What makes a great cruiser?

[builder dan]

A great cruiser is someone who doesnt come into a full anchorage drop anchor fair in the middle then let out miles of warp ,.Swing around and tangle up half the boats putting two of them on the beach.Happened last year.

[thomm225]

Sounds like Gladwell is just saying experience is the key.

As far as sailing off anchor, yes it's pretty easily done but why not have the engine running if you have one.

I sailed off anchor yesterday, but had the engine running just in case since I didn't want something crazy to happen and hit the nearby Bene or 40' keel boat where a winch on either of them is almost worth more than my entire boat. (there was some current but otherwise a good day to sail off anchor avoiding the fishing nets, cement ships, anchored sail and power boats, and kayakers)

I came in the night before and anchored a bit in front of the boats there only because I knew the bottom. I was asleep 30 minutes after drop.

The sailing part should have already been picked up before you even start to cruise.

The biggest problem for some of us working folks is to adjust to the slow pace and sleeping on the boat.

I must say that wide Beneteau seemed to be rolling a lot less than my boat 8' wide vessel after I paddled to the beach and looked back. That boat was probably between 35'-40'. We were get a very light swell from the bay and a bit of Atlantic swell as well maybe.

Sleeping may have been better on that boat making the cruiser even greater than he would be on a smaller vessel due to more sleep !

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[zeehag]

as each is individual, and as each defines words in slightly different manner and context, i say , it is up to YOU. if you need ask, you can neither afford it or be ready for it. kinda like wnhen i went to the displayor at lost angels international car show.. posh thing then..of the astin martin la gonda, my dream car, fully equipped and asked what it would be in the stripped version. he looked as if i had just let a dog fart, kinda brit down the nose look with screwed up nose n mouth... just like in the comics, and said to me "if you MUST ask, you can NOT afford it" hell i made 90k anually then.. dunno what HIS problem was... ohh dee-ahhhh
and so. definition of great
definition of world cruiser
definition of sailor
definition of self confidence and wisdom.....
weather recognition perfection so you can see and smell and FEEL changes in situation as they advance at you, as well as how to endure and survive em.. how to recognise impending changes in your life more than 6 hours in advance, merely by using eyes to see your surroundings.
how well do you respond to emergencies.. real ones involving life and death....
how rapidly are you able to recognise that your impending doom could be converted to a freeekin-A good save and life goes on, or die....
number of hours is merely bragging rights. you may brag after this number of miles/hours/whatever. but only according to the one true leader you choose to emulate.
\a great cruiser is one who survives to go onward yet some more, and despite the occurrences and events which choose to test the soul and mind and attitude.
flexibility and ability to make lemonade of lemons and win each and every time, even if having to use up plans a-z twice.
shyt happens. deal with it and go onward.
there is no sea tow or boat screw us out here.. nothing but ingenuity and hard work. yes it is worth it, and yes , the more hard work, it seems, the more ye learn to avoid for next time..and the more fun it is.
is it merely a rogue wave, or is it a warning of impending change in weather you may have 4 hours to avoid......
no one can teach you what you need to know.
no book can ready you for impending doom out in open ocean.
only you, your eyes, brain, body and interpretation of change.
our only constant out here.
deal with it and win.
sorry, it is NOT in any book.
it is within SELF.

[brownoarsman]

Good points, Ann. Baldwin had a really nice line in his book (Across islands and oceans) about the journey being completed before the voyage is done; which is a lot like how I'm feeling now. Honestly, it's been a mixed experience, partly because of how I chose to do it and partly because of just, well, me. But that's a longer post for another time! Anyways, lots of time to reflect when alone on a boat, giving rise to this question. Thanks for all the food for thought!


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[thomm225]

Originally Posted by zeehag

no book can ready you for impending doom out in open ocean.
only you, your eyes, brain, body and interpretation of change.
our only constant out here.
deal with it and win.
sorry, it is NOT in any book.
it is within SELF.

Well, I wouldn't throw away all your books on sailing and the sea just yet. (for one thing you learn words and it helps your spelling) There are some pretty good ones out there to go along with your own experience of being on the water.

Dougal Robertson's book Sea Survival is excellent. Other books can simply get you in the right frame of mind. Old books by Conrad and others.

Others of us were too cheap to buy decent tools while working on our cars, TV, circuit boards, etc back in the day so we are used to engineering something that will work.

You don't necessarily have to be in the middle of the ocean to learn to be resourceful and strong. It helps if you have been on the water a lot alone since you were in your teens though I'm thinking just for the experiences.

I knew the three R's when I started and that was it. Plus I could usually get an old lawn mower to start.

Also, the books will come in handy when cruising I'm thinking simply to combat the boredom at times.

They can also enlighten that "self" you mention. They present new ideas that you may not have thought of.

[laika]

After being in prep mode for a couple years, my idea of a great cruiser is simply one who gets out there and makes it work! It's tough balancing a career and the demands of life and family. You have to really know what you want. And as someone else said, oftentimes you just have to not give a sh!t what other's think about it. Something I occasionally have trouble with.

As a newbie cruiser, if there's a code of ethics it might be "Courage, strength, humility, kindness."

[Mirage35]

I've read some things lately that question the 10,000 hour thing - it is apparently more of an interesting concept than a well developed principle, and there's apparently not a lot of good research to support it.

That said, I think it's a useful concept, if only because it convinces us that very few things "come naturally." Some require more theory, some require more practice, we're better at some things than others, etc.

A great cruiser? The one or two I've met had thoroughly learned the technical skills - however many hours that took them - but had gone beyond that to develop a sense of how it all fit together. Not in easily quantified terms, but - as some have already suggested - to be able to sense what is important right now, to judge what they need to think about pretty soon, to plan long term, and to juggle it all.

Big picture is what matters.

[jamhass]

Yeah, Evans nailed it.

I might add:

a willingness, nay eagerness, to reef before the wife gets concerned/worried/frantic (see Evan's point #4).

[Group9]

In my job, we considered someone "experienced" when they could see a problem coming, before it was a problem, and knew enough to head it off.

I kind of view cruisers the same way.

Just being good at handling a problem or situation, that you should have seen coming, and avoided, but didn't, is not "great" in my opinion. That's merely average.

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by Group9

In my job, we considered someone "experienced" when they could see a problem coming, before it was a problem, and knew enough to head it off.

I kind of view cruisers the same way.

Just being good at handling a problem or situation, that you should have seen coming, and avoided, but didn't, is not "great" in my opinion. That's merely average.

+1

That's exactly what I was trying to say. Applies to pretty much any profession / activity.

[Jack Lahr]

Lots of wisdom here--but a word of defense for Malcolm Gladwell: his theme was about 10,000 hours to excel in a targeted skill like brain surgery, truly mastering the violin. etc. Sailing involves a wide range of diverse skills . I'll bet Gladwell would be glad you read his book and say"my book is not about expertise in everything about sailing or solving the Middle East chaos". But with 10,000 hours racing sailboats. . . Now that's different!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Jack Lahr

Lots of wisdom here--but a word of defense for Malcolm Gladwell: his theme was about 10,000 hours to excel in a targeted skill like brain surgery, truly mastering the violin. etc. Sailing involves a wide range of diverse skills . I'll bet Gladwell would be glad you read his book and say"my book is not about expertise in everything about sailing or solving the Middle East chaos". But with 10,000 hours racing sailboats. . . Now that's different!

Yep, it is different with racing sailboats. If you screw up, you lose a race.

With brain surgery if you screw up, your patient may never speak again, know his mother, or move one side of his body

[brownoarsman]

I certainly had some misconceptions coming into this cruising life, but this has been a great thread for learning about how other cruisers view it. Thanks again for all the continued thoughts!


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