Time Dilation?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

You do realize that others have differing opinions and they are just as valid as yours, right ?

Sure.

The car in your last post was nice, but I would probably just cruise around in it if it was mine.

But, I haven't owned a car since 1995.

Just jeeps and I rarely wash them.

[BluePeter]

Gosh.
Time slowed to a stop as I read these posts.

[patdan]

The experience of the passage of time is largely a factor of memories. Memories are funny. They are not created as you might think. The most memorable events are "Novel". As you look back on a period of time the more novel events there are the slower the experience of the passage of time is. So, living on the hook, (w/o life threatening events like taking on water, hurricane, etc...) is creating few novel memories for you. IMHO

[Stewie12]

When we went cruising I left my watch at home. I had no use for it or the conditioning it gave me. It took 6 months for me not to feel guilty about not going to work.

[RaymondR]

It's one of the laws of nature that the less time you have left the faster it goes.

[OldManMirage]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

Gosh.
Time slowed to a stop as I read these posts.

[abarrow]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Has anyone ever noticed the time goes by much faster when they live on a boat at anchor?

I have to say that’s one of my only big negatives right now about it.

The seasons, the years. They all go by so much more quickly when you live aboard your boat.

This was true with a partner, this is true by myself.

I guess it’s because the mind adapts to the slower cycle of light/dark, and the day it takes you to get somewhere instead of the quick hour long trip in a vehicle? Or a plane?

Does anyone else experience this? Do you have a theory as to why it feels like this?

I’ve been sitting here for five weeks waiting to get my rigging done and it went by instantaneously. Half the winter is gone.

When I am muddling around in my RV, constantly moving from place to place, having to change locations every evening and morning, I am doing so many things that life seems to go more slowly. Plus the things moving around you make it feel like a lot happened in a week or a day. So it seems like it took longer.

Anyone notice this? Or am I going super crazy out here at anchor which is also one of the side effects? Ha ha ha

Here's The Jerk's take on it:
https://youtu.be/3vx6_PQ79FM

[skipperguy]

i do know that time passes very quickly when voyaging to a destination around sundown. sooooooooo many times arriving at an unplanned darktime
- a little unsettling when we were new cruisers

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

Gosh.
Time slowed to a stop as I read these posts.

Ha ha ha ha. I like this post.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by patdan

The experience of the passage of time is largely a factor of memories. Memories are funny. They are not created as you might think. The most memorable events are "Novel". As you look back on a period of time the more novel events there are the slower the experience of the passage of time is. So, living on the hook, (w/o life threatening events like taking on water, hurricane, etc...) is creating few novel memories for you. IMHO

This makes a lot of sense. Fascinating. Thank you for posting this.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by abarrow

Here's The Jerk's take on it:
https://youtu.be/3vx6_PQ79FM

I think you nailed it!

Sounds like a guy that spent too much time at anchor.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vx6_PQ79FM

[rossdv8]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Really.

Doing nothing sitting at anchor makes the time go by faster?

I'm another person who finds that question interesting. I'm no longer able to live aboard, but it was not all that long ago. And I can't remember many occasions where I was ever 'Doing nothing sitting at anchor'.


Perhaps my poor old yachts were unusual. Mine generally only little 26 foot Quarter Tonner (ex racing) boats that were built in the 70s and always seemed to have something that needed to be done.
I would have thought that people with 'real yachts' would have had more maintenance.


Whenever we were anchored it always seemed:



Some part of the interior that needed to be cleaned, generally kept tidy, or repaired.
Some parts of the boat or the engine that needed maintenance.
A meal had to be cooked, or a beverage to make and enjoy - then of course, cleaning up, even if it was just the dishes.
Sails, sheets, a bilge pump to work on, or worse - the head.
Electrics/electronics to fix, diagnose, modify.


There were so many other interruptions to everyday life at anchor that I cannot even list them all.



All had to fit in between stuff like:


Reading.
Fishing (for sustenance - not for fun)
Snorkeling - because we lived and cruised a coral reef coast.
Swimming - because sometimes we needed a bath, or we couldn't be bothered using a dinghy just to row the couple of hundred metres to shore.
Walking - because we were often anchored off beautiful uninhabited islands, or mainland bays.
Shopping - (necessarily for sustenance - not for fun)
Shopping - (necessarily for boat maintenance stuff)


Both lists could go on, and on, and on.


There never seemed to be enough hours in a day to get all the odd jobs done, then a few leisure activities and try to fit in a little time socialising with other yachties, or amongst our own small crew.



Doing nothing sitting at anchor?

I can say I experienced it - but it was very very rare, and yes, being constantly busy doing 'something', even if it was enjoying a sunset - made time speed by far too quickly.


All I have now is hundreds of photographs and some videos, as well as 20 years of memories . .
And not nearly enough time!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by rossdv8

I'm another person who finds that question interesting. I'm no longer able to live aboard, but it was not all that long ago. And I can't remember many occasions where I was ever 'Doing nothing sitting at anchor'.


Perhaps my poor old yachts were unusual. Mine generally only little 26 foot Quarter Tonner (ex racing) boats that were built in the 70s and always seemed to have something that needed to be done.
I would have thought that people with 'real yachts' would have had more maintenance.


Whenever we were anchored it always seemed:



Some part of the interior that needed to be cleaned, generally kept tidy, or repaired.
Some parts of the boat or the engine that needed maintenance.
A meal had to be cooked, or a beverage to make and enjoy - then of course, cleaning up, even if it was just the dishes.
Sails, sheets, a bilge pump to work on, or worse - the head.
Electrics/electronics to fix, diagnose, modify.


There were so many other interruptions to everyday life at anchor that I cannot even list them all.



All had to fit in between stuff like:


Reading.
Fishing (for sustenance - not for fun)
Snorkeling - because we lived and cruised a coral reef coast.
Swimming - because sometimes we needed a bath, or we couldn't be bothered using a dinghy just to row the couple of hundred metres to shore.
Walking - because we were often anchored off beautiful uninhabited islands, or mainland bays.
Shopping - (necessarily for sustenance - not for fun)
Shopping - (necessarily for boat maintenance stuff)


Both lists could go on, and on, and on.


There never seemed to be enough hours in a day to get all the odd jobs done, then a few leisure activities and try to fit in a little time socialising with other yachties, or amongst our own small crew.



Doing nothing sitting at anchor?

I can say I experienced it - but it was very very rare, and yes, being constantly busy doing 'something', even if it was enjoying a sunset - made time speed by far too quickly.


All I have now is hundreds of photographs and some videos, as well as 20 years of memories . .
And not nearly enough time!

Exactly.

Some folks are really good at doing very little all day and enjoying themselves whereas others of us are simply different.

(I've had years of seeing employees (tech's) that are great at doing a lot of nothing all day and think it's great while letting the rest of the workforce do the actual work)

Also some of us can make repairs very quickly so it doesn't take a lot of time.

It's just the different strokes for different folks thing.

Then there's the physical part. Puttering around on a boat all day without proper exercise or food isn't healthy

Btw my boat was built in the 70's and I sailed it for years after I first bought it doing almost no maintenance except a bottom job every 4 years

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Exactly.

Some folks are really good at doing very little all day and enjoying themselves whereas others of us are simply different.

Also some of us can make repairs very quickly so it doesn't tale a lot of time.

It's just the different strokes for different folks thing.

Then there the physical part. Puttering around on a boat all day without proper exercise or food isn't healthy

If you're on the boat for long enough you end up getting exercise. As you have to get off the boat for things at some point. And if you're worried about it, you find ways to get exercise in between the shore trips.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

If you're on the boat for long enough you end up getting exercise. As you have to get off the boat for things at some point. And if you're worried about it, you find ways to get exercise in between the shore trips.

That's not exercise.

That's movement of your body.

Proper exercise is something like doing 25 push ups, 4-7 pull ups, followed by a run, walk, jog of 3 miles or so. (plus stretching before hand)

Like getting your heart rate up to 150-155 BPM or so. (if you are near my age 65 and over)

Other days cycling 25 miles.

Then other days some weight workouts.

Also hiking with a pack 3-4 miles is also good.