What can I expect in my cruising life?

[oldsalt_1942]

The essence of cruising is repairing broken things in exotic locations

[captainccs]

Originally Posted by Kanani

After 14 years of cruising, I can tell you that long ocean passages are 90% bordem and 10% sheer terror.

How can you possibly be bored on a long passage with so many waves to study, so many clouds, so many stars, and the ever elusive green flash to track down?

These hours of contemplation are broken up by cooking, dish washing, steering, fishing, sail setting, deck scrubbing, radio monitoring and the occasional excitement of sighting land or a ship and the sacred ritual of the sundowner.

When you are no longer bored, you are cured of civilization!

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

Nicolle,

I can't add much more philosophically than the previous posters on this thread but I can give you an idea of what my wife and I have experienced so far. You are, judging from your picture, much younger than we were when we started cruising. You are so fortunate to be able to embark on such an adventure while you are too young to have to worry about your knees giving out our your back aching constantly from a sagging bed or any of the many other ailments that bother us now. Recently she has begun telling people that she wished we had started cruising with our two boys 20-30 years ago so they could have enjoyed it along with us and we could have a more vigorous cruising lifestyle.

To see what we have experienced in our 2.5 years of cruising so far, browse through our log at: Log of Yachtsman's Dream. If you have any specific questions, feel free to shoot us a private message here or a regular e-mail. Please keep posting to this forum so the rest of us can follow your progress.

We wish you the best of luck!

[nicollej]

Thank you again for your helpful replies.

Oh...... by the way I just wanted to clarify that I am infact 25 years old, and my Dad is ok with me going cruising with my partner of 3 years.

It is so nice to get opinions and thoughts from people of all experiences and age groups both male and female. It puts a really good overall picture into my mind.

I am so excited, we are leaving at the end of Feb and have so much to organise and finish off on land.

Thanks again for the advice and for those kind people who shared their websites with me and offered to keep in touch via email. I really appreciate that.

Have a wonderful day!

Smiles and laughter

Nicolle (Sydney, Australia)

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by nicollej

Thank you again for your helpful replies.

Oh...... by the way I just wanted to clarify that I am infact 25 years old, and my Dad is ok with me going cruising with my partner of 3 years.



Nicolle (Sydney, Australia)

Thanks for the reply Nicolle and thanks for not being offended.

Being a father of 3 girls and a granfather of 9 kids (up to 22 years old), I am happy that your dad is OK with the whole thing. I hope that you will stay in close contact with your dad and call him when you 1st get into each new port.

Don't be delusioned into thinking that what you are doing is safe. It does have it's risks and I hope that your Dad will get involved in the planning. I know that my wife's father was worried sick (literally) about his little girl and we were 36 when we set out.

It only got easier for him when he got more involved. He flew to Fiji for a couple weeks to sail with us and South Africa once. After that, he was fine but it took years. It doesn't have to be that way.

When he finally decided to take an active role, he asked how he could help. We would give him a list of charts that we needed (probabbly about 1/10 of what we actually needed) and he was happy to get them and send them to our next port. He actually even looked at the charts and learned to read them. It really made him feel connected.

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and you are doing your homework. That's important.

[CptnLBS]

I cant really answer your lare questions because im new ,
but it sound really really fun
Enjoy 8-)

[Blue Skye]

It's been over a month since the last post but i was wondering how the plans were proceding. Hope all is well.

[nicollej]

Hi Everyone,
Just letting you know that my lovely fiance' and I are about to move onto our boat and begin our life onboard. It is very exciting and I can't wait to learn new things and see the world!
Happy Cruising to you all!
Smiles
Nicolle

[Therapy]

Thanks for the update.
Best of luck.

[SweetSailor]

Hi Nicolle! I see the old man went from BOYFRIEND to FIANCE'. Whooot! Congrats & enjoy sailing.

[nicollej]

Hi Sweet Sailor,

Thanks for your reply to my post and for your lovely wishes.

I forgot to mention that our website is: Our Life At Sea for those who would like to keep a track of our cruising adventures.

Have a wonderful day!

Nicolle
Our Life At Sea

[slomotion]

Congratulations!

A beautiful boat and a beautiful place to start sailing her. We spent two years sailing the Leeward/Windward islands. Add in the rest of the Caribbean and you may never leave these waters - it can be that good. At this point you should be devouring Caribbean cruising guides.

Simpson Bay is the main cruiser hangout in St. Maarten, but there are others. For something cheap and different on a lazy afternoon in Phillipsburg, go to the Get Wet Bar on the boardwalk for Canadian beer and poutine. Also, the island of Saba is a "must see."

[nicollej]

Hi Slomotion,

Thank you for your lovely thoughts and information about the Caribbean .

Yes we love this area, it is beautiful and lots of fun.

We have enjoyed having a drink/dinner sometimes in Simpson Bay. It is a great place to meet new friends.

We have enjoyed watching the bridge open in the evening and have a drink at the St Maarten Yacht club. That is a great place to relax, enjoy the wonderful surrounding views and make new friends. Phillipsburg has a lovely beach and some good shopping areas, we also like Marigot too.

My favorite thing about St Maarten is the bubble tea shops! I love bubble tea, it very refreshing in this hot weather.

We hope to do some more exploring and check out the island of Saba too, it sounds beautiful!

Have a wonderful day!

Smiles

Nicolle
www.ourlifestsea.com

[nicollej]

Thanks Therapy!

All the best for you too!

Smiles

Nicolle

[slomotion]

Ah yes, bubble tea. My lone experience with it was indeed in St. Maarten. Mine was spiked with a significant amount of that St. Maarten thing called guavaberry rum. It was really good (I think), but I don't remember much else.