Do you follow any cruising blogs?

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Lin, One of the blogs I follow, Picaroon, just checked in on the Young Blog thread. You might want to check out that thread here. I also read Bumfuzzle, who may the only one we know actually making any money out his blog, but he turned it into a very readable book. We met you and Larry in Bermuda in either 95 or 97, can't remember which, and look forward to seeing you in Annapolis, and to reading your book, which I hope is on Kindle.

[Lexam]

The ones I follow are specific to the Antares.

SV Barefoot just finished their circumnavigation.
index.htm

SV Alberta Crewed just started their adventures and it will be exciting to see where they go.
Laurie's Blog

SV Field Trip is just about to head down to Argentina to prepare their boat for launch. I will probably end up following this one closest, since Mark is great at updating and explaining stuff like gear safety etc while getting ready. And he plans to add video later on.
s/v Field Trip

[zeehag]

i usually dont have too much time to read other folks's commentaries on their cruises--i sometimes read your words, and i sometimes read some others, but i dont pay to go -- i have a donate button on mine but i donot expect anyone to do that--is a nice gesture andhelpful for family and friends when i am in a fix..LOL.... but many blogs are too whiney and dull to pay too much attention to-- your stuffis informative and interesting, so i will occasionally read you. you do stuff simple and without a lot of fanfare--i dont have to read--"omg my airconditioner failed and we were 30 miles offshore" and such with you--LOL.. just being honest....sometimes i have been accused of being brutally so----my boat is 41 ft of simple...we may have some strange passages but i do have fun and i do have a lot to finish repairing--- but i do it in exotic places....keep your words coming, lynn-- you do hold attention....

[James S]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

No.

I might click a link from a forum and have a look at something specific, but rarely do I go back.

I don't like the layout of most Blogs - they often seem to be 500 pages tall which makes loading / reading them a PITA for me (I have a short attention span).

Me too...I do have some internet friends that are building or doing refits and will often check in with them.

Perhaps if I was cruising I would be more interested in the day to day details of someones blog.
One thing I do realy like are the "What works/what doesent" and the "Best things/worst things" type of lists or details.

[Blue Crab]

Hi Lin,
as above, I will follow a link that catches my interest, but the couple of blogs I've subscribed to, I find I don't read when they repost. That includes yours but I've read all the books. I think the modern blog is for the newer folks to sailing, building, cruising. An older guy like me, reading the print material for 50 years, finds litttle new stuff. Pay to read how somebody new solved some age-old problem? Right.

[scook1]

I love the blogs that I follow. there are probably about 5 of them. I have not met any of the people that write them, although I have e-mailed one or two of them as a result of their blogs. I find the blogs that I read through word of mouth mostly, and then I tell my friends about them as well. I read cruising blogs, most specifically of couples out cruising. I like to read about the things that they do, and the places they go. I love to hear about the finances of the trip and how much things cost. I am not on any e-mailing lists, and have never paid to view one. Nor do I expect to in the near future.
Spencer

[Mata'irea]

Lin,
Your book Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew was a great reference for us on our circumnav.

1. Do you follow blogs written by people you have not met who are getting ready to cruise. No
2. do you follow blogs from folks who are out cruising. Before we left, yes. While we were out cruising, only (a) those written by our friends to check in and see where they were and how things were going for them, or (b) those we came across while doing research on specific destinations.
3. How do you choose or find these blogs. Google or boat cards
4. What would you like to read in the blogs. Useful current info about clearance procedures, great eats, and fantastic resources for skilled labor or necessary parts.
5. Are you signed up on the blogs emailing list? No
6. Have you paid to log on to any cruising blogs? No
[/QUOTE]

Good luck with the new book and tour.

Cheers,
Danika

[Target9000]

[Lin Pardey]

I really appreciate the input. Writing has added so much to our cruising life and introduced us to a lot of interesting folks. I like to encourage other potential sailing writers and or/video makers. Since blogging is so wide spread I want to be able to show how this fits into (and often steals time from) a sailing writers life. We'll be doing the writing talk at Annapolis Boatshow and if folks are interested, could add a sailing writers workshop at the SSCA Gam in Annapolis.

For the writer from the Philipines, if the link didn't work, try my new books website www.linpardey.com where you will see the info for Bull Canyon, a Boatbuilder, a writer and other wildlife but also links to our sailing newsletter and cruising tip web site www.landlpardey.com.

Off now for a few hours of sailing on PW the trailor sailor we've added to our fleet.

[S/V Alchemy]

Hi, Lin. I've enjoyed your books and DVDs and appreciate the approach you and Larry have to "simplified cruising", although it seems to be a lifestyle more admired than emulated!

To answer your queries:

1. Do you follow blogs written by people you have not met who are getting ready to cruise.

Yes, I do, as we are getting ready to cruise ourselves and I have written a blog on this process and the related activities (like learning new skills, getting certifications and doing deliveries) in my blog The World Encompassed.


2. do you follow blogs from folks who are out cruising.

Yes, I follow some personal friends who are out right now, as well as people doing the sort of cruising to the sort of places we want to get to ourselves.

3. How do you choose or find these blogs.

Mostly by following links or picking up on suggestions in forums such as this. Even a guy refurbishing a 22 footer for inshore weekending frequently has something interesting to say or a technique for solving a problem I haven't thought of or heard of. As you are no doubt aware, boats are great for sparking ingenuity, and if someone is able to write well on the various topics I encounter with tools in hand, I find it's the process, not the outcome, that piques my interest. I don't just read "super-well-funded cruiser blogs".

4. What would you like to read in the blogs.

Much of the sort of things I write myself, which conforms to the notion that people like on the internet what they already like in real life, I suppose. I like "how to" entries, off-the-beaten-track stories, tales of red tape and how to avoid it, and the sort of meat and potatoes stuff like "how many amps are REALLY used per day?" (Not a problem you two have that often, I believe!). I also like to read about where received wisdom proved correct and when reality didn't remotely conform to expectation.

5. Are you signed up on the blogs emailing list?
No. In fact, I have a special gmail account through which I do all my boat or boat-related correspondence, because I specifically do not wish to give my own email out when it does not concern my business or a select few lubberly relatives. So if you want to reach me, or we wish to correspond, which occasionally happens, it is confined to the "comments" section of the blog, or to the expendable, easily managed freebie email account.

6. Have you paid to log on to any cruising blogs?

No. While I do not claim expertise nor even notable sailing skills, I consider myself experienced enough now to save my dollars for things like airfare to and from deliveries...during which I expect to be fed and watered for my labour. In the same vein, I would pay to get SCUBA lessons, because I've yet to dive, and I think I should learn, but to pay to read a sailing blog? No, because I already get paid as a professional writer...just like yourself. I'm just a couple of decades behind, is all.

[markpierce]

I don't follow blogs of any sort. Keeping up with a couple of forums takes too much of my time already.

[Doodles]

For what its worth, I have stopped reading the blogs that feel they need to say/write something "every" day. I guess it's because of sponsors, number of hits, etc., but I find it a turn off. Cruising is not that exciting that you have to tell us something every day! We don't need another list of "The 10 Things ...".

And the notices clutter up my inbox.

[capttman]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i usually dont have too much time to read other folks's commentaries on their cruises--i sometimes read your words, and i sometimes read some others, but i dont pay to go -- i have a donate button on mine but i donot expect anyone to do that--is a nice gesture andhelpful for family and friends when i am in a fix..LOL.... but many blogs are too whiney and dull to pay too much attention to-- your stuffis informative and interesting, so i will occasionally read you. you do stuff simple and without a lot of fanfare--i dont have to read--"omg my airconditioner failed and we were 30 miles offshore" and such with you--LOL.. just being honest....sometimes i have been accused of being brutally so----my boat is 41 ft of simple...we may have some strange passages but i do have fun and i do have a lot to finish repairing--- but i do it in exotic places....keep your words coming, lynn-- you do hold attention....

41 foot of simple now that's the way to go.... I am a complex man who loves to keep it simple.....