Re: TWL: Re: Amenities vs cruising experience
I respectfully must disagree with those who say that spartan living equates
with the "cruisng experience". I have cruised on wooden boats and no
electricity and with boats (as I became more affluent) that had all of the
"luxaries". It is the attitude of the cruisers and the spirit of adventure,
not the boat!
Many of our mates will not be happy with the minimalist approach. It is a
heck of a lot easier to provide those mates the comforts that they desire
rather than not cruise or other alternatives (getting another mate!).
In a modern boat with power management one can have all of luxaries stopping
at a marina and plugging in each night. I find that with the except of air
conditioning, which may not be necessary if the boat is properly ventillated,
that a couple of hours of generator time a day is adequate for running all of
the goodies.
Draft and size of a vessel are a consideration to get into certain anchorages.
There is a factor of size of vessle as an intimidation factor, both from
other boats and from locals. Occasionally there is snobbery on the water.
I have had an inscripton on all of my boats since 1971 that reads as follows:
" A man practices the art of adventure when he heroically faces up to
life....
When he says like Frank Crane: " My soul is a Columbus; and not watern wastes
nor gloomy mysteries...shall send me back nor make me cry 'enough"!
When he has the daring to open doors to new experiences and to step boldly
forth to explore strange horizons.
When he is unafraid of new ideas, new theories and new philosophies.
When he has the curiosity to experiment...to test and try new ways of living
and thinking.....
When he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new
books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and
adopting new viewpoints.......
When he concludes that a rut is only another name for a grave and that the
only way to stay out of the ruts is by living adverturously and staying
vitally alive every day of his life."
I do know know who wrote this--I left some of the middle out for the sake of
brevity. No where does this creed say you should not be comfortable!
About a month ago a friend, who is comming down the coast from Mexico to
Panama to FL. ham Emailed me of his plans: He was going directly from
Acapulco to Punta Arenas Coasta Rico. I advised him to experience some of
Guatamala, Honduras etc.
Yesterday I got an E mail--he is taking my advice, stopping at small fishing
villages and traveling in this "dangerous land". He is having the time of
his life--yet he has all of the luxaries on his boat. This is what cruising
is all about!
Yes, if a $5,000 dollar boat and $300 a month are all you can afford and you
want to go now, then do it!--there really are people cruising the world on
this type of budget. If you can afford the luxaries and want comfort, like
Dolph (and myself), then be comfortable!
Bob Austin
Symbol 42--not quite as comfortable as a Krogen 48
Pensacola, FL.
Bob:
Exactly said. I don't have an argument with those who differ with my way
of thinking. As I said before, they do it their way, I do it mine. We
are making a major life style decision here. We are selling the house,
cars and most personal belongings to do this "cruising" thing. After we
do that, we won't have dry feet for several years, until we get tired of
cruising. We don't even know if we'll like it, but we're going to try.
We can afford a boat large enough to haul a washer dryer with us, and a
genset to power it. If we couldn't, we'd still do it though. I have
never felt that standing in Laundromats was part of the cruising spirit.
And this, I think is really the "cruising spirit". You do what you can
with what you can afford and want to deal with, and you do it in the
manner in which you can believe you will be comfortable.
While chartering last year in the Caribbean, we stopped at Leverick Bay
on Virgin Gorda. One of the things we had to do was wash clothes for six
people. While my wife was in the Laundromat, another fellow traveler was
doing his laundry. They struck up a conversation, and it turned out to
be Robert Crandall, ex president of American Airlines. His Swedish built
washer dryer on board his 48-foot sailboat had gone to lunch just after
they left the east coast. I do understand that you expose yourself to
greater maintenance cost and time spent repairing things when you take
along a lot of stuff. That has never bothered me, though it does bother
many people.
We have an acquaintance here locally who has a 30' sailboat. He is of
the spartan mindset. On his trip down the coast last september, same
time we went, he removed the head and put in a box with kitty litter.
The boat has no cooking facilities, running water or refrigeration
either, just bunks for sleeping bags. He had a ball. His crew voiced
somewhat mixed opinions. I don't know what they had to complain about.
According to the captain, they had all the apples, salami and cheese
they wanted every day.
Before you ask, I have no idea why he removed the head. But it's a true
story.
Russ
Thataway@aol.com wrote:
I respectfully must disagree with those who say that spartan living equates
with the "cruisng experience".
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Russ and Donna Sherwin |
| "Four Seasons" |
| 1981 Marine Trader DC44 |
| Sunnyvale, Ca 94087 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
Darn - What a missed opportunity. Why didn't you shove Crandall into a
dryer, turn the heat to low and leave him for a week. It would have let
those of us who spent a couple of million miles in the back of his buses to
begin to feel a little even. Darn.
Jim
Bob:
Exactly said. I don't have an argument with those who differ with my way
of thinking. As I said before, they do it their way, I do it mine. We
<<While chartering last year in the Caribbean, we stopped at Leverick Bay
on Virgin Gorda. One of the things we had to do was wash clothes for six
people. While my wife was in the Laundromat, another fellow traveler was
doing his laundry. They struck up a conversation, and it turned out to
be Robert Crandall, ex president of American Airlines. His Swedish built
washer dryer on board his 48-foot sailboat had gone to lunch just after
they left the east coast. I do understand that you expose yourself to
greater maintenance cost and time spent repairing things when you take
along a lot of stuff. That has never bothered me, though it does bother
many people.>>
I respectfully must disagree with those who say that spartan living
equates
with the "cruisng experience".
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Russ and Donna Sherwin |
| "Four Seasons" |
| 1981 Marine Trader DC44 |
| Sunnyvale, Ca 94087 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
russ@trawlerdogs.com writes:
he removed the head and put in a box with kitty litter.
The boat has no cooking facilities, running water or refrigeration
either, just bunks for sleeping bags. He had a ball. His crew voiced
somewhat mixed opinions. I don't know what they had to complain
about.
According to the captain, they had all the apples, salami and cheese
they wanted every day.
Before you ask, I have no idea why he removed the head. But it's a
true
story.
Someone on the liveaboard list last year talked about this kitty
litter idea. First I thought it was tongue-in-cheek but then I tried
it last winter when everything around me was frozen - not instead of
a head but in addition. Must say it worked fine and sure beat middle
of the night trips to the shore facilities or dragging cedar buckets
up and down an ice-covered dock.
George of Scaramouche getting ready to be frozen-in again on Lake
Ontario, Canada.