The Interview With A Cruiser Project

[Pelagic]

Seadreaming... Just remember Enthusiasm is Infectious!

After almost 40 years I have never lost my enthusiasm over seeing different boats and meeting their owners.

I think the more well used anchorages and destinations in a country... harbor mostly part time cruisers who have 3 to 4 vacation weeks to try and re-bond their family unit, from their normal hectic shore life. They probably act more insular to focus on healing themselves.

Perhaps that's what Ann notices as the anchorages fill up.

Where I cruise, it is remote and almost obligatory to go over and say hi to a stranger and share a few sundowners and local knowledge.

But the life changing stuff really comes from meeting the locals that inspire you.

Being open and enthusiastic guarantees that great people will sail into your Life!

[MarkJ]

Yay! Livia, so an update.
Since you interviewed me in 2010 or 2011 lots has happened! It's been WONDERFUL!
but change? Only little bits, a fee here or there, a new stupid law somewhere (Florida anchoring) or a non-stupid law (Thailand AIS)...
But the people are the same.
If I get off my bum I meet people.
If I do not get off my bum I don't meet people.

While I am in St Maarten in the Caribbean where I have been for 3 months, I have been organising bus trips for cruisers and some hikes. Previous years I have organised more hikes.

If you are in an anchorage, port, whatever, just jump on the VHF or knock on hulls and DO SOMETHING!

Be involved, be busy, be a doer.

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Ann,

Your comments make me sad. One of the reasons I want to cruise is to "change me". I mean, I was / am looking forward to having experiences that make me question myself.

My ex-gf said as we started this cruising caper "in a years time I will be someone completely different".

"Who?" I asked.

"Who are you going to be?"

Sorry, but people don't change. You are who you are. Seeing the Taj Mahal will show you a building you've seen in postcards, its not going to give you some epiphany.

Maybe over years and years people may slowly evolve... like girls do change over a decade from 18 year old dancing queens to responsible mothers.

You are who you are. Yes we all have warts... we all have warts others can see... we are who we are. So maybe it's easier to look inside oneself and relish ourselves as who we are.

It still makes it nice to see the Taj. But I am comfortable when I snap the photo.


Mark <----- Celebrating 9 years cruising. This 10th year will be the BEST!


.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Yay! Livia, so an update.
Since you interviewed me in 2010 or 2011 lots has happened! It's been WONDERFUL!
but change? Only little bits, a fee here or there, a new stupid law somewhere (Florida anchoring) or a non-stupid law (Thailand AIS)...
But the people are the same.
If I get off my bum I meet people.
If I do not get off my bum I don't meet people.

While I am in St Maarten in the Caribbean where I have been for 3 months, I have been organising bus trips for cruisers and some hikes. Previous years I have organised more hikes.

If you are in an anchorage, port, whatever, just jump on the VHF or knock on hulls and DO SOMETHING!

Be involved, be busy, be a doer.





My ex-gf said as we started this cruising caper "in a years time I will be someone completely different".

"Who?" I asked.

"Who are you going to be?"

Sorry, but people don't change. You are who you are. Seeing the Taj Mahal will show you a building you've seen in postcards, its not going to give you some epiphany.

Maybe over years and years people may slowly evolve... like girls do change over a decade from 18 year old dancing queens to responsible mothers.

You are who you are. Yes we all have warts... we all have warts others can see... we are who we are. So maybe it's easier to look inside oneself and relish ourselves as who we are.

It still makes it nice to see the Taj. But I am comfortable when I snap the photo.


Mark <----- Celebrating 9 years cruising. This 10th year will be the BEST!


.

Inspiring post Mark. The think with cruising is your the master of your time which isn't always good. Being proactive is hugely important when your a cruiser IMHO. Its to easy not to move enough, to drink to much and generally be lazy.
A big change in recent years are these things, smart phones, way to much time is spent staring at little screens.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Mike OReilly]

I’ve been reflecting on what Ann and others have written here. There is always a nostalgia for the past, but change is real, and not always for the better.

I would love to see actual data on demographics of cruisers then vs now. Is the average age older today than say 20 years ago? Are there fewer families with young children? Are cruisers relatively wealthier than in the past? And where do cruisers go now vs then? Is there a shift to shorter-term cruising (extended holidays, chartering) vs long-term cruising? These things should theoretically be possible to know.

Clearly average boat size has gone up over the decades, and the standard list of “must have” equipment and systems has increased significantly. All this suggests (but doesn’t prove) that today’s cruisers are richer than in days gone by. Since it takes time to generate wealth, this also supports the idea that cruisers are older. Conservatism and age correlate highly, so a political shift also makes sense, but it’s possible cruisers are the exception to this rule.

I can see how cruisers are becoming more insular and isolated — it’s happening all across our western cultures, so I’d expect to see it here as well. The Internet is an enabler of this, but so are a whole host of other inter-related factors: the politics of fear and division, the whole “ME” generation ethos, a very real rise of national and bureaucratic barriers (higher fees, tightening borders, etc.). Wealth also enables independence; if cruisers are richer today than in the past, they may not need others as much today.

Our digital doodads lets us talk to people around the world. Does this mean we don’t bother to interact as much with new people in front of us? We carry whole libraries of books, movies, TV shows, and video games on our boats now to entertain ourselves. Does this result in fewer people getting together with strangers on the beach to create live entertainment?

And yet, you’d expect that cruisers as a group must surely be open, curious and interested in other people and other places. Otherwise, why go cruising?

… all very interesting. Look what you’ve inspired Livia .

[Livia]

Thanks for chiming in everyone.

I've sent out my first batch of new written interviews and am working out my format for some videos. I'll keep people posted as it progresses but please do feel free to add other topic suggestions here.

What topics do you want to see cruisers asked about?

[toddster8]

I first became acquainted with this project several years ago, through a Google search. I had started to wonder whether my "starter" boat could indeed become my retirement home. Was it really possible to cross oceans with this boat? What specific modifications should one consider? What problems would one encounter?
Bam! Here's an interview with a guy who has done exactly that, with this exact model of boat. That was news I could use!

[Livia]

Originally Posted by toddster8

I first became acquainted with this project several years ago, through a Google search. I had started to wonder whether my "starter" boat could indeed become my retirement home. Was it really possible to cross oceans with this boat? What specific modifications should one consider? What problems would one encounter?
Bam! Here's an interview with a guy who has done exactly that, with this exact model of boat. That was news I could use!

This makes me very happy.

[Livia]

As an update to everyone who commented here. Three new interviews have been posted from three very different boats/crews. Enjoy! New interview coming out tomorrow as well...

10 Questions for Palarran ~ The INTERVIEW WITH<p>A CRUISER Project</p>
10 Questions for Pitufa ~ The INTERVIEW WITH<p>A CRUISER Project</p>
10 Questions for Domino ~ The INTERVIEW WITH<p>A CRUISER Project</p>

[Copacabana]

Livia, thanks for the update and thanks for continuing the "interview with a cruiser" project. It's a terrific site and always an interesting read.
BTW, what are your plans? Are you getting another boat and heading out again?

[Livia]

Thanks! Right now we are making money but we definitely plan on getting out vagabonding again at some point - probably cruising, but maybe another type of travel.

[Livia]

Also, for those of you familiar with the Interview With A Cruiser project (people outside their home country for more than two years), I also run the Newly Salted project which includes people who just left the dock and today we came out with a new interview:

Rhapsody at 6 Months ~ Newly Salted