To go, or not to go, Again ?

[Mike OReilly]

Thanks Ann/laika. Others have said the same, so it makes me feel a bit more hopeful. But then I look at pics of what people call remote anchorages, some that are packed with dozens of cruising boats, and it makes me fear for my solitary-sanity. I’ll be lingering north for a few more seasons (Newfoundland/Maritimes).

But I’m sure you’re both right. And Ann, you really should consider poetry as your next calling: "You carry the calm within you…” That’s a beautiful line that says so much with so few words.

[AKA-None]

Well this was better than the thread about cruisers using their motors more than their sails

[petegriffiths]

Some great posts here so here's my twopenn'orth. We are now in our 70's and are still dreaming of cruising again so 60 seems pretty good.

We did sail in the early 1980s and were told the "You are too late - the Caribbean is all spoilt" - it wasn't true.
We had no GPS and crossed the Atlantic using a Sextant and a digital watch. We had no refrigeration, only VHF, no watermaker, no furling gear, no autopilot, we used an Aries windvane. We didn't miss them. However We have just this year chartered a yacht in the BVIs which had them all (Except the watermaker) and wished they had been available 40 years ago - it was brilliant.

The BVIs in particular are packed with yachts and difficult to find an anchorage let alone one with solitude but that's not why people go there. They go for a different experience; the bars, the entertainment and people like themselves.

Memories are odd things sometimes they are hard to hang onto and to compare with present day experience. But you can always make new ones and the chances are they will be more real than old ones.

[double u]

your boatname then, pg?

[belizesailor]

I punched out and went cruising 3 times, but relatively close together.

Been in the W Carib since 2005, cruising all over from Belize to Panama.

Plenty of great, uncrowded, cruising grounds here. More popular places too, but nothing like the E Carib.

Currently anchored off isla Yansaladup in the San Blas islands of Panama. Two other boats in this large anchorage (they each are about 100 meters away). Plenty of uncrowded anchorages available here, though there are also a few very popular crowded ones too.

If that appeals to you, then punch out again and head to the W Carib.

[petegriffiths]

Originally Posted by double u

your boatname then, pg?

Petryn

[boatman61]

Not much has changed really from the days when there were just two types of cruisers.. the Rich and the Eccentric..
The Rich hung out in Monaco, Palma and St Barts and the Eccentric in the places the Rich did not go..
The only difference is there's fewer anchorages in the old spots.. given way to the Charter crowds and moorings to accommodate them.. but much as I hate it it s hard to blame the locals for trying to make a few bob.
I'll use St Martin in the Caribe as an example.. everyone wants to stay on the American (Dutch) side.. they crowd the marina's and the Lagoon.. and spread out into Marigot Bay which is an easy, fast dinghy ride to the USA..
However move up the coast a tad to Grande Case and there's maybe half a dozen boats on the hook.. no Marina and tourists flee as it gets dark.. and the old world returns for the Eccentrics to relish.. mind you.. the same applies to Marigot Town and Sandy Ground.. after dark the a$$oles have gone.. back to Burgertown, the Casino's and Poledancers..

[letsgetsailing3]

I'm certain that things have changed a lot, but what are you comparing it to, in terms of lifestyle?

Everything on land has changed in 15 years as well.

I suppose it just depends on how you want to spend your time.

[denverd0n]

Time marches on. Things change. Count on it. Places you remember will not be the same as they were. Maybe they will be worse, or maybe -- at least, in some ways -- they will be better. But they absolutely will be different.

A lot of places will probably be more crowded than they were. That only means that if you want to find quiet, out of the way places, then you will have to find new and different quiet, out of the way places.

None of this means that you cannot enjoy the journey just as much as you did the last one. You will just enjoy it in a different way. In the end, whether or not you enjoy it has more to do with your attitude going in than it does with anything else.

Good luck, whatever you do.

[double u]

btw: didn't I read recently there were much less boats on the rtw-circuit than just a few years ago?

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Thanks Ann/laika. Others have said the same, so it makes me feel a bit more hopeful. But then I look at pics of what people call remote anchorages, some that are packed with dozens of cruising boats, and it makes me fear for my solitary-sanity. I’ll be lingering north for a few more seasons (Newfoundland/Maritimes).

But I’m sure you’re both right. And Ann, you really should consider poetry as your next calling: "You carry the calm within you…” That’s a beautiful line that says so much with so few words.

Well, while I did say you carry the calm within you, in fact, sometimes it's hard to access. The thing is, for things that really matter, it does seem to be there. In one of my near death experiences, I clearly remember the lack of fear, even peacefulness when my fate was totally out of my hands. I expect you may have had a similar situation, some time, when you were beyond fear and/or aggravation.

And thanks for saying you liked something I wrote, too.

Ann

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Well, while I did say you carry the calm within you, in fact, sometimes it's hard to access. The thing is, for things that really matter, it does seem to be there. In one of my near death experiences, I clearly remember the lack of fear, even peacefulness when my fate was totally out of my hands. I expect you may have had a similar situation, some time, when you were beyond fear and/or aggravation.

And thanks for saying you liked something I wrote, too.

Ann

There is discomfort in the uncertainty of anticipation and comfort in the certainty of catastrophe?

I often find relief in acceptance as expressed in a few lines of the Rubiyat of Omar Khyam:

The moving finger writes and having writ moves on
and all your piety and wit won't move it back to cancel half a line
nor all your tears wash out a word of it.