagan1227

Not trying to be an a$$, but if you have to ask the question, cruising probably isn't going to be the answer.

As a friend of mine always says, "you gotta wanna".

There have been a lot of interesting answers, and each one seems to hold something of value, but with respect to this I think estarzinger's rings in that I believe everyone has doubts from time to time. It never goes away and people change

"People stop cruising because their life changes." - John A

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by doug86

After a few long ocean passages, I found that I much preferred the 'being there' over the 'getting there'. Days and days sailing offshore didn't really fulfill my desires; getting to those destinations sure did! One can fly to most places far easier than one can sail there. On the other hand, I love to live aboard, and I have found that I like the easy, (mostly) drama free cruising on the protected waters of the ICW.

So, perhaps I thought at one time that I would sail to distant places, I gave that a try and found out it wasn't for me. Does that make me disillusioned? At some inner place, I admit to some disappointment, because I did dream of that. But, I am living a content lifestyle; and when I meet folks who aren't boaters, they always say "Wow, you're living the dream!" I just smile and say "I get by."

I can see this happening to me. Right now I have a burning desire to drink a sundowner while anchored off the beach in Tahiti.

Yes it would be cheaper to fly there, but when you add up the cost of round trip tickets to every place I want to visit, and hotel and restaurant bills, it becomes w ash real quick. PLus I would like to see these places for more than a week at a time.

But after a few years, (decades), of living in a small floating box with a camp stove. I can see that the oceans are big, and are the beaches in Tahiti really better than the ones in Key Largo or the Exumas? At some point just having a patch of sand, and easy access to rum, (and overnighted spare parts), will take priority, and the only time the moss will be removed from the anchor chain is hurricane season, and the annnual haul out. Until then I plan on crossing some oceans!!

[Tia Bu]

I have a friend who had never really spent any time on a sailboat but was making those mid-life "I want to sail away into the sunset" noises. So I invited him to help sail my boat from Nassau back to the U.S.

We were out about six days in total. A few of the things I remember encountering: halyard wrap on the roller furling genoa, an overnight gale in an exposed anchorage, a parted spinnaker halyard, trash in the diesel fuel, running out of diesel in the middle of the night from being heeled over, bleeding the engine at sea in the dark to restart it, running aground, spending the night on sandbar, hailing a local fisherman to finally tow us off.

Along with all the other minor stuff that went wrong .

It was a fun trip for me. I think he had fun, too, as he says he wants to go again this summer. But at one point, the light bulb went off and he said, "So basically, if I get this right, everything on a sailboat is kind of a pain in the ass."

Which perhaps sums it up. Some people like it. Plenty of sane people don't. I've always loved it. Seems to me it would be good to sort of get to know the sport before you sell the house and quit your job.

Oh, and another thing he later pointed out that I never had really thought about. You envision cruising as all sorts of beautiful scenery. Much of the time, it's a 360 degree view of.... water.

[Greenzilla]

Originally Posted by Tia Bu

Oh, and another thing he later pointed out that I never had really thought about. You envision cruising as all sorts of beautiful scenery. Much of the time, it's a 360 degree view of.... water.

I think 360 degrees of water is beautiful scenary. It is one of the things I really enjoyed the couple of times I've sailed between Florida and the Bahamas. Sometimes your surfing down waves higher than you - with the wave form changing and as mesmerizing as watching a fire. Other times the wind dies and the beautiful flat blue water streatches forever inviting you to float a line and jump in for a swim.

Then again - maybe I was really really tired from standing watch....

[sww914]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

right atoll - time to move to another sucky place only now to find all those wonderful things in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th world.

I agree with you both, I can only hope that when I find too much that sucks I can move to another place with a different kind of suckiness that I'm not already sick of.

[beau]

I love this thread.

SELL THE KIDS ON EBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,GET A MISTRESS,AND GO SAILING!!!!

Pretty much what i did.
My kids are all grown up, my wife divorced me.
So I went on internet dating looking for a partner who wanted adventure and cruising.
I found a wonderful lady Christine who thinks the same as I do.
We built a 43 ft motor/sailor trimaran and are leaving (finally) for Indonesia and the phillipines this weekend.
NO going back.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by beau

I love this thread.

Pretty much what i did.
My kids are all grown up, my wife divorced me.
So I went on internet dating looking for a partner who wanted adventure and cruising.
I found a wonderful lady Christine who thinks the same as I do.
We built a 43 ft motor/sailor trimaran and are leaving (finally) for Indonesia and the phillipines this weekend.
NO going back.

I'm envious as hell.
Have a wonderful trip!

Vic

[atoll]

way to go beau,good luck on your travels,you will love indo and the philipines 10,000 islands,good choice of boat for that area.

[mrohr]

HI All: Love the comments here, so many great insights.
The TRUTH:Life is signifacantly easier on land,probaly cheaper too,otherwise more people would be doing it and staying with the lifestyle.
A cruiser will have to give up many things that he /she has taken for granted on land ; if the trade offs do not compensate, then its time to get a day job.
Yes, the highs are real high ,but to experience them you will suffer many lows.
A boat may be your home but it will never be a house, so if you try to bring many of the household trappings on board, you had better stay tied to the dock.
A boat is substandard housing by any measure ; once you recognize this reality you can explore why it is so appealing to you and this values clarification process will allow you amuch deeper understanding of yourself and what is important to you. You might even like what you find.

[TomandAnitas34]

" No matter where you go... there you are. " There is no more validity in sailing over touring in a Winnebago, on a motorcycle, or even living out of a U-Haul box truck. If you do not know yourself and seek that knowledge in a boat, be assured that its not the boat that will deliver insight. Looking outside will never illuminate the questions you hold in your heart.

[Wotname]

Nice first post Tom....