What do you enjoy most about cruising?

[Magnum]

I like the total relaxation and a feeling of being at one with the world, I also enjoy the freedom to fettle till my hearts content!

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

This short video speaks for itself:

Man, that was a short video

[sww914]

1 Good sleep at anchor
2 Great cheap food
3 Meeting new people from around the world, even Rebel Heart
4 My day, every minute, is mine

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by sww914

1 Good sleep at anchor
2 Great cheap food
3 Meeting new people from around the world, even Rebel Heart
4 My day, every minute, is mine

We're waiting on northerlies to ride them back to La Cruz, come on man, rob a bank and get back down here.

[Panope]

In addition to many of the things already posted....

I like the way the sea smells.

Steve

[Tonyjay]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun). I know a lot of people love to be anchored out for 11 months of the year, by themselves, in some remote cove with no one to bother them as they do.... what exactly? I hate to sound so common but: - I like going to the movies. - I like taking the bus around and seeing how people live in different cities. - I like having nine places to eat to pick from in a two block radius. - I like having an airport somewhat nearby if I want or need to leave. - I like reading my current subscriptions to Foreign Affairs, the Atlantic, and Havard Business Review (on my Kindle). I've had some magical times in some really far-out places and I love being off the grid but how much can you enjoy the culture of a place if you're in BFE? There's no culture in a distant cove in some uninhabited island. Culture requires people. Art, music, traditions, opinions, food, customs: gotta have people around. We're going into the Pacific this spring so there's three weeks on the calendar of nothing but water every day all around, but seriously sue me if I want to tie up to a dock for a week somewhere in the South Pacific if we can find one.

+1. We love long distance cruising with a blend of anchoring and docking. On the latter it exposes us to different people and allows us to meet new friends. At those docks - I enjoy connecting (via iPad) to seeing what is going on in the world. I also like the break having the boat on the hard during winter months gives us.

[captnbn]

Three main things:

The escape from everyday work and routine sailing offers. (aka Freedom!)

Enjoying the boating community. It has no equal.

Anticipating the next adventure.

[rw58ph]

We enjoy being a live aboard and the variety of life. Being on the boat beats being on the dirt anyday, even tied to the dock. We find cruising boring but we been cruising the Puget Sound and the island for 20+ years. We originally bought the Eagle to be a dock condo queen moored down town Seattle. We wanted a bigger boat and we wanted a condo in Seattle, but we could not afford both.

Each gated marina/dock seems to be its own secluded area as there are not many live a boards, less than 5%, and the majority of the other boats either do not use or if they do use them, they take it out, so not many people on the docks. If you like social and people, boating may not be for you. I enjoy putzing and working on the boat, taking the run about or dink out, and walking around the marina. If I did not have the boat what would I spend my time and money on?
I may retiring this summer and we may head north for a couple of months. But that is a big maybe as we will probable will take the motor homes, land yacht, and head south. We like the idea of being mobile with no permanent ties and limited worldly procession. When we sell the boat we will rent! We came into this world with nothing and we plan on leaving this world with nothing.

[zboss]

We have only been at this going on two months but so far I think what I have enjoyed the most is getting to know the history of the US just a lot better. The east coast is littered with significant historical areas that I maybe had a idea existed but in reality never thought much about. Then we were here and there... seeing things, reading about people and their infamy or whatnot, seeing where historical events took place, where people lived, etc..

Also, getting to know a little more about the towns, the events that are important to them, etc... has been very educational.

For my wife, it's the unexpected pleasures that have been most exciting. Meeting new people, seeing the unexpected, and just how awesome sunrises and sunsets are from your own boat.

Also-for us- its what does tomorrow hold? We saw our first manatee yesterday. I know a lot of you are like "whatever" but hey... it was awesome.

[laika]

I enjoy everything about it. I enjoy the self-sufficiency and all the little victories that come from simply moving. I enjoy the simplicity of life onboard: foot pumping water and not wasting a drop; carrying the precious few essential comforts; drinking at a bar after a trying passage; etc. It's easy to feel alive on the water.

I remember the first time I was really exposed to the lifestyle..I was astonished that this world still exists. Grew up on the prairie though I suppose...

[Kenomac]

We recently stopped the cable TV service at our house, so that the months we spend here on the hard in New England away from the boat... will be more like cruising.

No TV.

[Challo]

Among other things, I like the simplicity of dealing with mostly primal things - what will I eat, where will I sleep and keeping my wife happy. Likewise, the constant challenges of fixing whatever just broke or navigating the reef to the anchorage, etc. are not only primal and some level the stakes are survival ( an overstatement in most situations, but you get the point), and so solving these issues is highly rewarding.

I have traveled all my life all over the world mostly by plane and mostly for business, but have seen very little and had few authentic experiences that way; at best you get a superficial, kind-of resort view-at-a-distance. The slow and up-close experiences when cruising and living among, and in way like, the locals is incredibly rewarding because you get closer to knowing them and their world. The ability to avoid the most popular, touristy areas is also a big part of this.

I love different cultures, but I also love nature and sailing and diving are two of my favorite ways of experiencing nature. The boat is the perfect platform for all of these things.

Finally, I guess I like the unbounded feeling of being able to go nearly anywhere (even if I don't). Nothing not already covered by others, I suppose.