The romantic notion of a secluded anchorage vs. real life

[Stu Jackson]

Have you considered simply just getting "out there" to discover what you, personally, do actually enjoy?

Start locally.

Finish Globally.

KISS

Follow Jim's advice.


Your boat, your choice.

[Mike OReilly]

Most of my limited but growing cruising life has been spent in remote, secluded anchorages. But I have also spent some time (years at a stretch) in busier, crowded areas.

When I was in the latter, it was largely b/c that was the way it was, where I was. I know that’s not a very clear response, but as I travel (slowly … always slowly) I’ve encountered areas with higher boat densities and areas of lower. So it depends on where you are, and to some extent, how you like to cruise.

There are places where boats are few and populations are small. They tend to be away from urban areas, and also away from popular tourist zones. Look for areas where cell coverage doesn’t exist — here is where you have the anchorages mostly to yourself.

[Sojourner]

Jim hit it as far as we go: the ability to move your safe space, your home with your most important things (and in our case, 3 cats) as your desire suits you is the single most amazing thing for us. I've backpacked the world, then did it again on motorcycle, then in a VW bus, now in sailboat.... The 'freedom' of a bike or combi is great but it's nothing compared to a boat for me. Backpacking might beat it, but that was when I was alone and all I needed was a plastic bag to carry a single shirt to wash in the sink each night and a toothbrush (seriously, I was rob-proof, no phone, no camera, rubber wristwatch and that was it...glorious).

So back to that moving around thing... I love solitude and quiet days, for a while. Then I'll crave a city with a few clubs and bars, but I'll get bored with that soon. Then I'll want a different city, or village, or more quiet swimming and nesting with my loves and cats and cooking each night for a month straight.... nothing else can give you that but a cruising sailboat. Truly global range, all you gotta do is think of it and you can do it. To quote Dr Frankenfurter from Rocky Horror, "don't dream it, be it." That's cruising for us in a nutshell. There ain't nothing better that I've found yet.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Have you considered simply just getting "out there" to discover what you, personally, do actually enjoy?

Start locally.

Finish Globally.

KISS

Follow Jim's advice.


Your boat, your choice.

+1 Far better than other people's choices

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Ann, I was approaching it from the other side. I wondered if regulations were precluding the use of otherwise-feasible small anchorages.


For example, I understand that this has been a problem in some parts of Florida, and in some areas that have installed mooring fields.

I’m enroute through Florida right now, for the first time. Have always sailed around offshore.

As far as the anchoring situation goes, it’s still being worked out in the state legislature, with bills being introduced to either limit anchoring or give municipalities the authority to draft their own regulations. So far the state, out of concern over an unworkable patchwork of regulations has resisted any significant limiting changes. However, there are a couple of municipalities with grandfathered in regulations.

TL;DR, it’s not bad yet but the battle grinds on.

That said, there are cruisers that go from marina to marina (or mooring field) and that’s how they roll. Some who I have met are scared of anchoring. Others simply enjoy the amenities and convenience of being docked.

I only take a mooring or a slip for logistical reasons, if I need to resupply and have a bunch of stuff to do ashore, or a repair that is way easier at the dock. The rest of the time I’m as far away from other boats as I can reasonably get. There is absolutely no better experience than having an anchorage all to yourself. It’s bliss.

I have to say making your way down the east coast of Florida, even if you’re making jumps down the outside, is an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever repeat. Anchorages can be scarce, not because of regulations, just the physical lack of them. The traffic, crowding, and costs are like nothing I’ve ever seen. The marina-to-marina folks seem happy as clams to shell out $3/foot every night. That’s fine if that’s what they want, but for everyone else it’s a bit of a gauntlet.

I should have gone straight to West End from farther north up the coast to avoid the madness. Live and learn.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by wtmf

moorings are owned. the wind and sun are free.
if you ate lonely stsy in the city and vacation on a boat? have you noticed that MOST vlog's take place NOT sailing?? i am still waiting for a vlogger to be mostly sailing.

Dylan Winter. http://keepturningleft.co.uk.


But I do agree that he's a special case.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Have you considered simply just getting "out there" to discover what you, personally, do actually enjoy?

Start locally.

Finish Globally.

KISS

Follow Jim's advice.


Your boat, your choice.

Well:
1) That's what I'm doing; I'm on step one.

2) There are three kinds of mistakes I'm trying to avoid in the process:


a) Expensive mistakes.
b) Time-consuming mistakes.
c) Mistakes that cause avoidable and pointless relationship stress.


By way of example, most people who purchase an RV anticipate spending a great deal of time in remote, isolated areas without services. In practice, a very tiny percentage actually do this (< 5%). Some years ago when I bought my Airstream, I was able to avoid this mistake, by asking a lot of questions and listening to the answers. (With RVs the reasons for this have mainly to do with laws and regulations that put most of the desirable areas off limits, and with the logistical and regulatory problems of obtaining water and disposing of wastewater.)

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

Jim hit it as far as we go: the ability to move your safe space, your home with your most important things (and in our case, 3 cats) as your desire suits you is the single most amazing thing for us. I've backpacked the world, then did it again on motorcycle, then in a VW bus, now in sailboat.... The 'freedom' of a bike or combi is great but it's nothing compared to a boat for me. Backpacking might beat it, but that was when I was alone and all I needed was a plastic bag to carry a single shirt to wash in the sink each night and a toothbrush (seriously, I was rob-proof, no phone, no camera, rubber wristwatch and that was it...glorious).

We have much in common. I no longer backpack but of olden time I spent a great deal of time by myself or with one or two others in the hills. I would get into the hills on a motorcycle. Then the Airstream came later.

To quote Dr Frankenfurter from Rocky Horror, "don't dream it, be it." That's cruising for us in a nutshell. There ain't nothing better that I've found yet.

Rose Tint My World. I did the lighting and rigging for a local amateur production of the Rocky Horror Show a couple of Halloweens ago and probably had more fun with it than any other performance I've worked on. Curiously, all the leads were straight in real life. We had a great cast and one of the most capable choreographers I've worked with.


Back to the topic, thanks for the insight.

[Benz]

There are plenty of secluded harbors out there, all over the places I've cruised, for those willing to pay the price. Often the price is a long slog to get there; sometimes it's that the anchoring is dicey or good for only one wind direction. Sometimes the seclusion includes no good place to land, and nothing worth exploring by dinghy, and water too murky for good snorkelling. Sometimes you have a lovely little island and good holding, but how many walks around a deserted one-acre island can one take?
If you have a tight budget like mine and no fridge, "secluded" means "no fresh groceries." Which means that you arrive there only to continue eating passage food. Now passage food is all very well, but four months of it or so, and you'll be ready for something green that hasn't been in a can.
Quite often there's a reason for the crowded spots that makes the crowds worthwhile. Cartagena is totally worth shoehorning your boat into, likewise La Paz.
Another reason for herd instinct is security. The threat of piracy and burglary, both real and imagined, makes a lot of cruisers "buddy boat," especially along the Honduras and Nicaragua coasts when I was there last. After months of cruising where every passing panga and canoe makes you tense up and hope they don't come near, it's relaxing to be surrounded by cruisers and knowing that someone is always watching from their cockpits. It's comforting to go ashore knowing your boat isn't the only highly visible, expensive object for miles around.
So we do both--usually from necessity. Secluded spots as we wend our way between major centers to reprovision and enjoy shoreside treats. Variety is the spice of life.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I’m enroute through Florida right now, for the first time. Have always sailed around offshore.

...


I have to say making your way down the east coast of Florida, even if you’re making jumps down the outside, is an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever repeat. Anchorages can be scarce, not because of regulations, just the physical lack of them. The traffic, crowding, and costs are like nothing I’ve ever seen. The marina-to-marina folks seem happy as clams to shell out $3/foot every night. That’s fine if that’s what they want, but for everyone else it’s a bit of a gauntlet.

I should have gone straight to West End from farther north up the coast to avoid the madness. Live and learn.

Thanks for the insight.


We've really enjoyed our land-based explorations of the keys and I was planning a hypothetical trip yesterday as sort of a thought exercise. It does look to me like a particularly difficult area to sail. Shallow inside, not many good anchorages, deep channels between the ICW and the outside a few and far between, very few anchorages outside. I would like to spend a few weeks in Key Largo and dive the many reefs and wrecks in the area from my own boat, but I just don't see any good way to do it. I think I may start another thread.

[noelex 77]

We are fortunate to live in the golden era of yacht cruising.

Yachts are (relatively) inexpensive, and equipment such as GPS and modern anchors has made life much easier.

Cruising grounds have become more crowded, but modern equipment has revolutionised the areas that can be safely and easily cruised, although few seem to take advantage of these opportunities. Anchorages that were previously regarded as marginal, suitable for “fair weather only”, anchorages with “poor holding” or simply just unlisted, can be safely utilised with modern gear.

Since leaving the Netherlands over the last year we have shared anchorages with another yacht on only two occasions. Personally, I would welcome a few other boats. Getting together with other sailors is one of the joys of cruising.

[Hasbeen]

If you want some solitude, try the Solomons & New Guinea. In 8 years & 53,000 miles I never even saw a marina, & in the 200,000 square miles where I did most of my cruising there are still few to find. There are only 6 towns where you can be sure of getting your gas bottles filled.


Gas was my limit, I needed it about every 3 months. sometimes in 3 months I would not see a single yacht, & only see white folk at a couple of plantations. On one occasion when 3 yachts separately but simultaneously arrived at one plantation, it caused a 4 day party, it was such a rare occasion.


I was always careful not to take fish or lobster from infront of a village, so would anchor away from any when I needed to stock up. Even so, I was often surprised by locals who had paddled miles hoping to trade for fishing gear or tobacco. I have a good collections of carvings particularly from the Solomons gathered in this way.


I have a beautifully carved canoe paddle acquired this way for a few sticks of tobacco, leaving the poor bloke to paddle home with something he lashed up from the bottom of a coconut palm frond.


Yep, there are still some great places to cruise, but they are not that easy to get to.

[akprb]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Very few are capable of getting far off the beaten track.

And many do not want to.

Those that do, and can, avoid most of those problems.

This is the right answer.

GPS has turned cruising into RVing in many of the most beautiful and easily accessible parts of the world.

There was a time in my lifetime when the Bahamas was pretty quiet. No more.

So most stay solidly on “the magenta line” and go from the little anchor symbol to little anchor symbol. That is ok, not judging.

If you are competent and confident plenty of quiet little spots still to be enjoyed ;-)

[Capt Phil]

I grew up in the PNW and went to work on the commercial fishing boats and tugboats for about the first 20 years of my formative time of life.
There were never a shortage of safe and uncrowded anchorages as I recall.
A few years ago, we purchased a DeFever 54 trawler in Northern Washington state and revisited some of my old haunts. Still uncrowded, safe and great holding ground!
Perhaps folks are just looking in the wrong spots!
Phil

[toddster8]

Dunno... it’s a moving target. Humanity continues to expand and blot out everything else. Places where I never saw another human, as a teen, are now like the monkey-house at the zoo, all the time.