Is your 1st passion: Travelling or Sailing?

[gypsy cat]

Is your 1st passion: Travelling or Sailing?

Some people’s one true passion in life is either traveling or sailing? For cruisers out there, it is usually the love of one of these two things that first ignite their onboard adventures to different lands and seas.

Aloha everyone – we are Chris and Christine here (ya, we know the names are corny, but it’s easy for most people to remember, PLUS we didn’t’ make our names up)! Our romance went like this: typical boy meets girl at a beach, boy walks up to girl, they talk about how they LOVE to travel, and boy confidently states, “let’s go to Brazil together,” and girl thinks boy is a wacko psycho nut job, but THAN (drum roll please) they go to Brazil together on their first backpacking trip together as a couple. To make a long story short, after over 50 countries (trips taken alone and trip taken as a couple) they realize they want to take a longer backpacking trip together, but money (isn’t it always?) was a major issue. As a backpacker, you sleep in the cheapest hostels, take chicken buses, and eat all the local street food, but it’s STILL expensive to travel.

Than one day girl (who always wanted to take a sailing course) says to boy, “let’s take a basic sailing course at the local community college.” The rest is history.

We realized as a backpacker that we could save loads of money by owning our own boat (housing/lodging costs/transportation costs/eating out costs, etc). Than we became sailors. Chris took two courses on sailing, I took one, and after practicing on Chris’ first sailboat, “Sea Angel” (not named after me because I am surely no angel); which was a 25 foot McGregor that took us around Oceanside and to Catalina Island.

We than dropped out of the rat race in Nov 2007, took a cross country road trip from CA to FL to purchase our dream boat (the Gemini 105 MC – a catamaran) in March 2008, and left FL at the end of May 2008 to travel to the Caribbean. From Florida, we have sailed to the Bahamas, to Turks & Caicos, to the Dominican Republic, to Puerto Rico, and now we are in the British Virgin Islands.

My one true passion in life is traveling – that’s what got me sailing around the Caribbean and living the life of a cruiser in the first place.

So my poll question: Is your first passion Travelling or Sailing? What was the impetus in living the life of a cruiser?

[Pelagic]

Hi Gypsy Cat, welcome to a fun cruising site.

I think it would be very interesting for you to start a poll about what a Cruiser’s first passion is as it relates to how you got into committed cruising.

But I also think there are other items to consider putting on your list.
1/…Travelling
2/…Sailing
3/….SCUBA
4/….Fishing
5/….The freedom to leave.

When I think about it, what I love the most about our lifestyle is that we are self contained and whenever one of us has had enough of the local surrounds, if their petty politics start to creep into our lives, we have that incredible freedom to just leave.

It is a great feeling to pass that breakwater and smell the fresh sea breeze which is carrying you away to new adventures and possibilities. To shrug off the close mindedness of those who grow roots and to commune with each other about lessons learned, in the openness of an unbroken horizon.

It is that freedom that I am passionate about! (as well as all the rest…lol)

[theonecalledtom]

I like sailing don't get me wrong but I think really I'm always going to be a small boat sailor in my heart. The big boat we are now growing into is ours to travel and to provide a home. It has sails because who wants (sorry to those that do) to listen to a motor all day long and neither of us like wasting gas and, well, it just makes sense to use the wind because its there and willing to work. Its satisfying to sail but I don't yet feel the way I have done in small 1/2 person centre board boats where your connection to the wind is so immediate.

So I drop pretty fairly firmly into the travel category, but love sailing too

This question would make an excellent poll!

[Boracay]

I feel that what I enjoy most about "The Cruising Life" is the lifestyle.

It's a little bit of all that has been mentioned including...
6) Meeting new people
7) Indulging my love of machines/gadgets
8) Having a purpose to be by or on or in the sea.
9) Getting fresh air
10) Enjoying sounds that are under my control
11) Being part of a privileged group that is justified by the attendant responsibilities and obligations.
12) Slowing down

[Jim Thomsen]

Travelling is probably #1. This is our third year in Europe and we still love it. For Californians, to tie up to a wall that was built for 18th century East India Company ships, stay in a harbor carved out of rock by the Romans, be the only ship in a bay with a castle above or anchor where Nelson did is still amazing for us. And travelling when you never have to pack and have everything you need with you is fun.

But I have to rate Freedom as #1 too. We planned to spend this winter in southern Italy, but we were having too much fun to stop so have decided to sail to the Caribbean for the winter. Then next year we get to decide whether it's back to Europe or north, or south or west.

It's a wonderful life.

Jim

[Herbseesmoore]

Thats a great introduction! Welcome to CF. My wife loves to travel and I love to sail. Mix the 2 together and pour over ice. I love solitude, so remote anchorages will be favored, sort of a goal. Hanging with cruisers, not so bad either. I read in a blog once that the sailors had more of a social life cruising the Bahamas than back home in the burbs.The retirement choices were a cabin in the mountains or cruising. Cruising won out! As we shop for our escape vessel I'll be dreaming about that "one particular harbor" and then I hear the love of my life tell the broker we are circumnavigating. Now thats what I call traveling!

154 days till freedom. (retirement)

[gypsy cat]

Thanks guys for the feedback! Thanks for the warm welcome.

I will just continue this thread under the same heading but just have people write WHY they became committed to sailing and what their one true passion in life is. Pelagic and Boracay's options are great choices - especially the freedom one. Or people can just write a list of why they love to sail. So anything that floats your boats, I wanna know what it is and why.

[imagine2frolic]

I met my wife while on vacation in the Philippines. She trekked the local mountain, Mt. Apo. My thinking was if she was willing to carry her food, sleeping arrangement, and trudge all day to sleep under the stars. She would like taking a kitchen with her on a boat.....i2f

[imagine2frolic]

P.S.
It's more than a passion. It's a lifestyle

[Fishspearit]

I think it's a great question! I may be a heretic, but I've never cared much for the sailing. If I were rich I would be a powerboater I've also always thought travelling is about the destination, not the journey! More heresy! Sailboats for my wife and I are a just a way to carry our home with us while travelling, preferably to clear water with great diving. I love boats, being on boats, and the water. But, sailing is best done on small day sailers, it can be kind of stressfull tilting your home and all your possessions on it's side, while shaking it and throwing water on everything. I guess I make a good argument for catamarans.

I love cruising, but the time between raising the anchor and dropping the anchor is just slow transportation for us.

[shadow]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

When I think about it, what I love the most about our lifestyle is that we are self contained and whenever one of us has had enough of the local surrounds, if their petty politics start to creep into our lives, we have that incredible freedom to just leave.

It is a great feeling to pass that breakwater and smell the fresh sea breeze which is carrying you away to new adventures and possibilities. To shrug off the close mindedness of those who grow roots and to commune with each other about lessons learned, in the openness of an unbroken horizon.

It is that freedom that I am passionate about! (as well as all the rest…lol)

Very well put!!!! I feel exactly the same way about why I want to get a boat so BAD!!! I know of many people that have paid tons of $$$ (millions) for a great house with a view of the water or at least a glimps of it. After all that money and high hopes, they only come to find out that they have crappy neighbors!! They are stuck with all sorts of problems.

With a boat, not only do you have water views, you have 360 degrees of it and if you have crappy neighbors, just move!! Love the thought of just being able to move on and check out the next inlet or cove.

Still anxious about getting our boat!! Great thread by the way and welcome to this great group of people!!!

[Vasco]

Having gone around the world more than a few times in my youth I certainly don't sail for the travel aspect. I guess my answer is sailing then. I sail all summer (such that it is, mostly rain this year) on Lake Ontario and then I cruise all winter in the Bahamas. My main reason for doing this is to get out of the cold and a condo in Florida, Mexico or Costa Rica just doesn't cut it for me. I would be bored out of my skull. Life aboard a sailboat is never boring, even when you're just lying in the cockpit doing nothing.

[bobnlesley]

Definitely Travellers who sail.
Having travelled the world by motorcycle a few years back, we thought a yacht would reduce the two big costs - fuel and shipping when the road runs out and as a bonus we'd have a comfortable bed every night too - at least we were two thirds right.

[Ex-Calif]

Welcome abourd C&C. Sounds like you all are having a blast!

Today my son and I picked up his buddy for a "play day." The other boys parents offered for him to hang at their condo and swim and do video games. I suggested that they may have fun at the sailing club - OK that's fine.

We got to the club at 11:00. There was a breeze up so my 11 y/o and I rigged 2 Laser Picos - the boys like it when I go with them. We launched out with my son sailing the other boy and me being mother hen. We ran up channel for a bout 40 minutes turned down current and down wind and pretty much blasted to the beach.

Then Warren came by. Warren operates a 90 foot trimaran on charters. He needed new brochures and I had forgotten that he had sent out an all call for kids to go for a cruise/photo shoot. This boat is for sale for about 3 million bucks. Warren is a cool guy. After shaking the bushes and cleaning out the sail lofts he managed to scare up about 30 kids including my 2. They scampered off on this mega-yacht to find a place where the kids could boom net, kayak and snorkel while the photog took rolls of film. Long Ranger charters out for $5,000 a day. The kids had a blast - for free of course. Did I mentino Warren is a cool guy. Our club is like that, you never know what's gonna happen.

At 4 o'clock the twilight race folks started showing up and new members and sometimes even non-members hanging around are sorted out into various boats. We had 4 on-board Relax Lah! and 7 boats in the race. The conditions were really light and we were tail ending as usual. 2,700 pounds of 26 foot boat just needs more than 3 kts of breeze. The three J24s were doing pretty well. We did however manage to roll one cruising boat so my race was won at that point. The boat we rolled sorta got demoralized I guess because near the end of the second leg I looked back and they had turned around and were motoring to the bar. Once one boat quits it's tempting to follow suit. However we saw some ripples and decided to hang in and see if they helped. Well all of a sudden we were going 3 kts. That's good! We finished under a glorious golden sunset.

When we got ashore the BBQ was fired up and chicken, burgers, foil wrapped salmon, grilled corn on the cob and hot dogs were going. 7 boats pitched up about 30 people and the keg was flowing freely. To cap it off, the late surge put us 3rd on handicap - In front of 2 of the J24s! Whoo-hoo!

So if you asked me what it was I liked about the sailing life, I guess I'd have a hard time putting my finger on it - LOL....

Oh... And this is only Saturday. At 4 AM I am delivering a boat around the island - I better get some shut eye...

[ksmith]

Fishspearit

Hit it for me. I love boats usually older boats (style) either sail or power. Because I love being on a boat, on the water or in the water. What is interesting is the looks from people who ask about fishing, no I do not fish prefer hunting. Still working on where to put stuff when under way. A 27 footer is not that large. But I still lose stuff.