Sailing And Cruising. Two Different Things?

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by carstenb

sailing skills are a subset of cruising skills. obviously you need to know how to sail to cruise - you do not need to know how to cruise to be able to sail.

having said the above - I suspect that cruising is mostly also a mindset. What sane person gives up a physically comfortable life on the land for the opportunity to spend his/her life on a platform that is heaving around on the waves, sometimes being scorched by the sun, other times soaked to the skin, desperate for a cup of hot coffee or a hot meal - but having to hang on dear life and making do with a soggy sandwich.

If double-handing - 4 hours of sleep - 4 hours on watch - 4 hours sleep - 4 hours watch etc etc.

Obviously no sane person would do that - although that same person is rewarded by the immense joy of sitting alone in the cockpit and gazing at trillions upon trillions of stars, maybe enjoying a cup of hot coffee at the rail early in the morning while watching the dolphins playing around the bows, or just exhilarating at the sheer pleasure of helming a "happy boat" that has the exact right sail trim and is flying across the waves, making 8 knots and knowing that life simply does not get any better than this.

Beth leonard and Evans Starzinger say that cruising is a life with higher highs and lower lows than living on the land.

I agree with them completely - suffering through the lows is more than offset by the extreme highs one gets to experience while cruising.

Correct, except (being petty minded) I have to point out that you see about 5,000 stars only (out of the trillions out there, that you cannot see)😃

[StuM]

Originally Posted by meirriba

Correct, except (being petty minded) I have to point out that you see about 5,000 stars only (out of the trillions out there, that you cannot see)😃

Individual stars yes, but if you can see the Milky Way or the Andromeda Galaxy , you are looking at the combined light of hundreds of billions of stars in each

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by meirriba

Correct, except (being petty minded) I have to point out that you see about 5,000 stars only (out of the trillions out there, that you cannot see)😃

I started counting them one night while on watch in the middle of the atlantic - lost count at 1,928 x10 to the 45th power and had to start over -- bummer

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I started counting them one night while on watch in the middle of the atlantic - lost count at 1,928 x10 to the 45th power and had to start over -- bummer

Current estimate of stars in the 'observable universe' is 10 × 10 to 24th power. So you drank to much beer around the time you have list count😃

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I started counting them one night while on watch in the middle of the atlantic - lost count at 1,928 x10 to the 45th power and had to start over -- bummer

At least you did not fall asleep while on watch.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by meirriba

Current estimate of stars in the 'observable universe' is 10 × 10 to 24th power. So you drank to much beer around the time you have list count😃

no beer - but i was using my fingers and toes to keep track - might have counted on the wrong foot