How long do you stay? How far do you go from your boat?

[Jammer]

Boats, by design, can move. I like to be nimble, and I like to sail, in my admittedly local travels I am quite happy to anchor for lunch, head up the river a few miles, anchor again for some swimming, etc.


In some of the dinghy discussions I'm coming to the realization that many people anchor in one spot for days at a time or longer and use their RIB to cross distances that I would cover in my sailboat. Some of this is location specific (because there isn't always a place to anchor or moor) and I realize that in some areas it is hard to find an anchorage or ball so people are reluctant to leave a good spot.



But I think there's more to it.


So, how long do you stay in one spot? Why so long? Why so unwilling to move the boat? And why would you rather go around the island in a RIB than the boat that you love?

[Chotu]

Simple. It's a lot easier to launch the rib than to pull up the anchor, navigate, store things, etc.

[billknny]

Like you say, it is location specific, and depends on the boats involved.

I love having our "fast dinghy." One of our "long" trips was to visit friends across 10 miles of shallow flats that were far too shallow for our big boat. We frequently explore tidal creeks and shallows where the option is either the dinghy or wading. I use it a lot to go fishing in places the sailboat just doesn't fit.

I hate to destroy your feeling of moral superiority, but we never use our "fast" dinghy to avoid moving the big boat. Rather we use it a lot to take us places the big boat cannot go. Being limited to only going places our sailboat can fit would reduce our enjoyment of our adventures enormously.

[thomm225]

As a coastal/weekend/vacation cruiser the most I've stayed in one spot is 3 days and that was because of heavy head winds (onshore).

I would have moved but the sunken concrete ships did provide some protection against the waves.

https://blog.esvatourism.org/2018/04...oncrete-ships/

The tides where I was anchored are strong and change every 6 hours. So after day one the anchor is well dug in from wind and tide

From there, I hike or kayak for miles on end

[boatman61]

How long anchored in one spot.. it depends on the people ashore that I meet.. nice people I stay awhile to know them better and have fun.. sometimes 3+mths..
Bunch of miserable gits.. Fuel, water, fresh produce and move on.
Not a culture vulture so dont do the tourist thing.
The dinghy is used to go ashore to a beach, a bar or a market.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Simple. It's a lot easier to launch the rib than to pull up the anchor, navigate, store things, etc.

Translation. A 25' boat is nimble, a 45' boat not so much. You take a car to the corner store. With a Winnebago you either walk or unload a bike. Driving the Winnie is not "fun" in the same sense.


I've had both. Small is for sailing and fun, large is for cruising and voyaging. Different.

[Pete7]

The longest would be a week anchored Alderney during a scorchie hot summer. However, with thousands of miles of superb cruising grounds on our doorstep and France 11 hours away there is no rush or point in covering huge miles.

The next quaint old harbour or river along will be completely different.

As for travelling in the dink, well short hops ashore but with a draft of 3'8" we take the yacht places some folk would need to slow down in their rib.

Life is good on the boat.

Pete

[krivanj]

We have an anchorage near us that is featured in several guide books. Many people anchor there and then apparently fly away for several days. We’ve seen several boats break loose or otherwise and end up in trouble while the owners are gone. Over Christmas, someone left a 40’ boat there and the roller furling jib partially unfurled. Within about a week, it destroyed itself. The last time I drove by, the boat had been there for over two weeks with the remnants of the jib still flapping.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by billknny

I hate to destroy your feeling of moral superiority, but we never use our "fast" dinghy to avoid moving the big boat.

Easy there, everyone has their reasons, I'm just trying to understand what they are.


There are areas I must avoid also because of draft and bridge clearance. Most of them quickly become too shallow and low for anything but a canoe, though.

[contrail]

I think it depends upon the sailor and the sailboat. When I was cruising Mexico, in the 90's and the aughts, I was amazed at the boats that rarely moved. Of course, they had huge awnings up, etc. etc. and the popular places had lots of activities going on, which were a lure. When in such places, I used to at least go for a daysail once a week, often with friends, and I moved a lot. Mine was a nimble boat that was easy to get underway, and if it weren't for the sailing, I wouldn't have been cruising.



I think one can divide choices into the following: a sailboat that is also being used as a house, or a house that can sail. People are divided into two groups, being the ones that buy either of the two boat categories. As boats get bigger and housier (yes, I know there is a difference of opinion on this), you get housier people, so to speak.



NO OFFENSE meant to anyone! It's all good!


Cheers,Tim

[redhead]

Simple answer for us really.

We arrive in a place we've never been, anchor successfully, get the boat shipshape and now use it as a base from which to explore more. The dinghy can go fast (fun) and get us into intriguing areas quickly. Some are not as great as they might look ("look at that huge rock shelf about 3 feet down") some are down a channel that we're not sure if we're welcome (oyster farms, etc). Usually there's 0-3 boats wherever we are so not a lot of exchanging of information.

We use the mothership to live, we use the kayaks to paddle around and quietly explore our anchorage and we use the dink to explore farther afield (and have fun)

We've spent as much as five days doing this in a cove which I won't name because we never saw another soul the whole time...

[toddster8]

So far, my cruising has felt too rushed, due to limited time off from work. I’d like to stay in some of those anchorages for at least a week. Hike and bicycle on shore. Explore via kayak and SUP. Search out nearby dive sites in the Zodiac.
But then again, I need to go someplace to empty the holding tank every few days, anyway.

[wrwakefield]

Jammer,

A good question that prompts one to ponder the various reasons for being on their boat. [And each outing can have a different purpose...]

In our case, the boat is our full time home. We have had several over decades. This time we went with a pilothouse model so we can spend the time at anchor seeing the areas we travel to. We frequent remote areas and may stay for days, weeks, sometimes months in one spot. When anchored, we explore [water and land] by sea kayak or dinghy. [RIB w/ 15hp outboard] We might even travel up to 20 miles round trip in the dinghy for a quick provisioning in a nearby town instead of taking our boat there.

We can comfortably go as long as 3-4 months before needing to visit a town for provisioning, fuel, fun, etc. However, typically our travels find us near enough a town to stop in every 4-8 weeks or so. We tend to stay for much less time when near a city/town as things are busier, and once we have seen/experienced/purchased what we need/want, we venture toward wilderness again.

This is our current approach to life on the water. It will no doubt continue to change/evolve over time. Everyone's needs and wants are different, and they are all good.

Cheers! Bill

[Mithril Bham]

Summer before last four months although would sail occasionally. Dinghy at 20mph allowed me to drop and pick up crab and shrimp pots as well as fish places where time constraints would limit hitting the right tides etc. Love sailing but enjoy exploring in small boats even more. Each to their own.

[AZUS]

We're cruising the Med, and our motto is "Time's on our side". Our pattern tends to be: day sails to anchorages until we find one we really like, then maybe stay a couple of days. Until we get tired of being on the hook (or the weather makes a strong suggestion!), then we marina for 1 or 2 days or a bit longer if we love it, sometimes renting a car and exploring. When we're tired of being constrained at night, we'll plot a 1-3 night passage and reposition 150-400nm. The Admiral tends to get bored and so we tend to not stay many days in a location unless we crave a bit of downtime, have friends to play with, or have more to explore.

The dinghy is to take us to shore and some mild excursioning. Though, I'd sure never look down on someone who likes the set of their anchor and their protection in a location, and chooses to use the dink for extensive exploring from a particularly safe place. That's why we're out here, after all - and I've spent too many days and nights worried about our anchor holding to be begrudge anyone's sense of security on the hook in a place.