Crowded?

[a64pilot]

Even in the Panhandle of fl, 99% of the time I anchor where there are no other boats.
In PC, they all go to Shell Island and fly the pirate flags and get drunk and holler all night, but the other ten anchorages around are empty.
So if you want to get drunk and holler all night, anchor out at Shell Island, if you want to be by yourself, there are five or six anchorages in the Bay that you can, and that is in the heart of the Redneck Riviera, a place that is over run with people, it's easy to be by yourself.

Now I can only imagine as I haven't done it yet, but after that two or three week passage to the South Pacific, we may not mind the company of others for awhile, being around other may be welcome, but usually I am a loner, I like being off to ourselves.

[zeehag]

even in follow the crowdville, aka, your personal extension of d dock, xx marina, folks appear.
not always a bad thing.
there is no obligation to mingle. that is choice.
even al9ng gulf coast icw there were isolated anchorages to enjoy.
same vi and mexico.
but ye dont have to come out here if you think it is crowded.
ha ha ha

[Cheechako]

People generally leave each other alone. Weekend cruising in much different than long term cruising. On the weekend, as you say, one often wants some alone time, especially if you work all week. On the boat for months or years, you may want some people time.

[thomm225]

Sometimes after being anchored alone for a day or two to unwind, it can be quite nice just to be sailing on a parallel course with another boat a couple miles off.

I did this with another boat one early morning for about 5 hours recently. It was quite enjoyable to have the "company."

Plus the wind was up and about 14 knots. The tide was with us also as we sailed a close reach toward civilization

[Hudson Force]

We sometimes introduce ourselves to those on a similar passage as their "neighbor for the day". We've enjoyed some of this type of VHF camaraderie without ever directly meeting our temporary friends or we sometimes share an anchorage at the end of the passage. These people rarely are part of an annoying crowd, but sometimes we are overwhelmed by the organizers of gatherings, "pot-lucks", dinghy rafting, social net workings and cruising discussions in the locations where many are anchored.

[JPA Cate]

The first time we sailed from Mexico to the Marquesas, which was our first west-bound major ocean passage going to the South Seas, it was a joy to be welcomed to Atuona (clearance harbour) by the cruisers already there. That passage is about 2 weeks long, maybe closer to 3. Tranquility of spirit on the deep blue sea.

At first, when we first started cruising, we sought solitude, but after a while, sought a blend. We had one year out, then returned to the US to better align our financial ducks, then left for "as long as it is fun." Patterns evolved for creating the blend of solitude versus interactions. It will be something like that for you guys. Going cruising is interactive with you changing as well as your locations and interactions with people changing.

[Sea Dreaming]

Im glad to know its not hard to find solitude. We are probably burnt out on urban life and just need to decompress. Still, we are not terribly social as we know each other to be. We dont drink much and that tends to alleviate social congestion. But circumstances wrought changes so we might surprise ourselves yet!

[barnakiel]

Say 90% of the places that you can hear about are overcrowded. The remaining 9% are just crowded. And the last 1% is as gods created it.

The point is few sailors will ever share that 1% with you.

So you must go out and find your own paradise.

Cheers,
b.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Say 90% of the places that you can hear about are overcrowded. The remaining 9% are just crowded. And the last 1% is as gods created it.

The point is few sailors will ever share that 1% with you.

And obviously, they also don't share all the great places that you don't hear about.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by StuM

And obviously, they also don't share all the great places that you don't hear about.

Haha! Good point!

[sailorboy1]

If you find it too crowded at the places you cruise to ........ ........ Isn't it your fault for going to those places?