Bumfuzzles Are On The Move and Sailing

[sww914]

'06 was a lot better than '11 in the Gulf of Aden.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Before the piracy thing got out of hand.

Originally Posted by sww914

'06 was a lot better than '11 in the Gulf of Aden.

That is the point . . . though it would be incorrect to think piracy in the area wasn't already a problem five years ago. I would add, as well, that they were barely 30 years-old at the time, are utterly fearless and if Pat used the word "cowards" to refer to those who would not sail through those waters, the context will reveal some missing information that the single word cannot convey.

TaoJones

[avb3]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Onto what Jim wrote: I, too, met a boat a few weeks ago that had been roundly slagged on this forum because of their over sexulised Blog. Lovely people and the Hubby was working on someone elses boat helping them with a problem, for free, of course.

I follow that Blog. I thought you might have run into them as they too took part in Sailing Week in Antigua.

I love their photography and frankly, some of the comments. That girl sure can cook!

Oh, and in case your wondering which girl, here is the most copied picture from their blog:

[Unicorn Dreams]

Tao

I don't think you will get a blog date for the so called COWARD remark..

[SvLetitgo]

sorry sailing due to bad internet connection LOL

[EricGrab]

My wife and I are about the same age as Pat and Ali. We decided we wanted to cruise and circumnavigate. A couple years after we started planning for our trip we found their blog while they were in the middle of their circumnavigation. We have a tremendous amount of empathy for them. Like us they had little experience, and seemingly everyone they talked to told them they were crazy, reckless, uninformed, etc. We did have a few supportive people, but mostly if we listened to the cruising community we would have never left the dock.

Typically what we found was most cruisers had their setup and history that worked for them, and everything else was some level of increasingly crazy deviation. Whether it be their boat type (size, mono/multi, brand), their gear (anchor, fridge, etc.), their cruising pace (~10% underway), or their preparation/experience/life stage (years sailing, classes, age, finances, family, even business experience, etc.). The cruising community's level of acceptance of us varied, and at times we felt we had to spend extra effort to connect and be accepted as not crazy.

Cruising can mean a lot of things. A fierce independence and a strong community bond. Adventure and leisure. Trials and tribulations. Highs and lows. It is highly personal on how these impact you. For people like the Pat and Ali, it is not about asking if you yourself would feel happy and safe in their situation. It is about asking them if they feel happy and safe. Cruising is a huge list of trade-offs, and it is very interesting to see how people can choose different ones and still have a wonderful time.

Anyway, we did circumnavigate from 2007 to 2009 going west from San Diego. We had the most amazing time of our lives. It is something we would not trade for anything. To many it was unexpected we would make it, and at almost every stop we made we had to start answering questions about us and our boat. It was interesting at the end of our trip in the Caribbean and moving north on the Pacific side of Central America. We would get somewhat stern lectures from the local cruiser about how unsafe our boat must be, and we better not go offshore at night especially in the kinds of conditions in this area. We nodded and smiled, and eventually the question about how we got the boat from San Diego to the current slice of paradise. We answered, "Oh, we took the long way.", which was greeted by puzzled looks. We continued, "You know, across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic." :-D

When people would discourage us, we would think of Pat and Ali. If they are making a go of it, we can too. Fair winds and following seas to the Bumfuzzles. In the future we hope to be cruising again too.

--
Eric
m/y Kosmos (Nordhavn 43)

[James S]

Originally Posted by EricGrab

My wife and I are about the same age as Pat and Ali. We decided we wanted to cruise and circumnavigate. A couple years after we started planning for our trip we found their blog while they were in the middle of their circumnavigation. We have a tremendous amount of empathy for them. Like us they had little experience, and seemingly everyone they talked to told them they were crazy, reckless, uninformed, etc. We did have a few supportive people, but mostly if we listened to the cruising community we would have never left the dock.

Typically what we found was most cruisers had their setup and history that worked for them, and everything else was some level of increasingly crazy deviation. Whether it be their boat type (size, mono/multi, brand), their gear (anchor, fridge, etc.), their cruising pace (~10% underway), or their preparation/experience/life stage (years sailing, classes, age, finances, family, even business experience, etc.). The cruising community's level of acceptance of us varied, and at times we felt we had to spend extra effort to connect and be accepted as not crazy.

Cruising can mean a lot of things. A fierce independence and a strong community bond. Adventure and leisure. Trials and tribulations. Highs and lows. It is highly personal on how these impact you. For people like the Pat and Ali, it is not about asking if you yourself would feel happy and safe in their situation. It is about asking them if they feel happy and safe. Cruising is a huge list of trade-offs, and it is very interesting to see how people can choose different ones and still have a wonderful time.

Anyway, we did circumnavigate from 2007 to 2009 going west from San Diego. We had the most amazing time of our lives. It is something we would not trade for anything. To many it was unexpected we would make it, and at almost every stop we made we had to start answering questions about us and our boat. It was interesting at the end of our trip in the Caribbean and moving north on the Pacific side of Central America. We would get somewhat stern lectures from the local cruiser about how unsafe our boat must be, and we better not go offshore at night especially in the kinds of conditions in this area. We nodded and smiled, and eventually the question about how we got the boat from San Diego to the current slice of paradise. We answered, "Oh, we took the long way.", which was greeted by puzzled looks. We continued, "You know, across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic." :-D

When people would discourage us, we would think of Pat and Ali. If they are making a go of it, we can too. Fair winds and following seas to the Bumfuzzles. In the future we hope to be cruising again too.

--
Eric
m/y Kosmos (Nordhavn 43)

Well put Eric.

[bangkaboat]

Nothing in the CF threads has deterred me from my plans, but between this thread & the one on Zeehag's trip south I sure have been scared off blogging about it or using SPOT!

Sure, I thought that they had made a suicide pact, but they went a lot further than I've ever been and must have learned a few things along the way. (That's why they have a monohull, now!)

[Unicorn Dreams]

I agree with you James

Well put Eric

[imagine2frolic]

A poster at SN claims to have talked with the Ali, and warned her against bad fuel, old, in the tanks. Apparently they are in port, Santa Cruz 60 miles away, to repair the problem. I like them, but this remark worries me with children involved " we don't do trial runs, we just go. It's part of the adventure" Hopefully this will be an eye opener for them........i2f

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by sww914

I'll bet that they're trying to get to Mexico for the birth. IIRC Quest was born there for a few hundred dollars in hospital bills rather than house sized hospital bills in the US. I'm glad to see that they're going again!
I wish I had read the whole thread before I posted. I feel redundant again & again.

its Ouest, not quest, sound like west.

[sww914]

Cool, thanks.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

A poster at SN claims to have talked with the Ali, and warned her against bad fuel, old, in the tanks. Apparently they are in port, Santa Cruz 60 miles away, to repair the problem. I like them, but this remark worries me with children involved " we don't do trial runs, we just go. It's part of the adventure" Hopefully this will be an eye opener for them........i2f

Problem is fixed. It was not bad fuel, but a bad fuel pump. New pump installed, everything hunky-dory.

[Khagan1227]

Good thing Columbus and the Vikings ignored all the negative advice they got from the "experts".

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a good voyage Pat, Ali, Ouest and "bump".

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Khagan1227

Good thing Columbus and the Vikings ignored all the negative advice they got from the "experts".


Have a good voyage Pat, Ali, Ouest and "bump".

Don't bring Columbus and the Vikings into it... they were sooo commercial. Just in it for the money. I bet they had "Donate Here" buttons on their blogs too