Why cruise where you cruise?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

This is for liveaboards with hypothetical global mobility (which we are), but we fight tooth and nail to avoid the FOMO syndrome....fear of missing out. The grass is greener, ocean bluer kinda stuff. Once you let that go, it's pretty easy: are you enjoying where you are? If not, go. If you are, stay another day. We were supposed to cross to caribbean last year, got stuck in Mallorca over winter, then sailed towards Italy with the idea of wintering in palermo and coming back to cross this season. Found Corfu and got stuck again. Maybe this season we'll poke around Greece then head somewhere to cross. But more likely we'll end up stuck in Cyprus. Or Turkey. But it absolutely doesn't matter, as long as we're having fun.

Wise words . Our cruising has followed a similar pattern so far. We started where we were (upper Great Lakes), and took increasingly long cruises as we learned the art and craft of this life. Some seasons we'd go long distances (long for the GLs), and sometimes we'd find a place we like and just stay put.

Since calling our boat our home we've been doing something similar. Every few seasons we make a big move, and travel a longish distance. We then find a place we like and make it our new home base for a few years. So far we've done this three times, and I expect we'll continue this pattern.

My "greener grass" is really about the desire to be able to live on board year round. For Canada, this really means the west coast, although some tough souls do it in the lower GLs and in the southern Maritimes.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by slug

A major reason you cruise is culture

The Caribbean is sterile

Half of what you are looking for is missing

When sailing east it would be a grave error to sail directly to Northern Europe

The traditional route is to make landfall at Finesterre then cruise the Basque Country , Atlantic France , the Low Countries to Hamburg

Once your visa runs out you hightail it across the north Sea to Southern England

Only After your British cruise and visa expire you make way to Denmark and the north

You are certainly correct on the Eastern Caribbean being culturally sterile with a few points given to Trinidad. The Western Caribbean is certainly not sterile culturally, it's the opposite lots of culture in many areas.Colombia and Guatemala are near the top and you can have wonderful experiences in these and other countries

[skipmac]

Jumping into this a little late and maybe repeating what has been said before.

In the past I have spent most of my cruising time in the Bahamas with the balance mainly south FL and the Keys, USVI and the western Caribbean and lately the ICW to New England.

The why is twofold. First because I learned to sail in FL and these were close to home. Second because they are incredibly beautiful and interesting cruising grounds.

However, kind of been there, done that and a lot of the Caribbean isn't as mellow and safe as it use to be. Next cruising plans are to head east and see what Europe is like. May to Bermuda, see how that goes then head on east to the Azores or bail out and head north to New England again.

[RickG]

We started in the Chesapeake because that was where we were. The winters are too cold, the summers are too hot, and the water is too brown. We love the Caribbean and worked our way there. One winter in Charleston was awesome for amenities and culture, but too cold and limited inshore sailing. The next winter in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon Florida had great camaraderie and amenities with good sailing. We sailed through the Bahamas/DR/PR and hauled the boat for hurricane season at Puerto del Rey marina, Fajardo PR. This winter we are in the Virgin Islands and will head to Grenada for the hurricane season.

The Virgin Islands have excellent cruising grounds and St. John has the national park. Lots to do. Culture is where you find it with good music and good community. Not nearly as many cruisers as Boot Key Harbor. Insurance to keep the boat in Puerto Rico was $1,500 higher than to be outside the hurricane box, basically Grenada and South of Grenada.

I love to be able to swim off the back of the boat year round. Fishing for pelagic fish until the freezer is full, access to the US Postal Service for packages. I expect the Virgin Islands will be our winter base for a good while. We are looking forward to exploring the Eastern Caribbean, Colombia, Central America, and the Western Caribbean too.

Cheers, RickG

[Ifitsworthdoing]

Letter from Europe here - my wife and I are only just getting into the cruising lifestyle (planning to commission a retirement yacht later this year) but are looking forward to spending the next two decades passagemaking from the U.K. through the French inland waterways to the Med, exploring the length and breadth of that before going up the Danube and across to the Rhine to eventually reach the Baltic. Promise to post progress notes along the way ...
;-)

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Firstly, the water has to be drinkable out of the tap.
Secondly, there must be adequate grocery stores, LPG supplies, liqueur stores.
Thirdly, somewhere to buy a morning paper.
Fourthly, a decent coffee shop.
Overall, somewhere to land the dingy.
Other than those few items I'm happy to cruise anywhere where the temperature stays between about 26 to 30 degrees centigrade.

I respect Raymond's choice, but to me I choose to cruise to escape the 'rat-race' and nonsense of post-industrialism life.

1.) I make my own water (water maker and collection)

2.) If there are people...there are supplies (plus I provision for months.)

3.) I don't watch TV or read newspapers (it's all sensationalized propaganda)

4.) I love coffee...my cockpit is my favorite coffee shop. I wake up, make some delicious Vietnamese coffee, sit in the cockpit and watch the sunrise and ponder the day's events (I try not to think too far ahead.)

I grew up sailing the Chesapeake Bay and US eastern seaboard. I was a sailing bum in SE Asia and North/South Pacific for 2 years. I've spent 24 years cruising the PNW between SF and Alaska. I've had the pleasure to sail in Ireland, Denmark, Bulgaria, and Israel. But...

I loved SE Asia and esp. the North Pacific Islands. I am heading back that way in my retirement because...

1.) It's off the well-beaten track of the coconut milk run.

2.) Cruisers are not necessarily regarded as 'tourists in boats.'

3.) Life is simple and (generally) stress free. (Money buys convenience; not happiness.)

4.) As long as you're not an ass, and willing to 'get your hands dirty' and help out it's easy to form close interpersonal relationships with local people.

5.) The few cruisers that do ply these waters also tend to form close bonds. Perhaps because a short hop from one island to another could be a voyage of 3-5 days without seeing another boat.

6.) Island time is relative; there is only daytime and night-time, and seasons. (Calendars, days of weeks, hours and minutes are artificial constructs to control you!)

But Mike...I don't think you'd enjoy waking up to the sunshine and warm temps.

[barnakiel]

We live in the Canaries and Martinique, and we cruise in the West Indies (aka Caribbean).


Caribbean has warm water to swim, anchorages to be alone, supermarkets to stock up. Sun to sunbathe and wind to sail guaranteed. Rain to fill our tank. The Internet to work.



Interesting places to trek. Interesting cultures to study. Interesting people to meet.


And Clement Creole Shrubb at roughly a third of its price in the EU.


Canaries have nice local people and moderate climate.



Easy choices for us.


Cheers,
barnakiel

[theDangerz]

When we bought the boat last year and decided to cruise we chose to start in the Caribbean simply because of proximity. Moved aboard in FL, started teaching ourselves how to sail and crossed the Gulf Stream a few sails later with a good weather window.

All in, the Caribbean has been a terrific cruising ground to explore and learn. Good winds and easy enough for a couple rookies (except maybe the easting... could have done without that) and provides the thing we’re looking for in our perfect life. Namely, the ability to spend 4-6hours a day in or under the water (warm water that is), the ability to catch our own meals and enough bays that we can still most often tuck away anchored without anyone else in sight.

I assume we could stay here and repeat for years without much of a complaint... but we’re living on a home that moves for a reason; so we’ve already found ourselves talking about crossing over to the Pacific , possible as soon as this winter.

We love the Caribbean, but are also eager to explore more places, yet still driven by the same ideals that led us to the Caribbean. Were it not for a bit of healthy fear of crossing the Pacific- there’s no place on earth we can imagine rather hanging out than in the islands of the South Pacific... so that seems like what’s next.

[slug]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

You are certainly correct on the Eastern Caribbean being culturally sterile with a few points given to Trinidad. The Western Caribbean is certainly not sterile culturally, it's the opposite lots of culture in many areas.Colombia and Guatemala are near the top and you can have wonderful experiences in these and other countries

In the western Caribbean you are a rich guy walking thru poverty

A walking one hundred dollar bill

It Gets old fast

In France or Denmark Or ... you are interacting with people who are socio economically exactly like you

I prefer it

[SariTimur]

We came from Singapore. And took roughly 5 years to get to Alaska. The plan was for two seasons in Alaska but we are currently in year five and will spend at least one more year up here and if my wife has her way probably more. I miss the tropics but am in love with Alaska enough to stay. The cruising is maybe the best i’ve Ever done though it requires a lot of motoring as the winds are often too much or too little. With the exception of Seward which is great sailing provided you stay in the north part of Res. Bay. My wife is from Singapore so until we got to Japan had always cruised the tropics. By the way Japan is our second favorite cruising ground! So maybe this cold water stuff has something to it!

[wingssail]

We have chosen Mexico as our cruising base.

After circumnavigating, and enjoying many wonderful cruising areas where we felt we could easily live and enjoy forever, such as New Zealand and Thailand, and always thinking that actually the PNW has the world's best cruising grounds (except for the cool weather), we kept thinking about the idea of returning to Mexico to settle.

Mexico has a warm climate, it is inexpensive, the people are happy, and it is close to our family in the US. And it has the Sea of Cortez!

So we chose Banderas Bay, where Puerto Vallarta is, which is stunningly beautiful, has over 300 square miles of blue, flat, water surrounded by tall forested mountains and a shoreline that is 75% untouched and natural. It is one of the world's premier spots for sailing. The winds are reliable and mild.

But Banderas Bay is not a cruising area; there are really no nice anchorages here (good marinas however) . But you can, as we do, use it as a year-round base and take wonderful cruises south along Costalegre, the gold coast of Mexico, or north into the Sea of Cortez. You choose your seasons for cruising and you can either be in a social paradise or all by yourself, but whenever you will have clear water and good anchorages, and the wonderful Mexican people.

Photo: Sea of Cortez

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Discovery 15797

I respect Raymond's choice, but to me I choose to cruise to escape the 'rat-race' and nonsense of post-industrialism life. ...

But Mike...I don't think you'd enjoy waking up to the sunshine and warm temps.

Oh I dunno. You make it sound pretty great. Actually, it sounds like you and I would get along famously. And I could probably acclimatize to warmth and sunshine -- at long as it's not over 25C!


Actually, it's not so much the warmth as the humidity that kills me. Usually on a boat there's at least some breeze to keep the moisture down. So even I can manage some warmth.

[pma_foyl]

Currently I’m in SoCal where there aren’t many harbors to begin with, let alone any off the beaten path.[/QUOTE]



SoCal actually has a TON of "off the beaten path" locations that are truly exceptional. The Channel Islands offer 8 remarkably unspoiled islands and 50+ anchorages with a variety of conditions and exciting/different ecosystems. Great sailing, diving, kayaking, hiking, exploring, fishing and wildlife... I've sailed all over the world, but still place our islands near the top of my favorite destinations.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by slug

In the western Caribbean you are a rich guy walking thru poverty

A walking one hundred dollar bill

It Gets old fast

In France or Denmark Or ... you are interacting with people who are socio economically exactly like you

I prefer it

Hey Slug..I understand where your coming from and I get it. Most people do prefer to interact with people from their own tribe, I'm not different sometimes however if that is what we set out to do we don't really interact with other cultures do we?

Yes we are daddy big bucks compared to most people we spend time with in CA but we really do our best to try to learn local customs and how their societies work and avoid buying our way into any sort of relationship. It's not that hard if your driving thoughts are just to get to know people.

We enjoyed the years we cruised in the Med a great deal and the old cultures and architecture were really a treat for us. In some cases it wasn't a great deal different than interacting with locals in CA. When we were there the Greeks were throwing nickels around like man hole covers. Everybody was near broke and working 2 jobs for 1/3 of what similar workers would get in Canada so not having any money didn't make or break the wonderful time we had with the locals.
When we cruised the Marshall Islands and parts of Micronesia it was pretty much the same, no one had any money, often they bartered for what they needed and we had wonderful experiences there as well.
But that's us, it's not you and I get that, neither of us is right or wrong we are simply different and that's the spice of life.

[dgmyles]

Originally Posted by Captain Puget

So far, I've not run out of anchorages to explore in the PNW (I'm 65 ;-). Great scenery, protected waters (always close to an anchorage), fishing/ crabbing, and plenty of hiking and wildlife to see. Planning for currents/ tides can be a surprise until you get used to it... but every area has in challenges.

I do think I'd like to explore other areas, especially the Baltic, New Zealand, the Lake District in Chile and the UK/ Ireland area (esp N Scotland/ Oarkney's), but cost is always an issues, as is being away for grandkids for too long. Like you, I can only stand the tropics for a few weeks at a time..... but I'd still like a short cruise there to see the area. Ive done a little Caribbean cruising, but not the more remote areas, which sound fantastic!

I'm intrigued by the idea of a "hosted boat swap program" .... I host someone for a few weeks one year and show them my local area, then they reciprocate and host me in their area the following year. Not a boat swap but more of a guided tour on which we share the work and expenses. Less risk to your boat than a true swap and no charter confusion and time wasted. Seems like a great way to get a local experience curated by someone that knows the area and a good way to meet similarly minded people from around the world. Seems like if you stick to similar boats, all would be fair and no money needs change hands.

Any takers?

This sounds like a very interesting idea, give me 6 years to get on the water and I will be in.