Why cruise where you cruise?

[Tayana42]

Like most others have said, my wife and I stared where we were. I came to sailing late in life, at about 21 years of age. My wife asked if I had ever tried sailing which I had not but I was willing to give it a try. First time out, on the Severn River, near Annapolis, Maryland I instantly fell in love with sailing.

We bought a small car-top able board boat which we carried on our VW camper and sailed extensively on the Chesapeake Bay and cruised via highways and campsites all up and down the US east coast from Montreal to Key West.

Our first “cruising” boat was a 24’ Seafarer with a 5 hp British Seagull outboard. We sailed all over Chesapeake Bay and up the Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway to Long Island Sound. During our years living in Connecticut we always kept the water tank full and a month worth of canned goods on board in case we needed to escape from “life” and sail off to Portugal. With a wife and very young kids and a necessary job our cruising was limited to the north and south shores of Long Island Sound. The water was not really cold there so we sailed all year long. Our very young children loved being towed in the “their” dinghy behind the “big” boat.

For job reasons we moved to Minnesota. I didn’t know that there was water there big enough for a 24’ sailboat so we sold the Seafarer in Connecticut. Once in Minnesota we learned there was big water (called lakes) but the season was short and the water was often hard so we bought a 16’ sailboat on a trailer and proceeded to cruise many rivers and lakes in Minnesota ( including Superior and several lakes in Canada ), Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Once while on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis when a tornado was approaching naturally the wind died. It was the kids who grabbed our very small canoe paddle and paddled us back to the launch ramp. As we drove away from the lake the tornado screamed across the lake, tearing trees from the banks and smashing lakefront houses. Needles to say it is an adventure that will always be a part of their stories.

When work caused another move to Phoenix, Arizona we took the trailerable sailboat there and sailed on the several reservoirs nearby. Not good sailing but different and ecologically interesting.

Next we moved to Jacksonville, Florida and bought a Cape Dory Typhoon weekender. It was a remarkably able sea-boat and we cruised much of north Florida and Georgia but it had very limited tankage (none for water or fuel), no head and little shelter. Cruising was limited to a few days or a week at a time.

Finally, we moved to Southern California. Our dream boat is our Tayana 42. And our dream cruising grounds are here. Compared to Minnesota, Arizona or Florida the weather is ideal all year ( occasional Santa Ana winds and earthquakes aside). Everyone wants to visit or move to Southern California and we are lucky enough to live here. We have sailed repeatedly to every island, harbor, cove, anchorage and port from Santa Barbara to Ensenada. And we have had amazing adventures with spectacular wildlife, powerful and beautiful (sometimes frightening) natural phenomena, met interesting and varied people. We have helped our grandchildren to experience their own discoveries and adventures. We allowed them to have the courage to leap off the boat into the clear blue water off Catalina Island and learn to row the dinghy all by themselves and paddle their own SUPs. They swam with sharks and had close encounters with whales and dolphins. They have had passages from port to port, over night and out of sight of land, sailed through thick fog and helped watch the radar.

Finally we were ready. My wife and I rented the house, gave up our slip and went cruising for 3 years. A combination of health and family issues brought us back. Now we are dirt dwellers again and getting ourselves and the boat ready for more coastal sailing adventures.

What we have learned in more than 50 years of sailing together is that the universe is filled with adventures and life lessons and discoveries. Whether far away or nearby there is amazement and awe and joy to be found. For us the entire universe presents itself every time we cast off the dock lines.

[Jim Cate]

Why, o why are we here???

Well, when I first started sailing in the SF bay area I enjoyed the racing scene, but knew that sailing to somewhere different from the starting point was what I lusted after. Read all the classic sailing books... Chichester, Slocum, Hiscock, Dumas, Pigeon... lots of them. And the parts that sounded the best to me were the South Pacific islands... so far away... and I'd never been west of California!

Unrequited love languished in my soul for a few years, and then the Lab where I worked sent me out to the Marshalls do do some radiation survey work. I stepped off the plane in Hono and felt the NE trades for the first time... bliss! And then the islands... I was truly hooked, even though it was the North, not the South Pacific! I knew that somehow I'd get there on my own bottom.

Our coastal cruising in Calif continued and our experience deepened. In 1983 Ann and I essayed a quick trip to Hawaii and back in our saved up vacation weeks, and we loved it... our first long passages, and our all too brief stay in Oahu and Kauai. The hook was well set and we were reeled in...

Segue forward a few years, and my Lab found itself overstaffed and underfunded... what a shame, they needed to shed some FTEs and set up an early retirement plan, to which I was an enthusiastic subscriber. And what do you know... a few months later we were in the Sea of Cortez, looking westward. And in April of 1987 we made landfall in the Marquesas... and ya know what? It was a good as I had imagined and I knew that I was where I was intended to be.

A lot of years have passed. We've been stuck in the South Pacific Eddy ever since, albeit with some detours. We've plowed furrows through a lot of sea miles, tracking between the small islands and the large, but not leaving the area. Lots of time in NZ and in Oz, and in Fiji and in Tonga and in Vanuatu and in the Solomons and in New Caledonia and a lot of smaller places... gawd, it has been wonderful.

But during those years, somehow we've grown old, and gradually medical issues have limited our offshore jaunts, and now we find ourselves mostly trekking between Queensland and Tasmania... missing the islands and their people deeply. Maybe we will make it out again... dunno. Meanwhile, what we are doing ain'g so bad, and it beats the old folks home all hollow.

So, Mike, that's why we have cruised where we have... I'm so fortunate that I managed to talk Ann into coming along... it is so better when you share! I count myself lucky in so many ways...

Jim

[RaymondR]

Firstly, the water has to be drinkable out of the tap.

Secondly, there must be adequate grocery stores, LPG supplies, liqueur stores.

Thirdly, somewhere to buy a morning paper.

Fourthly, a decent coffee shop.

Overall, somewhere to land the dingy.

Other than those few items I'm happy to cruise anywhere where the temperature stays between about 26 to 30 degrees centigrade.

[Paul L]

I think we are cruising in the area we are because it is basically downwind from the last area we were cruising. I just don't like going to windward. We are currently in SE Asia, Malaysia/Thailand. We've cruised a lot regions since we left the Pacific Northwest 9 years ago. All good in their own way. Some I'd go back to, some not.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

...So, Mike, that's why we have cruised where we have... I'm so fortunate that I managed to talk Ann into coming along... it is so better when you share! I count myself lucky in so many ways...

Thanks Jim. Wonderful story, and beautifully written. You do have a way with words. I feel I can relate on some level. We haven't don't anything close to what you and your Ann have accomplished, but we're meandering our way around here in the Great Lakes/northern Atlantic, and it feels good.

And I completely agree with you on having someone to share this with. It makes everything a bit more vivid.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I think we are cruising in the area we are because it is basically downwind from the last area we were cruising. I just don't like going to windward. We are currently in SE Asia, Malaysia/Thailand. We've cruised a lot regions since we left the Pacific Northwest 9 years ago. All good in their own way. Some I'd go back to, some not.

I like that Paul, and can relate. My boat and crew are definitely a down-wind sailors. Maybe we'll end up blowing down your way.

[slug]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Why are you cruising in the area that you are? How did you choose the location, or region? What sorts of things drives you to go to a place, or a area?

I cruised the upper Great Lakes for nearly a decade. Largely I did it because that's where I lived. But as my experience and range grew I increasingly sought out certain areas of Lake Superior, largely for its remoteness and lack of people.

When we left our home in Thunder Bay the ambition was to sail to Newfoundland. We ended up with a multi-year stopover in Lake Ontario, but made it to The Rock in 2017. I guess the draw was again remoteness and few people. But the relatively lower costs, and the cooler temperatures also attracted me.

Now, as I begin to contemplate our next big move (still a few years off I suspect), I've been thinking about what draws me to certain places; what draws you?

I only choose middle income countries with good geography

Middle income countries are always the best price quality formula

Developing countries get old fast ...corruption , squalor, dynamited reefs , garbage in the sea , no public services and expensive

[tomfl]

Grew up in South Florida and sailed there, the Keys, and Bahamas. Hard to find a place easier to sail and cruise. While I have sailed on the West Coast and Mexico it did not impress me that much. One of my key must haves is warm clear water to SCUBA/skin dive in.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Firstly, the water has to be drinkable out of the tap.

Secondly, there must be adequate grocery stores, LPG supplies, liqueur stores.

Thirdly, somewhere to buy a morning paper.

Fourthly, a decent coffee shop.

Overall, somewhere to land the dingy.

Other than those few items I'm happy to cruise anywhere where the temperature stays between about 26 to 30 degrees centigrade.

Each to his own, and i am not dissing you in any way, but that is a list of everything I cruise to get away from :-)

[slug]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

Each to his own, and i am not dissing you in any way, but that is a list of everything I cruise to get away from :-)

Yah.

That’s a Good list

Although I was in the Uk , Hamble , a few weeks ago and newspapers have become extinct

Times are Looking bad for the newspaper industry

And Tender security is critical

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Firstly, the water has to be drinkable out of the tap.

Secondly, there must be adequate grocery stores, LPG supplies, liqueur stores.

Thirdly, somewhere to buy a morning paper.

Fourthly, a decent coffee shop.

Overall, somewhere to land the dingy.

Other than those few items I'm happy to cruise anywhere where the temperature stays between about 26 to 30 degrees centigrade.

Love it, the true gentleman cruiser

[Shrew]

I cruise in, what I consider, the most desirable place to cruise in proximity to where I live. I live within proximity to where I work. I've tried to work it backwards (working where I would prefer to cruise) however the employment opportunities don't work out well for me.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

A few of you have teased us with the joys of the PNW. I actually have a long-term vision, which is less than a goal but more than a dream, that I'll eventually make it over there. I'm over on the east coast right now (Newfoundland). At the pace we travel you can expect to see me in about 15, maybe 20 years.

Actually, it's a serious thought right now. Once we've explored the wonders of the Atlantic coast, do we head south towards the Caribbean, and then eventually through the Canal. Or do we head east, across the Atlantic to Norway or Ireland?

Or maybe global warming will really get going and the NW Passage will become less of a crazy route. If that happens I could be there in a season, and I wouldn't even have to dig out my speedo .

Mike,

If you aren't looking for really warm weather, the Baltic is the finest cruising area in the world.

Firstly, there are no tides (30cm). Secondly you don't have to buy a cruising license. Third, there are probably somewhere over 10-15,000 islands (mostly uninhabited) that you can sail between and anchor at. Fourth, With very few exceptions (military), you can anchor anywhere and dinghy in and land your dinghy on any beach. Five - The natives are very friendly, good-looking and speak excellent english six - the marinas are cheap (compared to almost anywhere else) seven - it is poosible to get almost any spare part within a day or two.

But don't take my word for it - ask Dockhead or Seaworthy Lass.

The only problem is the weather. The Baltic is generally cool and it may rain a bit. But the evenings are long (you are at 56+ degrees north so darkness never really falls in the early summer.) and generally comfortable.

[redhead]

Mike we sailed the East Coast, from the Chesapeake to Maine and puttered around Florida in another boat. Then I was searching for the "right" boat and went crazy on Yachtworld, never limiting my search to my side of the continent. That was crazy.

Well I found this boat up the coast of British Columbia and we drove out and the rest is history. We sailed it south and imported it into the States, thinking we would spend 6 months on the refit and then sail further south to warmer weather.

Thank the fates that that didn't happen. PNW sailing is out of this world. No, I shouldn't say that, because we only sail about 20% of the time. That's a bit of an exaggeration but not much. When summer happens (usually on a Tuesday in August) the wind dies. We do a lot of motor sailing since this boat needs a lot of wind to get her moving. But the scenery, the waters, the depths, the whales and seals, the eagles. the silence, are literally breathtaking. We have been the only boat in a cove for up to 5 days. We've found old deserted cabins by the water that make me wonder "who used to live here?" "what was their life like?".

Challenging waters - currents of 16 knots, whirlpools 30 feet across, rapids, sometime three of them in a row. Depths so deep your depth meter laughs at you. Logs floating under the surface, lots of them. There's a "pucker factor" each time we approach a new challenge.

But without a doubt the most magical, unexpected waters I think I will ever be on. We're getting ready to go south now and to tell the truth, a huge part of me isn't ready yet. I want to see more. Come out to the PNW!

[slug]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Mike,

If you aren't looking for really warm weather, the Baltic is the finest cruising area in the world.

Firstly, there are no tides (30cm). Secondly you don't have to buy a cruising license. Third, there are probably somewhere over 10-15,000 islands (mostly uninhabited) that you can sail between and anchor at. Fourth, With very few exceptions (military), you can anchor anywhere and dinghy in and land your dinghy on any beach. Five - The natives are very friendly, good-looking and speak excellent english six - the marinas are cheap (compared to almost anywhere else) seven - it is poosible to get almost any spare part within a day or two.

But don't take my word for it - ask Dockhead or Seaworthy Lass.

The only problem is the weather. The Baltic is generally cool and it may rain a bit. But the evenings are long (you are at 56+ degrees north so darkness never really falls in the early summer.) and generally comfortable.

Yup

The Baltic is fantastic

Short sailing distance between ports anchorages
Long summer days
Friendly people