Is Cruising Boring?

[daddle]

I've never met a cruiser with a serious drinking problem. Or a boredom problem. These are affliction of people tied to docks or houses. If you are truly cruising, mobile, boredom is the least probable affliction.

[S&S]

A lot of it depends on where you cruise as well. If you're looking for more "excitement" or "challenge", higher latitude sailing won't bore you.

I don't find much attraction to spending years in the tropics. YMMV.

[Jim D]

I get a bit bored, or maybe I should call it antsy, sitting on an anchored boat for more than about a day or two at a time, and I don't think it is practical to sail non-stop all the time, so the outcome is inevitable for me, isn't it? I am not capable nor desirous to chunk it all and go cruising for just this reason. I simply got too many things I want to do, and they can't all be done from a water base.

What it amounts to for me is this: I like to get in my car and go do some other activities; smoking a brisket in the backyard and having friends over is a pretty neat thing to do, and I like going into my wood shop and building a little furniture. Flying to Europe and Cabo and NYC are things I can't give up - can I?

Attending some big-time college football games is a heck of a kick; snow skiing and cycling are part of what I do; and then there are fishing trips ... And I actually have fun knocking around in sports car with a real clutch, or 4x4 truck, and even running a few errands here and there. Then there are movies, and oh, and I really enjoy some tv shows - with absolutely no guilty feelings for saying so.

So, I am planning on the next cruising boat, but I do not say it is for the purpose of "going cruising"; it is not to facilitate ditching what makes up my life. I want to day sail and spend a few nights on board frequently, and do some long distances - hopefully a crossing or two or three. I want the pure guilty pleasure and self satisfaction of having another boat that can do all that. The intent of this scheme is to augment what I have now, not to replace it.

FWIW, I am also old enough to have been schooled by the Pardeys and the Roths, and still think it was some good schoolin'. As a result I am a bit boggled to see the size of many cruising boats these days and the amount of electronics crammed onto them. When I bought my first "monohull with a cabin", 28 ft was big, and 40 was just plain huge. But to each his own, and that sure applies to me and my endless and changing idiosyncrasies.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Ram

I cant remember the last time I was bored, onboard or on land- I think it has a lot to do with your adatude-

that says it all

[Portobello]

If you enjoy the journey - cruise! If you like the destination - catch a plane!

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Portobello

If you enjoy the journey - cruise! If you like the destination - catch a plane!

Therein lies the difference between me and my wife.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

If you are not an alcoholic I doubt cruising will make you one.

I've seen it happen. If you cruise in places with cheap alcohol it can happen really easy. Some people get to one place and drink every night but never go sailing.

[Jim D]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

that says it all

Well, and it also says to me that Ram is just fine on land, without a need to be cruising.



This is a good thread - good thoughts rolling out here.

[nautical62]

Often boring, sometimes scary as hell, sometimes absolute bliss - and everything in between.

A boring day at sea is still better than a good day at the office.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by Jim D

Well, and it also says to me that Ram is just fine on land, with a need to be cruising.



This is a good thread - good thoughts rolling out here.

I love what I do whether it be on land or sea, I don’t need to be cruising, but I do enjoy the variety of both worlds and am content where ever I am..mostly because I’m at peace with myself and who i am-I enjoy living each moment and really appreciate life...I understand how fragle we are and how fast it can be over so whatever i happen to be doing weather digging in the dirt or sailing the seven seas, Im not bored im livein and lovin! I could step off the boat today and not look back and enjoy what life comes across my path

[scook1]

This is a question that I have wondered myself. Good answers and thought provoking conversation as well. Do you find that it takes a reasonable amount of money to stay occupied in your destinations?
Spencer

[Pacific Jewel]

When we first went cruising over 16 years ago, I left a job I enjoyed, and was really making my way up the corporate ladder, while my hubby was burning out. We went sailing for 2 years. Yes, there were definitely times when I felt bored. I read everything in site. Our boat did not have a video player, so we didn't watch movies. It was difficult to adjust from the fast corporate life to the slower cruising lifestyle.

These days I look forward to going cruising again, and no doubt we will. I'm older now, more comfortable in my own skin and satisfied with what I've achieved. I'm looking forward to slowing down a bit. So perhaps this time around I won't feel so much boredom. And I think the disc player for movies will help too ;-)

[Laidback]

The saying "that the day you buy a new boat - is the day that you start to maintain that boat" If that is true - then there is no way that one can get bored, provided that if it is a couple, then both parties must have areas of responsibility that are meaningful and productive.
The cruising fraternity in far off places also ensures friends with similar aspirations and lifestyles. Truly, it is very hard to be bored - there is so much to do - so little time.

[sailorboy1]

In lots of ways it is hard to believe that no one seems to ever get bored in this thread! Even if you have got to the that slow down/wind down cruising stage there has to be lots of times that you are just bored.

It would seem to me that the real question isn't whether you get bored, but whether you find enough things to keep yourself occupied. I would guess to say that a fair amount of boat maintenance is really busy work that gets done for something to do as much as because the boat needs it.

[Hud3]

When we were cruising, a friend back home asked, "What do you do all day?" I scratched my head and answered, "I don't know, but it takes all day to do it." In all of our cruising, maybe 15-16 K nm over six years, the word "boring" never came to mind.

On the other hand, my wife talked me into a seven day cruise on the Caribbean Princess last year. She'd always wanted to give it a try. I was truly bored after five days.