What does "cruising" mean?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Paul (MSN Travler) -

Thanks for that input. After a few thousand miles into and around tropical mexico we can say anchoring times and marina stay frequencies and our motoring times are quite similar to yours. And indeed similar to our local cruising grounds back in Southern California.

This has so much to do with the area you are cruising. Mex and Pacific central America you do lots of motoring -- even on boats that sail well in light airs. Head to a tradewind area like the Eastern Carib and those that motor a lot do it by choice. Head off to the Pacific and the distances are just too long to motor.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Cheechako,

Can you give me an idea of what holds you in an anchorage for more than 7 days? What cruising grounds would this be? What would you be doing during this time? After months in tropical mexico, even with all its beauty, and the water sports we love, that seems like a long time.

In tropical Mexico we don't feel comfortable leaving a boat unattended at anchor. Too much changeable weather. Are you at anchor primarily to save on marina costs or is it some other reasons you do not like marinas?

We have found the same sailing paradox to be true. Avoiding strong weather leads to less sailing.

Can you give me an idea of what holds you in an anchorage for more than 7 days? What cruising grounds would this be? What would you be doing during this time?
-secure anchorage is easy to stay in.
-Using the home anchorage as a base to explore areas by boat that aren't usually more than short term.
-Other fun cruisers in the anchorage helps.
-forays into the country at hand that are interesting makes for a longer stay. in a month stay, we might take a couple 2-3 day trips.
-weather windows.
-And just generally, sometimes I just need to be "living" there rather than passing thru (like a tourist would) and not thinking about planning!
Cruising grounds? Mexico (went on a 3 + week trip inland by bus)
Dominican Republic (went on a couple 3 day trips)
Trinidad (Just general interesting activities from music to wildlife)
Bahamas (snorkeling, hunting, snorkeling , oh and snorkeling!)
You get the picture....
Marinas vs anchoring
Really mostly no good marina options in many places. Combined with theft security. (a lot more thieves don't have a boat than do!)

[Schooner Chandlery]

Journeyman asked why one would stay at a particular anchorage more than 7 days. Pretty well answered by Cheechako. Adding to Cheechako's thoughts one would stay longer --

Moving all the time can get boring in its own way. Sailing itself is interesting, yes, but sometimes you're just not in the mood for lots of sailing when you're in just the right environment at anchor.

When you find an interesting spot, sometimes you just want to "experience" it. We sat in one spot for 5 days because we kept seeing some really cool wildlife on shore, a great little river to canoe up and see more stuff, and the prawning was great there. We'd have stayed a couple weeks but we were on a time-limit of x-months in Alaska and knew we'd never be able to fit things in, so we had to cut it short at 5 days. Same goes for many other places. And that brings me to what a friend once said to me-- "why are you rushing through paradise?" when we visited them at their base camp (a hut on the beach) while we were land-traveling through Mexico. Each person's paradise is different. When you find yours, you'll likely want to linger, and linger, and linger.

[pete33458]

Why is this in the "Electrical: Batteries, Generators & Solar" forum again?

[Jim Cate]

When we set out cruising in 1986, we had vague ideas about circumnavigating. By the time we had reached New Zealand with some time in the Pacific islands we had met several folks who had indeed circumnavigated and were back in the SP. They said to us " if you like island life and people don't bother going further. This is as good as it gets", or words to that effect.

Well, we did like those things, and we liked NZ as a contrast, and eventually Australia even more so... and to sum it up, we've been circulating in the South Pacific Eddy ever since. So, you could say that we've stayed in the "same place" for over twenty years. It suits us, we've had a great time and don't regret our decision.

Cruising takes on many aspects, and trying to plan your future on the basis of others recommendations is futile IMO. You'll learn as you go, and likely your plans will change more often than they are followed. Don't sweat it...

Jim

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Paul (MSN Travler) -

Thanks for that input. After a few thousand miles into and around tropical mexico we can say anchoring times and marina stay frequencies and our motoring times are quite similar to yours. And indeed similar to our local cruising grounds back in Southern California.

baja and sea of cortez are like so cal. farther south,m into mexico mainland, life is different than sea of cortez and northern mexico--is tropics, which does not exist in kali, and folks are friendly, unlike so cal....

cruising is repairing boats in exotic locations.
i also have fun learning the different subcultures the indio aspect of mexico has to offer.
not all mexico is same.

[Hudson Force]

As this is the Cruisers Forum you would think that there would be some definitive definition for cruising, but from all the posts above it's evident that "cruising" includes a wide range of activities.

Some cruisers are always setting the rhumb line to a new destination and some are returning to often visited ports.
Some have a "home marina" and some don't.
Easy weather or harsh; sailing or motoring (many cruisers are on motor vessels); employed or retired; anchoring, mooring or slip; often aboard, living aboard, days or months away..... all the answers are valid.

It seems that people can only speak of their own experinces with no two alike.
We cruised from 1971 to 2002 while maintaining jobs contracted at 190 days of work per year and crusing seasonally & holidays. Since 2002 we've kept on the move with no cars or ownership of anything ashore.

We've left our boat while traveling elsewhere for as long as two months in a marina and two weeks at anchor. We've remained on our boat as long a three months in one anchorage and we commonly leave our boat at anchor for a portion of the day with the dinghy to shore. Location is a huge factor when judging the risk of leaving your boat unattended.