Is it the Actual Sailing or the Adventure and Possibility?

[LauraleeG]

These are such beautiful responses. Brings a tear to my eye, to be sure!
Makes the learning curve on getting to know my new to me boat totally worth it!!

[philiosophy]

The Cruising life is like living in a sort of Time Machine. The kind that slows things down. The groovy way of putting it is "Living in the moment". You are moving slow and simply are forced to notice every detail. Living on a boat on a mooring or in a marina does not do that.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I like a home that goes places.
If I could have a nuclear powered boat, I would.
Sailing is just the only quiet, low air pollution,, feasible way to travel with your home from place to place, so I sail.

My ideal form of transport would be a hovering home that is powered by engines like Star Trek.

I hear you! When its rough and the sailing is miserable, I imagine how cool it would be to have a private submarine!

But when we are under sail in pleasant conditions and have time to daydream, I sometimes think of how sailing was the only form of water transportation and commerce for all human history and pre-history until lately. It makes me very humble and proud to use the same clean wind power, and wonder how the ancients could have made those voyages in their fragile wooden craft, no accurate charts or navigation instruments.

So for me, the passage itself is often more than half the fun.

[thinwater]

There seem to be two definitions of adventure:

a. We don't know exactly what we will see in the next port. The guidebook was incomplete.

b. Death is possible without great skill and a touch of good fortune.

I admit being attracted to both over the years. Many years later, (a) interests me less and I enjoy (b) in smaller doses.

[boatman61]

The ability when bored with where I am at to just raise the hook and head on to the next anchorage.. or country if I've had enough of the one I'm in..
No guide books needed.. that way I don't miss out on the people by chasing the sights.. a building is just a building on a tick list.. people however are constantly surprising.
The sailing is leisurely and adventures, like great people, sneak up when least expected.
Hate round the cans but have.been known to have the odd race against another boat like when a bunch of us in Alderny had to haul anchor and run to Gurnsey because of an imminent F8 from the NE.. one of the boats was a sail training boat crewed by marines and the challenge was thrown and accepted.. No bootniks gonna beat a matelot..
Had an excellent run down to St Peters Port, a Longbow solo' vs a fully crewed GK29.. We tied..
Thats why I love deliveries.. The unexpected challenge.

[loneshark64]

I am weird. I am in it for the sailing, but I don't have an interest in racing. I like watching racing but I am not interested enough to get involved with it. I like my old boat to move as fast as it can and efficiently and well but I don't enjoy rail-in-the-water etc.

I just like the motion of the boat underneath me, going along under sail and seeing seals and dolphins, birds and fish. I like being stuck on a slow reach with my adult kids not having their phones out.

I like the smell of diesel fuel, the smell of the boat in general, and working on the boat. I like overnights but I don't want to live full time on a boat. Dreaming about the south pacific is fun but I am not going to ever end up sailing there.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by CNulli

The only answer is, yes.

Love this answer!

I kept aaking myself, "Is it...?" Trying to fit myself into one category or the other. For me, they go hand-in-hand. It feels like the moment I step on a sailboat any kind, any where, I've begun an adventure, and it's up to the wind and the waves and Neptune to decide how it will come out.

LittleWing77

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Love this answer!

I kept aaking myself, "Is it...?" Trying to fit myself into one category or the other. For me, they go hand-in-hand. It feels like the moment I step on a sailboat any kind, any where, I've begun an adventure, and it's up to the wind and the waves and Neptune to decide how it will come out.

LittleWing77

Exactly!!!

[LittleWing77]

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by philiosophy

The Cruising life is like living in a sort of Time Machine. The kind that slows things down. The groovy way of putting it is "Living in the moment". You are moving slow and simply are forced to notice every detail. Living on a boat on a mooring or in a marina does not do that.

I notice a time machine effect also, but a little differently.

The days, the seasons, the years, the decades go by SOOOOOOO QUICKLY!!!

When I'm on land it's a long time for a year to go by. When I'm living at anchor, I feel like my life is absolutely flying by.

Sometimes I do actually wonder if this is the only real drawback to living on a boat.

[s/v Jedi]

We try to be as self reliant as possible and for us the reason is freedom. Sailing your boat is the only way left to be truly free.

With that freedom also comes preparation, discipline, responsibility, more required skills and the comradeship with others like you.

At the same time you see others in the same places have a completely different experience: instead from anchorage to anchorage they go from marina resort to marina resort with bungalow, every night dressed to the nines to restaurants and night clubs. It’s like a different dimension and it shows how different people are

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I notice a time machine effect also, but a little differently.

The days, the seasons, the years, the decades go by SOOOOOOO QUICKLY!!!

When I'm on land it's a long time for a year to go by. When I'm living at anchor, I feel like my life is absolutely flying by.

Sometimes I do actually wonder if this is the only real drawback to living on a boat.

Right?? I figger I have 25 years left to do all the things I want to do...seems like a short time as the years slip slide by...

[Group9]

For me, it equal parts sailing and adventure when we go cruising to far away places.

I love pulling into a place I've never been, that I had to sail offshore at night to get to. And, then meeting the people there, and seeing how they live, getting to know them.

And, I love the challenge. When you're out in the middle of nowhere, and you know you're on your own, that's a pretty heady feeling. When you know, that if you mess up, even if the Coast Guard or some other rescue finds you, you're going to be treading water or floating on a raft for a while.

Even the challenge of fixing things. There's an old saying, "Cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic and new places", and there's a lot of truth to that.


On our last cruise, I started our engine with a hammer, jumping the solenoid, for three months! I've had to sew my sails by hand when they ripped, had to send my wife up the mast to free a stuck halyard in the middle of nowhere, and had a roller furling jib get stuck all the way out in a 35 knot blow when the foil slid down and got jammed! I could go on for hours! It's almost like your boat is a part of you after a while. It takes you places you could never go without it.



And, sailing, and putting on the auto pilot on, and not having to touch it, or change or trim the sails for two days, just ghosting along clear blue waters, heading for a place you've never been to before. Nothing like sailing all night, with a full moon in front of you, illuminating a shimmering highway in front of you! Or pitch black, no moon, when you can see a billion stars!

I first started cruising when I was in my 20's and my one big life regret has always been that I never figured out a way to keep doing it full time from then until when I finally figured it out at 52!

But asking whether the sailing, or the adventure, is the best? It's like asking, what's more fun; driving a car, or going somewhere new and exciting in it? It's both.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

I was wondering the other day about what I like about being on a boat...is it the SAILING I mean, the act of sailing OR is it the idea and possibility of adventure and the changing views and the challenges it presents?
For me its the adventure and the idea of being able to just go..the sailboat is simply the means by which i can do that.
what is it for you? is it the act of sailing or the adventure? are they mutually exclusive?

I only got into boating to travel. and I only got into sailing because I didn't think we could save enough money to buy fuel (see how little I knew).

It ended up up that we like sailing, but it is still really about the travel to us. We acturally sailed a lot more back before we became full time cruisers.

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Group9

For me, it equal parts sailing and adventure when we go cruising to far away places.

I love pulling into a place I've never been, that I had to sail offshore at night to get to. And, then meeting the people there, and seeing how they live, getting to know them.

And, I love the challenge. When you're out in the middle of nowhere, and you know you're on your own, that's a pretty heady feeling. When you know, that if you mess up, even if the Coast Guard or some other rescue finds you, you're going to be treading water or floating on a raft for a while.

Even the challenge of fixing things. There's an old saying, "Cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic and new places", and there's a lot of truth to that.


On our last cruise, I started our engine with a hammer, jumping the solenoid, for three months! I've had to sew my sails by hand when they ripped, had to send my wife up the mast to free a stuck halyard in the middle of nowhere, and had a roller furling jib get stuck all the way out in a 35 knot blow when the foil slid down and got jammed! I could go on for hours! It's almost like your boat is a part of you after a while. It takes you places you could never go without it.



And, sailing, and putting on the auto pilot on, and not having to touch it, or change or trim the sails for two days, just ghosting along clear blue waters, heading for a place you've never been to before. Nothing like sailing all night, with a full moon in front of you, illuminating a shimmering highway in front of you! Or pitch black, no moon, when you can see a billion stars!

I first started cruising when I was in my 20's and my one big life regret has always been that I never figured out a way to keep doing it full time from then until when I finally figured it out at 52!

But asking whether the sailing, or the adventure, is the best? It's like asking, what's more fun; driving a car, or going somewhere new and exciting in it? It's both.

Hmmm I HATE doing errands in my car... so hate driving then. But a road trip!!!??? Score!!!! Whole other kettle of fish!!