10 Questions for Calico Jack

Travis and Joanne Scott circumnavigated from the end of 2012 until early 2016 aboard SV Calico Jack, a 1972 Chris-Craft Caribbean 35, hailing from Key West, FL, USA. Their general route was from Florida, through Western Caribbean, and the Panama Canal, then across the Pacific to Bundaberg, Australia. From Australia they sailed the Great Barrier Reef of Australia to Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. They then sailed across the South Atlantic to South America, up the Eastern Caribbean, through Bahamas and returning to Key West, FL, USA.

You can learn more about their circumnavigation on their website.

Having cruised both the Atlantic and the Pacific, how do they compare?

We expected the South Pacific Ocean to be the best sailing conditions we would find, and while they were decent enough, we found our longer passages to be slow and rolly, with lighter than expected winds and large swells coming up from the deep Southern Ocean. (We were told by local islanders "it was a very unusual year"). But other than the first long passage, the island hopping style of cruising with short jumps in between turns the S Pacific into a cruisers dream.  You could spend a lifetime there and still not see it all.  On the contrary, we did not know what to expect of the South Atlantic, yet found that to be the best cruising conditions of our whole trip.  Wind, seas and currents all lined up in our favor for a change, and we had stable enough conditions that we could set the spinnaker and leave it for days without tending to it.  Also, much shorter jumps between landfalls.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time? 

Cruising-as-travel, definitely.  Prior to getting together, my wife and I had both been avid travelers, and the cruising lifestyle allows us to travel more extensively and on a better budget. Our boat is our home, and the thought of taking our home out for a day sail just seems like too much work. But casting off the lines and setting out over the horizon... now that's exciting!

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about passage planning is…

prepare meals ahead of time.

There are many, many books out there on the subject of passage planning and weather routing. With a little common sense and a good understanding of weather patterns, most passages will be pleasurable.  But here's something we did that made eating while on passage enjoyable: Prepare a few meals before departure. No one likes to cook in a galley when its rough out, at least not us. We would start a few days before setting out, and make a bunch of "one pot" meals (chili, hearty stew, curry, etc), then measure out a portion for 2 people into a Ziploc baggie, and freeze it.  Then it was fast and simple to quickly heat up a nutritious meal without spending lots of time getting tossed around down below, or watching all your ingredients go flying off the counter top!

What is your most common sail combination on passage?

Our west-about route pretty much had us sailing down wind almost all the time.  With our sloop rig, we predominantly used a single head sail only, either jib or spinnaker.  If we set the main and the jib, we found the large main would block the jib and rob it of the wind.  Wing and wing sailing is beautiful, but a lot of work and diligence to maintain that configuration for long periods of time.  We found our speed of roughly 5 knots could be achieved with a single head sail, which could also be easily operated from the cockpit by one person in times of changing winds or deteriorating weather.  We are all about easy, and the little tiny bit of speed we lost was not worth the extra effort.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?

All the old cruising books describe the ultimate cruiser as a ketch rig, full keel with the rudder attached, heavy displacement tub.  We have seen all varieties of boats out there doing it, and doing it just fine.  Mono- and Multi-hulls, sloops, ketches and schooners, big and small and everything in between. Just pick the boat that suits your needs and the cruising grounds you plan to go to.

We had thought of up-sizing to a larger boat before our next cruise, but have decided to stay smaller for reasons that work best for us.

Smaller boat = shallower draft. At only 4.5', Calico Jack can make nearly any pass, or anchor up close to shore when needed. It is a lot cheaper to do a refit or routine maintenance on a smaller vessel.  We found many places were charging in 10' length increments (30-40', 40-50',etc) and the difference between was sometimes significant.  We were small enough to secure dockage when we needed to, at times when marinas were full and larger boats were being turned away.  We managed to pack into 35' everything we needed for long term cruising, and still had room enough for two people to be comfortable.  .

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising?

For us, we have taken a break from cruising simply because we ran out of money.  A few years to replenish the coffers and we'll be back out there again.

From our cruising friends we have met who stopped cruising, some of them had reached their goal or destination, some ran out of money like us, some had catastrophic damages to their boats, and some had those same catastrophic damages to their relationships.  Offshore cruising can be difficult to relationships, and we saw it affect many couples... older, younger, married, dating, family, straight or gay... no one is immune.  Proper communication is key.  Fears and concerns, hopes and dreams should all be discussed and shared. Teamwork and flexibility will get you through the worst situations, but only if both parties are on the same page.

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true?

Its not totally free out there anymore.  There are still some free cruising grounds, but it is more common to find areas that charge small anchoring fees, or cruising permits. Many places have installed moorings to protect the environment and no longer allow anchoring. Yachties are often seen as walking ATM's (especially in the eastern Caribbean). And we all know anything with the word "marine" on it will cost more!  It is still possible to cruise on a small budget, but be prepared to either pay the local costs or to look for another place.  Bitching about it, or even worse, sneaking out without paying only makes the rest of us look bad.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

It all breaks eventually!  Preventative maintenance helps, but the wear and tear of constant use will eventually win.  In our case, we blew our transmission, a few sails, the auto-pilot, a fresh water pump, our ice maker, and more little things than I care to remember. But none of this ruined our experience, and even empowered us when we were able to fix it ourselves, or added to the adventure of trying to source parts in other languages.  Some things we never did fix, realizing we never needed them at all... like our ice maker!

Share a piece of cruising etiquette

Don't anchor on top of your neighbor! (unless you are French, then its ok. Every French port we have anchored in was the same.  Its just what they do, get used to it.  Besides, it IS convenient to be able to hand a glass of wine to your neighbor when he runs out.)  But seriously though, it may seem like common sense to some, but to many they don't seem to quite understand that anchoring is NOT the same as "parking" your boat.  Take into account not only your depth and scope and swing radius, but also the same for your neighbors.  If in doubt, dinghy on over and introduce yourself to your neighbors, and talk to them. Maybe they are ok with how close you are, or maybe they are not. Or maybe they have local knowledge of the area that will change your mind about being that close. At the very least they will know your are a conscientious cruiser.  Remember: "last one to anchor, first one to move"

We had one very tight anchorage in Grenada, and after looking for a spot for about 45 minutes, we picked a spot between 2 boats (one we knew, the other we didn't) which left just barely enough swing room.  Our unknown neighbors were busy giving us the stink eye from their cockpit.  Once we were sure the hook was set, we went over to them and explained why we anchored where we did, and asked if they were ok with it.  They understood it was tight, and thanked us for checking with them.  As it turned out, we all became really good friends and we hope to share another anchorage with them someday.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

"What do you do for watch schedules on passages?"

As with any vessel, someone must be "on watch" at all times.  This can be difficult while cruising single- or short-handed.  We have had this conversation with other cruisers and have seen a whole rainbow of watch schedules... some good and some bad.  We buddy-boated for a while with a couple who did a strict 4 on/4 off, but they arrived in port exhausted and needed a day to recover.  We also met two ladies who did NO watch at night... after dinner they both went to bed and trusted in the auto-pilot and radar on all night!  Aboard Calico Jack we used a fairly relaxed and flexible schedule of 6 on/6 off during the day and 3 on/3 off at night.  This allowed one of us to get a solid block of sleep, while the 3 hour watches at night were fairly short and easy to stand.  We always arrived in port well rested, and in times of heavy weather or when there was a need for both of us on deck, we always felt alert and ready.  Of course, what watch schedule works best for YOU is the one you should do.  This is just our observations and what we have found to be best for us.  

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10 Questions for Rocket Science

TJ and Jenny Durnan are currently cruising aboard SV Rocket Science, a Riptide 55 hailing from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, USA. TJ began cruising in 1989 and Jenny in 2006.

They have been up and down both coasts of North and Central America a few times, made three trips to the Caribbean and most recently sailed from Newfoundland to Europe.

You can learn more about their cruise on their website.

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed? 

I would say that it's primarily sheer numbers and demographic makeup. When I did my first Caribbean lap as a lad with my father, it was pre-gps, labor saving sail-handling systems were in their infancy. Refrigeration was an unreliable luxury not found on many boats, and watermakers were even more rare. I may be stealing this phrase, but cruising was done more by runaways than by retirees. Mostly, I think that uncertainty in navigation and the lack of comforts was the driver of this. Now that our boats have become better equipped and much more comfortable, it's attractive to more people.

Also, it's probably safe to say that as the numbers have increased, general friendliness has diminished. This is true both among cruisers and with the locals, particularly on the more populated routes. There are still places where one can sail and find locals or other sailors eager to make contact and visit, but it's necessary to go to more remote places in general. It's understandable - when there's only one sailboat showing up every few weeks to a village, it's a big deal. When there have been 25 of us anchored off for 3 months, organizing bocce ball tournaments on the local beach, well, the novelty surely wears off.

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was overrated (not as good as you had heard)? Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)? 

On the overrated side, the Eastern Caribbean comes to mind. The islands are beautiful and the sailing is often fantastic, but I found the islands themselves to be a little bit of a disappointment. The aggressive 'boat boys', often surly locals, and the general crime rate was a bummer. We have done a lot of cruising in the less-developed world, and there seems to be a bit of a culture of resentment in the EC that we've not found elsewhere. This is not to say that it was awful being there, we had some fine times to be sure, but this area is not high on our list of places to spend a great deal of time in.

For underrated, a few places come to mind. First, Newfoundland is absolutely spectacular, for all kinds of reasons. Also, the Pacific coast of Panama was really a nice surprise for us, particularly the rivers. The Pacific coast of Mexico is also a spectacular place to cruise, and it's populated almost entirely by West Coast sailors. This is a shame. It would be well worth a season up there for E. coast/European boats on a circumnavigation who have the time to spare.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should? 

To the first part, storms. True storm conditions on the typical cruising routes are almost never encountered. There are a few tricky spots on a typical circumnavigation, like from the islands to New Zealand, and perhaps a W-E crossing of the Atlantic. But, on the whole, even a gale is exceedingly rare. In about 50,000 miles of sailing, I have been in precisely 2 proper gales and only a single storm force event, which lasted all of 8 hours. Of course, none of this applies to the more adventurous folks sailing around Patagonia and the like, but for the standard cruiser, weather should not be a big fear, provided they're on one of the milder routes during the correct season.

To the second part, two things come to mind. First, the boat is going to break, a lot. There have been way too many departures abandoned because some inconsequential piece of gear isn't working. New cruisers have to get their head around the idea that a broken watermaker should not mean that everything needs to stop. You have to learn how to do without these fussy items, and not let it have a big impact on the morale of the boat when these failures inevitably do happen. As long as the boat's sound in all of the seaworthiness aspects, the rest is really all small stuff, and shouldn't dictate a change in plans. The other thing that's often overlooked by new cruisers is just how they're going to fill all these long days. Cruising can be incredibly boring. There are times when you're at your 10th beautiful anchorage in the last 4 months, and there's not a damned thing to do, besides work on the boat or maybe go out and snorkel on the reef for the 3rd time today. Getting one's head around the slower pace of things is an unanticipated challenge for many.

Finally, drinking is a big hazard, particularly in areas where retirees tend to congregate. The Caribbean and Mexico has a huge population of folks who really aren't sailing all that much, but rather sitting in a marina or anchorage socializing. This daily cocktail hour tends to turn into real boozing every day for many people. We were really shocked by the extent of this in our travels. I view this largely as a response to the boredom mentioned above.

What is a cruising tip or a trick you learned along the way?

Always make sure your anchor is well set, and just because you see a bunch of boats all anchored in a cluster, it's not necessarily the best spot. Also, NEVER sail to a schedule.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy? 

People with a 100 ton license who call themselves 'captain'!

Also, just the general blowhard population that hangs around boats. The guys with all the strongly held opinions about just about everything that they force upon the rest of us. We could do with a lot less of that.

Why did you change boats and what do you see as the major pros and cons of your changeover?

Well, Rocket Science is boat #4 for me. The previous three had been slow, full-keeled 'bluewater cruisers'. I was at the point where I absolutely hated sailing those tubs. So, we went all-in on a carbon fiber speedster. This decision was driven by two things, actually. I am a commercial captain, and only get 2-3 months off at a stretch. We were getting sick of hanging around the Americas, and on a 120 mile/day boat, the logistics of venturing further afield were challenging. Second, I was missing the fun of sailing. So, that's the big pro for us, just being able to rack up 200 mile days easily with just 2 crew. If we really want to open things up, we have the option to take some skilled crew along, and we can realistically achieve 300 mile days in tradewind conditions. So, that's the big pro.

On the downside, RS is a big, powerful beast. It is not a rookie's boat, and she is not tolerant of mistakes. So, we have to be more attentive than on previous boats, for sure. This is not a big deal, but we're more conservative with our sail selections than we have been in the past, particularly in unsettled conditions. Also, the sails and rigging are much more expensive.

How often have you faced bad weather in your cruising? How bad?  

See above, very rarely. Only 2 gales and 1 very brief F10.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time? 

For us, it's really about travel. We get FAR more out of visiting a country on our boat than we do by just flying somewhere and staying in a hotel. We live amongst the locals, and have the time and access to a place to really get to know it. The sailing is just a means to an end. Sure, when all's going well, it can be magical. But, for the most part, passagemaking is pretty much an exercise in broken sleep and discomfort. But, it's a small price to pay, in our view.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

Probably the head needs attention most often.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

Cost is a good topic. The answer is different for everyone, of course, but we too often read about folks who are planning to cruise on $500/mo. They almost invariably wind up destitute on a broken down boat not far from their original point of departure. This would be a good topic to have an honest discussion on for sure*.

*Editor's Note: For a list of cruising costs published by cruising boats which features IWAC interviewees among others, see this link.

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10 Questions for Sunstone

Tom and Vicky Jackson cruised from 1997 until 2015 aboard Sunstone a 1965 McGruer built, S&S designed one-off - timber-built with a varnished hull - hailing from Nelson, New Zealand.

They describe their route as "too complicated to describe generally". It goes: UK, Spain, Canaries, Caribbean, New England, Nova Scotia, ICW, Bahamas, Panama, Galapagos, French Poly, Cooks, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, NZ, Aus, New Cal, Vanuatu, Aus, NZ, French Poly, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Easter Is, Chile, Falklands, Argentina, Brazil, Argentina, S. Africa, Aus, NZ, Vanuatu, New Cal, NZ, Fiji, Wallis, Tuvalu, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Guam, Japan, Aleutians, Canada, Hawaii, Samoa, NZ, Marshall Is, Aleutians, Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Tonga, NZ. Also lots of offshore racing among the cruising, including the Bermuda Race, Sydney-Hobart, Swiftsure, Round North Island and Round New Zealand.

They say: "We did lots (about 50,000 miles) of cruising as well as offshore racing in NW Europe before we actually stopped work and left to go long-term cruising, which was in 1997. Our last long cruise ended in 2015 and we are now shore-based, but we intend to continue cruising in the South Pacific."

You can learn more about their cruise on their website or by email.

Having cruised both the Atlantic and the Pacific, how do they compare?

We don't really feel this question has a useful answer at least not in terms of significant differences or contrasts. For us a more useful comparison is between temperate and tropical or semi-tropical cruising - or perhaps between wilderness cruising and cruising in more inhabited areas. Certainly the contrast between the latter two is sharp. Wilderness cruising, whether in the Aleutians, Patagonia or the Line Islands is demanding in terms of preparation, navigation, sailing/anchoring skills and, most of all, self-reliance. In temperate zones there is also the volatility of the weather. These are in contrast to cruising in more inhabited areas, where the availability of service and support is much greater and thus the demands on cruisers generally less.

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about navigating is…” 

'The eyes have it!' Whatever electronic means you have, eyes are the most important navigating instrument you have. If things look wrong they almost certainly are, so . . . 'If in doubt, turn about.' Go back the way you came until you have worked out the right and safe course. Oh, also 'Two navigators are better than one.'

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? 

Pirates. Pirates are the muggers of the sea. They can kill you or rob you just like muggers, but there are far fewer of them and they only operate in fairly well known areas. Avoid those areas and it is very unlikely you will ever see a pirate. You are far more likely to be mugged, injured or robbed ashore somewhere.

And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should? 

Having poor quality sails and not knowing how to use them! Cruisers should race. Racing teaches you not only how to make your boat go quickly in a variety of conditions, it also teaches you about boat handling under sail in conditions you might actually avoid if cruising, namely light and heavy air and tight situations with other boats. These are also necessary skills for a cruiser. Too many cruisers spend a lot of money on devices to make living aboard more like living on land - and then they skimp on sails, buying second-hand or poor quality sails. In fact, many cruisers have little understanding of what constitutes a good, well-made sail which will stand up to tens of thousands of miles of use and still have a shape which will adequately drive the boat to windward when that is essential.

Many potential and novice cruising couples do not adequately consider what demands will be made and changes will occur in their relationship to each other. Before heading off on a cruise few couples have spent 24 hours a day, every day with each other in a constantly changing and potentially risk-filled environment. In shore-based life most of us can spread our anxieties, frustrations and tantrums across a range of colleagues and friends as well as our partner. That is not the case when crossing oceans in a small boat. Achieving a complementary balance and trust in your relationship is essential and at first it may be hard work. Many apparently stable long-term relationships founder and sink under the demands of the cruising life. However, many others thrive and grow on the development of new skills, the stronger need for trust and the shared sense of achievement in the face of novelty, risk and difficulties.

What is your most common sail combination on passage? 

This depends so much on the nature of the passage that there can be no single answer. When down-wind passage-making in trade wind conditions we normally use the mainsail held with a preventer and a 125% genoa held to windward by an over-length spinnaker pole. In stable, broad reaching conditions, we often also set our inner jib (non-overlapping, but bigger and further forward than a cutter staysail) to leeward on its Solent stay. However, when the wind is forward of the beam and over 15 knots (true, not apparent) we mostly use our inner jib with any reefs which might be necessary in the main. As we do a lot of cruising in temperate waters, we use the latter configuration a good deal. As we always stand our watches on deck, fully dressed for the weather, we are able to reef early when conditions require it. We generally reef or change head-sail single-handed unless conditions are very bad. 'Sunstone' is set up to make this easy. We very rarely use our genoa part-rolled, but rather change to our jib if conditions require it.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?

We are not really aware of any one 'cruising culture'. There are many different styles of and attitudes to cruising and the different styles diverge markedly. What we look for in other cruisers whom we like and respect are curiosity, openness, friendliness, honesty and, most of all, a desire, determination and ability to be self-reliant. Though we don't condemn them for it, we are puzzled by cruisers who actually don't much like sailing and have little interest in improving their ability to sail. These tend to be the same cruisers for whom cruising is just another form of travel. They reach New Zealand, park the boat and buy a car, rather than actually cruising the country.

Tell me your favorite thing and your least favorite thing about your boat.

'Sunstone' was our home for over 30 years, so picking out one thing we particularly like about her is almost impossible. High on the list is that she takes care of us. Some boats require constant, expert attention to perform well or even keep you safe. 'Sunstone' responds to such attention, but does not require it. In conditions when we are cold, wet, tired, hungry and even a little frightened, 'Sunstone' reassures and takes care of us. This is partly the nature of her design, whose compromises have made her just about perfect for the different kinds of sailing which we have done. These include serious racing and long-term cruising as well as living aboard, while working full time at 'suit jobs' in a temperate climate. 'Sunstone' is a very sound, strongly built yacht with a sea-kindly motion, even in storm conditions.

Unfortunately, one of the compromises which makes 'Sunstone's' design so good for living aboard, her accommodation arrangement below, requires an offset companion way; this makes it impossible to mount an effective dodger which would give protection in the cockpit. Cruising on 'Sunstone' requires several very good sets of foul-weather gear as well as a tolerance for being wet and cold!

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

No gear on 'Sunstone' breaks often!! In the last 20 years we have cruised about 150,000 miles. During that time we have only had to wait in port once for repairs (engine gear box). There are three fundamental keys to avoiding breakages: buy the best you can afford; keep it simple; maintain it. Listening to other cruisers the items which most commonly keep them in port are: gen sets, autopilots, installed refrigeration and water-makers. 'Sunstone' has none of these. The closest we come is a small camper fridge which we can do without quite happily if we have to. Otherwise, the fundamentals of engine, rig and sails can be the cause of problems. All three can be kept going by regular inspection and maintenance. Our small Yanmar engine has done 10,000 hours in 19 years without a rebuild, despite being used as our primary power generator. How often do most cruisers go aloft to inspect their rigs or replace rigging wire? In the tropics, rigging wire should probably be replaced every seven or eight years. Rigs need inspection after any heavy blow, before any long passage and then after it. Sails need regular inspection and 'a stitch in time saving nine' or more likely 100! If a piece of gear seems prone to breakage or failure, there may well be something wrong with the way it is used or its suitability for purpose. If a piece of gear is inevitably subject to constant abuse, like the heads pump, carry a spare which is always ready as a replacement.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?

How to catch fish and how to stay warm sailing in the Bering Sea.

What do you enjoy about cruising that you didn't expect to enjoy? 

Having our faith in the fundamental goodness of human nature reinforced!

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it? 

After living afloat for 35 years, we suppose that we expected to be asked (as we often are), how different it is to live ashore or how we've adapted to the change. We guess that the most fundamental answer to the latter question is that if you weren't adaptable before living afloat and cruising, that life is likely to make you adaptable. Moving ashore and buying our first house to live in after 41 years of marriage has just been another adventure - and we still feel at home when aboard 'Sunstone'.

The other bigger question is what made us start it all in the first place. Why would we choose to live first on a 31' boat and then 'Sunstone' while pursuing responsible jobs. At first the answer was easy. We couldn't afford both a boat and a house. We had to have a boat, so we didn't have a house. But there was more to it than that, because we did actually have our own version of a pre-nup: we both agreed that the only basis on which we would get married was if we lived on a boat. From the very first we agreed that if we really wanted something, we would pay the price. We wanted to go sailing as much as possible. If the price was living in cramped, damp, cold quarters with no appliances, TV, stereo, running water or shower, we would pay the price. We even decided to live that way ashore for the few years while we saved enough for our first boat. We learned to live without 'stuff'. Paying the price has got us the life we wanted. And in the circular way that all things so often work out, what we got, namely 'Sunstone', has shaped not only our sailing lives, but the whole nature of our lives together. 'Sunstone' has taught us a lot and helped us to learn about each other.

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10 Questions for Tainui

John Vallentine cruised from 2005 until 2016 aboard SY Tainui, a Formosa 46 hailing from Mooloolaba, Australia. He had various crew, especially Maxine Maters, Ian Allan, & David Lucas.

You can read more about his cruise on his website.

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed?   

Yes. The remote world is shrinking. We have always pursued remote cruising grounds, preferably in high latitudes where they can still be found.

Follow-up question: Any examples of the remote world shrinking?

The Galapagos, Lord Howe Island, Trinidad, Tahiti, Marquesas and Cuba all come to mind.

In the Caribbean, I wish I'd been to the Windward Islands 50 years ago.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression though. We cruised many places in solitude - Patagonia, Haiti, Newfoundland, Labrador, Iceland, Faroe, Arctic Norway and Svalbard, virtually all of Russia, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. The list is still long enough for a lifetime's sailing.

Having cruised both the Atlantic and the Pacific, how do they compare?

The Atlantic is excellent for high latitude cruising – Labrador, Iceland, Svalbard, Patagonia etc. But the equatorial milk runs are boring.

The Pacific islands are becoming quite crowded but even as late as 2015 we found empty places – Tuamotus, Niue, Beveridge etc. The sailing is grand if you are going downwind.

What is a cruising tip or a trick you learned along the way?

My favourite trick is to break my travels with trips home.  It is great to leave the boat and great to return. And you can stash the boat in cyclone holes or snow-bound ports.

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising?

There are many reasons why people stop cruising. Boredom, aimlessness, financial distress and partnership  breakups are all common.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

More than anything else, I am driven crazy by fleets of Bavaria and Beneteau charter boats – what Ian calls “Eurovision Song Contest” boats. These are worse in the Med, of course.

I am also very irritated by boats which run generators at night, boats which anchor stupidly  too close ahead of me, and those wind generators which whistle noisily.

Have you ever felt in danger and if so, what was the source?  

Not really. Perhaps in a southern Ocean gale when we were surfing under bare poles at 18 knots I felt we were on a bit of a knife edge but our Aries coped effortlessly.

What is your most common sail combination on passage?

I like having the boat pulled along by the nose. Obviates the danger of broaches and gybes.

In the high latitudes, poled out storm staysail with/without poled out yankee.

In tropical grounds, poled out #1 and genniker. Sometimes with the main as well

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?  

Our 40 year old Ford Lehman engine needed regular coddling. Sheet chafe is a constant danger which can be avoided. Sail wear and tear is inevitable.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?

Solid, simple, seaworthy and with good sailing ability. There is no better boat than the Peterson/Formosa 46 for this.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

What next?

I don't have a specific answer to this, but my future will always include the sea and boats.

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10 Questions for Brilliant

Carl & Carrie Butler have been cruising since 2006 aboard Brilliant, a 1989 Moody 425/ 42 ft. Sloop hailing from Green Cove Springs, FL, USA.

They went up and down the eastern coast of the US, through the Bahamas and along the “thornless path” through the eastern Caribbean.  Then through the western Caribbean, back to the States for a while, then the eastern Caribbean again.

You can learn more about their voyage on their blog.

They say: "We met online in 2004, married in 2006 and have cruised together continuously during our 11 year marriage. While we have owned 4 boats together, we have never owned a home on land together."

Why did you change boats and what do you see as the major pros and cons of your changeover?

As our cruising experience developed so did our needs and desires.  The very first boat we owned, a 1977 37’ Irwin center cockpit was really a coastal cruiser and not suited for long range travel.  In 2006 we purchased Sanctuary, a 1985 Soverel 41’ cutter rig that we knew was a proven blue water boat and enjoyed its performance through our first trip south to Trinidad in 2010.  But the living space was thin and we developed “2 foot-itis”,wanting a larger vessel.  We purchased a 1979 Gulfstar 50 ketch rig in 2012 in St. Thomas that was a captain chartered boat in the BVI with minimum equipment onboard, and took 2 and a half years to outfit it for long range cruising, partly in the USVI and partly in Florida.  On our trip to the western Caribbean we loved sailing the Gulfstar but unfortunately lost it to a reef in the San Blas islands, Panama in 2015.  After a short stay on shore where we did some land travel, we felt the love of cruising pulling us back to the water and purchased Brilliant, the 1989 Moody 425 sloop rig in late 2015.  It was more fully equipped and allowed us to more quickly return to the Caribbean in 2016.

We learned several axioms of cruising and boat ownership through this process.  One, a larger boat has more room but higher cost.  A larger boat is also more difficult for two people to handle, especially on offshore passages.  However, the versatility of the ketch rig made the Gulfstar something we could sail by ourselves, even offshore.

Finally, spending more money up front for a boat that already has cruising equipment installed as opposed to buying a boat cheap and installing everything yourself is not necessarily a good move; you don’t know the systems as well as if you had installed them yourself, and older systems need replacing more readily than new one.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?

Sorry, can’t come up with anything on this.  We are both prone to thoroughly research and analyze things that we are passionate about, and cruising is one of them.  Before we started cruising, even before we met, we both had read everything about cruising we could get our hands on and talked to as many people in the field as we could corner long enough to answer a question.  It was very exciting when we first met to find another person as stoked about going cruising, and it ramped up our relationship very quickly.

What do you think is a common cruising myth?

Myth:  Cruising is mainly lounging through the day off white sand beaches with calm blue waters and clear skies sipping Mai Tai’s.

Truth: While we’ve enjoyed that, cruising truly is, as some wise soul put it, “repairs in exotic places”.  The fun and sun is normally enjoyed as a break from the latest project or repair, which isn’t bad but the boat repairs always trump the snorkeling trips.  Then there’s weather, which trumps everything.  Along with those blue skies and calm waters we’ve experienced some extremely tough weather situations, both underway and at anchor.  We are constantly watching the weather and the forecasts, and have more than once cancelled plans to stay with or return to the boat when a squall pops up.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

Dominica. The natural beauty of the island has been a siren’s call to us for many years, but until this year we have avoided going ashore because of security concerns with overly aggressive Boat Boys.  We had a bad experience with one such individual in 2011 and have stayed clear until recently.  With the development of PAYS in Portsmouth over the last several years, we have finally been able to fully enjoy what the island and its generally warm, friendly people have to offer. Good marketing practices have also spread to Roseau where we enjoyed an equally warm reception.

In second place would be some of the French islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique.  Their laid back attitude at Customs and warm friendly atmosphere always make us feel welcome.  

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you found particularly accurate?

We’ve read that the difference between an experienced and an inexperienced Cruiser is that the inexperienced Cruiser is afraid to leave safe harbor for fear something will break and need fixing.  The experienced Cruiser knows that things will break, plans accordingly, and leave the harbor for the next adventure.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

While we’ve had considerable trouble with overheating engines on this and our previous boat, there always seems to be something lurking out there waiting to break on us at the most inopportune time.  It’s a juggling act, and you never seem to know what going to give you troubles next.

How often have you faced bad weather in your cruising? How bad?

Early on in our cruising we had a bad experience with a storm off the Florida coast while in or near the Gulf Stream.  We didn’t check the weather well enough before going out and paid for it.  Since then we have learned to be overly cautious and maintain proven sources of good weather forecasting.  We have also learned to have the patience to wait for decent conditions.

As a result we believe that some of the worst conditions we have faced have been at anchor. Specifically this season on two occasions we have experienced squalls during periods of light winds where the squall produced strong westerly winds with waves of long fetch in areas where there was nowhere to hide from westerly winds. In one case the best option turned out to be getting underway to ride out the resulting swells after the squall in deeper water.  

Have you ever felt in danger and if so, what was the source?   

After 11 years of cruising, living at anchor with our hatches open most nights, we have generally felt safe in most places until just recently.  On one island we encountered an individual aggressively pestering us for “tips” in reward for “watching out dinghy”.  We decided to stand our ground but afterwards felt the vulnerability of being alone at anchor off the beach.   Perhaps we could have shrugged it off, but having read reports of assaults or even deaths experienced by other Cruisers in similar situations, we decided to leave the area that afternoon.

We have also avoided some islands because of reports of boarding and assault perpetrated upon Cruisers by local individuals.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

“A place for everything and everything in its place.”  There is nothing more frustrating than going to find something onboard, be it a tool to do a job or our sunglasses, and not being able to find it.  While we are incredibly meticulous about lines in the cockpit coiled and neatly stowed or deck gear stowed neatly so it is ready to use at sea, we often search for tools and personal belongings for what seems like an eternity when we know that they are somewhere within 42 feet of us.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

What is your favorite aspect of Cruising?

Two things are at the top of the list.  One is traveling to and exploring new places.  We both have a serious case of Wanderlust and after 11 years that hasn’t diminished a bit. This is a big world and there are still so many places to explore.  We’re going to need lots of years to get to them all.

The second is the Cruising Community.  To us, Cruisers as a whole are some of the best people on earth.  We have likened anchoring in a new place like a kid being let loose on a new playground.  If we don’t know someone there already it never takes very long to meet someone new and start up a new friendship.  If ever someone needs help and puts a call out on the VHF, it’s a sure bet that several will answer the call immediately, whether they know you or not.  Need a tool?  Need advice on a piece of gear?  Need directions?  Help is right there just waiting for your request.  We’ve donated blood for a cruiser who needed it that we never met before and never got to meet, but heard later that they used the blood to help stabilize her until she could fly back to her home country for treatment. It feels good to know that you can find that kind of help wherever we are and whatever the situation.

Read the full interview

10 Questions for DreamKeeper

Gar Duke and Nicole Friend circumnavigated from the winter of 2006 until the summer of 2011 aboard SV DreamKeeper, a Pacific Seacraft 40 hailing from Sausalito, CA, USA. You can learn more about their journey on their website.

They say:  We started in our home port of Sausalito in the San Francisco Bay, CA, and went south in winter to Mexico then across the South Pacific to New Zealand.  Year 2 took us thru Melanesia to Palau, Micronesia, with a 4 month layover in Palau.  Year 3 we dropped south into West Papua/Raja Ampat around PNG into east Indonesia and all the way to Bali, then up to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.  Year 4 was a big mile year, first crossing the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea, thru the Med, across the Atlantic and to the Caribbean to end the year.  Year 5 started heading west to Bonaire, the Kuna Yala of Panama, then thru the Panama Canal, up the central American coast and Mexican coast, and finally Baja-bashed it back to San Diego with the last leg up the California coast to San Francisco.  4 ½ years total San Francisco to San Francisco.

What mistakes did you make in your first year of cruising?

Gar:  there were a lot, but here’s a few:

First mistake we made was day 1 out the gate of San Fran, where we turned left and proceeded to do an overnight passage to Monterey Bay.  We were so fast we had to heave-to in the bay all night in sloppy seas, super cold temps, and pitch black conditions leaving me seasick all night long in sensory deprivation and Nicole needing to deal.  I was a total mess.  In hindsight, we should have planned better and just done a day hop down to Half Moon Bay to finally GO and commit to the journey, but in a much easier way for where we were at then.  Thankfully we had leftover Thanksgiving dinner for brunch the next day in Monterey as I was famished!

Leaving the US without a few spares that we wanted for the South Pacific and thinking they’d be easy to get in Mexico.  Not easy and definitely not easy to ship to Mexico either.  Nicole had to fly back to the US and load up a couple bags full of gear so we had what we wanted for the South Pacific and then still brave the dreaded “green light/red light” at the Mexican aeropuerto customs.  Unlucky you if you get the red light!

FYI, It’s much easier and way cheaper to get everything you think you might need in the US on your boat if you can, but at that time we were still very much “green” on our boat and figuring everything out.  All this being said only because we come from a place of liking to be very self-sufficient and prepared for as much as possible and also our intention to head west quickly across the South Pacific the first season out.  If you stay in Mexico long enough, like most cruisers, you will probably be high-tailing back to good ‘ole USA anyways at some point.

Worrying about and spending time and energy getting a HAM radio license.  So many people told me I should DEFINITELY get this license in Mexico before the SoPac, but, for me, not being a big radio talker, I never really used this with the exception of the services of winlink in the beginning of our journey.  Later, after seeing the advantages and convenience of using the services of UUPLUS email thru our satphone, winlink became only a back-up for us.  

And not to say we never chatted on the SSB with friends or on radio nets, but none of them were ever “Ham only” nets, so my whole ordeal of getting a HAM license was, for me, a waste of time.  If you LOVE to talk on the radio, then by all means, get a HAM, but if not, forget about it and go surfing or do something fun instead.

Nicole: Telling my mom I would call her by a certain date.   My parents bought us a sat phone for emergencies and perhaps more specifically so we could talk while on passage and they wouldn’t worry about us.  I made a bad call and told my mom I would call her by a certain date.  Somehow, we didn’t quite figure the sat phone out while travelling south along the Mexican coast and my phone date was passing.  I knew my mom would be worried sick and start calling anyone she could think of so we had to detour to Abreojos, a tiny fishing village along the Baja Pacific coast, in deteriorating conditions to make that call. We found a phone card and then found the phone. I called to let her know we were fine and then we headed back out through bigger surf and out to our bucking boat.  Note to self, never give anyone a time line you can’t keep.

Describe the compromises (if any) you have made in your cruising to stay on a budget?

Gar/Nicole:  For us, our budget living on the sailboat was a lot cheaper then our budget living on land.  We had just sold our home, cars, and most everything else we owned that wouldn’t come with us and so we axed everything like property expenses, utility expenses, auto expenses, and all the other pieces that add up so quickly living in the US.  In cruising, boat expenses are hands down the most expensive reality.  But…most of the boat expenses can be coined “luxury” expenses like good electronics, a water-maker, a new sail, etc., and you can get by with very little if your boat itself is solid and safe.  

In our opinion you can cruise on almost ANY budget once you own a boat.  It’s all choices and how you tailor your lifestyle and choices around your “wants” in life.   It’s no different then how you choose to live your life on land.  If money is tighter for you cruising, then don’t eat out much or use the engine as much or buy lots of fancy boating gear you don’t really need.  And, lastly, learn how to fix and work on your own boat; that, in itself, will save you lots of money in the long run.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid of that they shouldn’t fear?

Gar/Nicole:  Passage-making. It’s scary at first if you have never been offshore on your own boat with a small number of people and we get that.  But, in reality, this is a great time to actually just “be” with the ocean at all times of the day and night that you will most likely never experience any other way. 

For us the first few days are the most difficult of a passage as we are adapting to a new schedule.  But, if you plan well with the weather, make some pre-prepared meals, have a good book (or 2 or 3) put aside, maybe some podcasts or audiobooks for rougher weather, and have a good watch schedule so you get some rest when you need it, you will most likely really enjoy the experience.   Keep a journal or write a daily blog just to keep notes on the little things you see and feel and hear.  It’s a unique experience, embrace it and don’t fear it.

What is something potential cruisers don’t worry about that perhaps they should?

Gar/Nicole: Being thoughtful about locking your gear and boat up.  Cruisers have a tendency to be very lazy sometimes.  Lock up your dinghy and outboard, put away or lock up any gear on deck that is worth anything to you, and lock up your cabin when you are away from your boat.  It seems so simple, but we have seen boats all over the world complaining in hysterics about how someone stole their laptop from their un-locked cabin or stole their unlocked outboard or dinghy in the middle of the night.  Well, did you lock your cabin? “uhhhh…no, I never do…it’s just so hot.”  Did you lock up or raise your dinghy at night?  “Uhhhh….no, it was windy and rough and rainy out and I thought no one would come out on a night like that” (but that’s when they always do).

Cruisers need to realize that no matter what their budget is or how non-fancy their boat is, they are still looked upon as “rich” in almost any country around the world they travel to.  So many of the cultures you will connect to will be living with almost nothing and there are always people on the look out to make a quick buck the easy way.  Also, it felt important for us to acknowledge some communities don’t have things like private property so ours was even more interesting.  You will still stand out even if you are dirt-bagging it with a half sunk boat and not a penny to your name.  Ask any long-term backpacker traveller you meet, it’s not about being paranoid, it’s just being extra-aware of where you are.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why?

Gar:  Electric anchor windlass and oversized anchor, wind generator, and AIS system.

A good solid and reliable electric anchor windlass with an oversized anchor makes a huge difference when you are cruising.  Of course, these are still luxury items, but they do make life much easier and safer when you drop your hook and don’t worry about it dragging and also know you can always get it back up without a hurting your back in any conditions.  I can’t count the times we have needed to move anchorages in inclement weather in the middle of the night because of bad weather or change of wind or swell direction and how thankful we have been that our electric windlass was working well.

We have a KISS and wouldn’t think of having another type of wind generator unless it had the same specs.  It is quiet, simple, and puts out lots of juice.  If you have a noisy wind gen you will absolutely hate it and so will your neighbors, plus they usually don’t make much energy anway.  We try to anchor in places with some wind in the tropics as it cools down the boat and usually keeps us pointing into the prevailing swell so you don’t roll as much.  We cruised without a generator onboard, so a good wind generator makes a huge difference in keeping your batteries up regardless if you have solar or not.

We added an AIS system halfway around on our circumnavigation when we were in Thailand.  It made a huge difference with piece of mind and safety when it came to passages through busy shipping areas and especially at night with just 2 of us onboard.  Radar was still a great tool for us to use, especially for fishing vessels not usually on AIS, but the reality of today is that AIS is used now on ALL big ships and you will wonder how you got by without it once you start using it.  A simple AIS receive unit is not very expensive and will be invaluable if you are choosing a route where you will be in shipping lanes and around shipping traffic often.  Of course, if you are only a coastal cruiser and are one not to be crossing oceans much or ever, then an AIS will be just another ‘not needed much’ luxury piece of gear.

Nicole:  OK I love all three pieces of gear Gar mentioned and would prefer not to go without them.  All three in my mind are fabulous luxury items we were grateful for every day.  The AIS completely changed my stress level on night watch. I, for some reason have always had a hard time with depth perception even with using radar and tracking and all of the tools I could use.  The AIS system changed all of that.  I still kept a thorough watch but I could tell where ships were going and coming and if I needed to make a course change without any guess work.

And another piece of boat gear, our Monitor windvane.  I can’t imagine having left without him.  He has served us well as third crew on all of our passages that had wind.

Also, with regards to food and fishing gear, I loved our fishing hand-lines and squid lures, my “yo-gourmet” yogurt maker (bought in New Zealand), along with our jar sprouter, and Braun hand blender.  Sometimes it’s the little things that mattered like being able to eat fresh things on day 20 of a passage.

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising?

Gar/Nicole:  If you are a younger cruiser, then most folks are only out for a short time and need to either stop to work or could just make a season or perhaps 2 work. Retired-from-work aged cruisers usually stop because of health issues or because they are over the novelty of cruising and want to be home again closer to kids and grandkids. 

But there are still many people of all ages that go out for a bit and just realize that it’s not for them for one reason or another.  The reality of the cruising lifestyle is very different from where most people are coming from before jumping on their boat.  I would say that most people have no idea how much work both physically and mentally it is if you are a full-time cruiser and actually moving your boat around.  The romance of margaritas in your cockpit while the sun is setting can definitely ring true sometimes, but the other pieces of constant wear/tear on your boat and body and the need to be constantly ‘on it’ in regards to planning, maintenance, traveling, and safety takes a lot more energy then most non-cruisers or wanna-be cruisers realize until they do it for a while.

The people we met who were out there for a while moved their boat less, and stayed places longer, they over-wintered and spent two summers in the Med, they spent two winters or more in Mexico or the Caribbean, they stayed in Fiji for hurricane season.  Or they tied up their boats and went home or somewhere for a 4-6 month break or to go back to work and then returned to their boats again.

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn’t find to be true?

Gar:  I read quite a bit about cruising before we left on this journey and so feel like I had a pretty realistic picture of what it all entailed.  However, that being said, I think I still had an unrealistic perception that the cruising “community” was a pretty adventurous, and mostly open-minded, and just plain open to everything and everyone, group of people.   What we experienced quite a bit, unfortunately, was a lot of people traveling on boats that were more interested in their easy “nationality clicks” and “sundowner” lifestyles then really putting themselves out there to embrace local people, local cultures, and other cruisers from other countries.   We always pictured all these different folks from random countries hanging out together and hanging out with locals onshore (which certainly happened), but we felt like this was really a minority of the people we met cruising around the world.  The boats that were more like this were the ones we really wanted to get to know and spend time with cruising, but were pretty few and far between.

For us, what was very important, was that we really tried to make a conscious effort to get out of the cruising “American-only click” circles and befriend folks from other countries traveling, as well as do our best to meet and embrace the local people in the countries we were visiting.  We feel lucky we made some good friends.  For us, this made a big difference in our experiences and we hopefully feel like it made an impression being more-thoughtful, conscious American ambassadors in the world too…which we feel the world could really use more of right now.

Do you have any specific advice for couples cruising?

Gar:  First of all, if you don’t know how to communicate with your partner, you are in for a long ride or perhaps a short ride with one of you leaving the boat.  You absolutely have to talk to each other and, more importantly, listen to each other.   And don’t just “listen”, but actually HEAR what they are saying.   Did you say this was just for cruising couples?  J

Next you need to learn to compromise.  You will be sharing a pretty small space, perhaps for years, and it’s not always possible to just leave that space.  For many couples this will be the first time ever in this situation.

You will have different needs/wants/desires for your own experience and to be who YOU want to be while cruising, but you need to also remember that your partner has the same.  Talk talk talk about what you can each do to help support each other with their own personal process’ and what will keep him/her happy, content, and full while living this unique lifestyle.  This will, of course, change over time so you’d better keep communicating so you can do your best to keep understanding where each other are at as time goes by.

And if you need a time-out, you’d better learn to take one.  And if your partner says she/he needs a break from the boat SOON, you’d better listen and make it happen somehow.

Nicole:   Ok, seriously, communication is the key!  In addition, be sure no matter how long your “to do” list is, go have fun regularly.  It was easy for us to get sucked into needing to do all of our jobs and fix everything that needed fixing.  But, truthfully, there will always be something waiting for you to do, so I say, play, do something spontaneous, get exercise, go on walks together, go snorkeling and just have fun whatever it is.

What is your most common sail combination on passage?

Gar:   For us, on a cutter-rigged boat, on passage we always had our mainsail up for stability possibly with a reef or 2 tucked in and the genoa out. Down wind, we always had a preventer on.  Don’t ever get lazy and not rig a preventer.  The last thing you want, especially in the middle of the night, is an accidental gybe.

We have both our jib and our staysail on roller-furlings, which we really like as the reality is that we are usually single-handing while on passage, so we can easily make jib changes and reefs based on the weather by ourselves in the middle of the night.   Having a staysail has been a great option for us when the wind  and seas really pick up and as it allows us to shorten sail while keeping our boat balanced and very stable.

Lastly, I will just add that the reality of cruising around the world on a sailboat is that it’s not always so dreamy with the sailing aspect.  We have been thru so many parts of the world that the wind is just non-existent or non-cooperative or directly on our nose and we did many times choose or have to run the engine.  That being said, this was a conscious choice to travel to places that didn’t always have great sailing potential, like in PNG, eastern Indonesia and the Red Sea, but were high on our list for being really cool travel destinations.   If you were only after good sailing then you would need to stay in the higher latitudes or the Pacific to have the more consistent, but stronger winds.   For us, we feel we have always been more interested in being travelers and adventurers then purist sailors.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

Gar:  What doesn’t break?  Seriously, at one time or another we have had to fix or repair or replace something, or all of, every system on our boat.  If you are pushing your boat hard and making lots of miles each year, then parts wear out.  If you are sitting around a bay in Mexico for months at a time or only moving a few hundred miles a season then you will fare way better then the passage-making sailor crossing oceans.

One of you on your boat should definitely learn how to wrench on a diesel engine, repair a sail, test and repair electrical wiring, and be able to take apart the toilet.  If you don’t know how to do it all, that’s OK, just have a good resource library that will walk you through repairs and if you aren’t too far off the grid, there will usually be another cruiser close-by that can help you out if you get in a bind.  If not, you will learn to live without something.  Most of the stuff that breaks are luxury items anyways.  Toilet broken, use a bucket.  Water-maker broken, catch some rainwater or run jugs to shore.  Generator broken, use less energy or turn off the fridge.

I would say from our experience the pieces of gear that cruisers are wrenching on the most are generators, water-makers, diesel engines, and outboards.   The other pieces of gear that give lots of people trouble are autopilots and laptops, not always possible to fix yourselves.  Please just don’t throw your laptop overboard if it breaks like some cruisers do.  Seriously.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I’ve asked you and how would you answer it?

What are some tricks and tips you’ve learned for being a more thoughtful and conscious cruiser around the world?

Within the cruising community, say hello or wave to your neighbor who anchored next to you who you don’t know, especially if he/she is from a different country.  It has been amazing to us how many boats drop their hook beside us and never even smile or wave when we initiate a greeting.  The other side of that is if you find yourself anchoring in a more remote place, then don’t just drop your hook right next that one boat there already, give them some space and drop your hook some distance away so you can both enjoy the remoteness of that special place.  But, when you do see the other people, don’t ignore them, actually say hello and smile.  It’s the little things in this community that make a big difference.

Regarding the ocean and reefs, if you truly care about the health of the planet, the cleanliness of the water, and enjoy traveling to pristine coral reefs and visiting island communities, then give back, police yourself, and be conscious of your actions.

In small communities find out about the customs and proper protocol before arrival or immediately after arrival.  Following this gains you acceptance, respect, new friends, and the opportunity for unique experiences.

If you catch a big fish or lots of big fish, bring some of them into the village and share with the locals who live there.   This goes a long ways and will immediately open doors for you within that community. 

When you drop your hook on your big boat or your dingy, look where you drop it and do your best not to damage the healthy coral around you.  Seems like a no-brainer, but in our experience, we have seen countless boats in crystal clear water dropping their anchor and chain haphazardly directly over pristine reefs and not even thinking about the reality. 

Don’t just throw your compostable trash overboard where you anchor, but actually put it in a container and take it in your dinghy out into the deeper water hopefully where there is some outgoing current or at least away from the shallower anchorage area where all the eggshells and banana peels pile up in the coral underneath your boat. 

Only fish in areas where there are still an abundance of fish and make sure in an island community that it is allowed to fish a certain area as many of them are locally managed as protected for their sustainable use. 

When you are remote, do not leave your trash on an island as they most likely have a trash problem themselves already.  Separate trash well.  When you are out on passage in the deep water this is where you should sink your cans and glass (if you don’t have enough room to store it) and get rid of other non-plastic trash.  Aluminum can sometimes be recycled on certain islands and some of your trash you will most likely have to burn at times.  Some of it you will probably have to carry with you until you make it to a larger city or port.  Point is, be thoughtful about it and do your best to manage your waste well.

If you feel comfortable with the locals, invite some of them out to your boat for soft drinks/coffee/tea/cookies/dinner or whatever.  They will love it.  We have been to so many communities that always invite cruisers in their homes but many would tell us no one would ever invite them out to their boat.  Reciprocate. 

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10 Questions for TimeMachine

Editor’s Note: There are actually 14 questions answered (my fault – the readers’ gain) and TimeMachine introduces themselves: We are Cheyenne & Joshua from s/v Time Machine. We left San Francisco in 2005 and sailed down the Pacific, through the canal, and up the Caribbean back to TX, landing in 2007. I had never sailed before but Joshua grew up in and on boats and had tons of sailing experience; his father built a 40-foot version of our boat in the late 70s-80s. Time Machine was a 31' Jim Brown Searunner (trimaran), home built out of plywood, fiberglass, and a crapload of epoxy. The boat looked kinda Star Wars and sailed beautifully. We bought it with the initial intention of toodling around the bay but that immediately turned into "Let's quit our jobs and go to Mexico!" and six months later, we did, and we just kept going. We are taking time now to raise a kid but are planning the Next Trip as soon as the toddler moves beyond the highly volatile tantrum stage and becomes more predictable. We started a blog when we purchased the boat and chronicled our trip through June 2007.

Describe the compromises (if any) that you have made in your cruising in order to stay on budget
I guess this sounds weird, but we really didn't have a budget. Cruising was the cheapest way we had ever lived, and we always lived fairly conservatively. We could easily have halved our expenditures if we had cut out the booze, but we like booze. Part of this might have been because we sailed a fairly small and spare boat: no refrigeration, no windvane, no radar, no through-holes in our hull of any kind, no SSB radio, no inboard motor (though we had a 6-horse outboard), no oven, no dodger, we did our dishes in a bucket at the edge of the boat, and we did not pull up alongside a dock or marina after leaving the US until we landed in Texas 18 months later. There just wasn't a whole lot that could go wrong. We did break the rudder though off Honduras; we jury rigged it with some rope.  

What piece(s) of gear would you leave on the dock next time? Why? I had a few things packed that I didn't end up ever using--and of course which took up precious real estate. As one example, I envisioned us dining upon Caesar salads nightly (I actually brought along a small salad spinner.. I know!) but this notion was shot all to bits when we discovered romaine to be nearly nonexistent in Mexico. Furthermore, lettuce of any kind doesn't keep worth a damn onboard in the tropics. Ditto cilantro, but that's another story. About 14 months in, we had a lot of little expired tins of anchovies to attend to... Things got creative then.  

What is the most difficult aspect of the cruising lifestyle? My absolute least favorite part about cruising was the possibility of having to pull anchor in the middle of the night and get out of there because of prevailing wind change, sudden lee shore squall, etc. For example, we were happily sleeping nestled amongst the gorgeous Murcielagos off Costa Rica when we had a sudden and alarming wind change at 1am. Fearing the start of the dreaded "papagayo" wind, we beat upwind until we were somewhat in the lee of the mainland, trying to get coffee started on a bouncing boat, all of us grumpy as all get-out (we had a guest with us).  

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why? Handheld backpacker's waterproof GPS (our primary). It was blue and sparkly and the size of a cell phone. It was also tough, easy to carry around with us if we felt like taking a land excursion, and it did well with batteries. Other things I could not have survived without: Really good knives and nice general galley gadgetry. It is a pleasure to cook in a confined space when you are dicing with a Shun santoku, on a beloved mesquite cutting board, with some good rum in an actual stemmed glass next to you... We went with the theory that when one is paring down to the essentials, one should select really excellent essentials. I would also have to nominate the kayak for a favorite piece of gear (we had an inflatable due to space issues). It's so lovely to be able to slink around the ocean silently, efficiently, discretely. You get to sneak up on so much wildlife this way, fit through narrow channels, up streams and rivers; the kayak was our dinghy most of the time.  

What piece of gear seems to break the most often? The citrus squeezer. Seriously; you'd think limes were made out of acid or something.  

How often have you faced bad weather in your cruising? How bad? We were very conservative sailors (my doing, most surely) and did not budge unless the weather was favorable. That said, we did not always encounter following seas and fair winds. We had 15-18' seas and a gale rounding Pt. Conception, of which I had no idea until after since it was 3am, I only had two days of sailing experience under my belt when I took over watch/driving, and all I could see anyway was glowing green foam (whoa, groovy). We got 50+ knots of wind along the Tehuantapec, which was so unpleasant I had to change clothing to skin-tight things lest I get shirt-burn (shirt burn is serious business!). We had the worst sea conditions coming around Punta Mala (Point Bad, and it was) into the Bay of Panama, where we played frogger all night long with the tankers in large and confused seas. And finally, our very last day sailing crossing the Gulf of Mexico, we got hit by the nastiest squall we had ever seen. It was raining lightning bolts everywhere and Joshua saw balls of lightning racing along the wavetops. It all sucks pretty badly while it is happening but once you are through it, you remember it as just another wild story.  

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising? We met many people who had started off on their around-the-world cruise but had stopped along the way. Every single port we visited (starting with Ensenada) had at least one boat that just found what it had been looking for and needed to go no further. And there they stayed, three, ten, twenty years.. They always had good stories and LOTS of advice. We never met any of the people who had stopped cruising for other reasons because they had apparently gone home.

In your own experience and your experience meeting cruising couples, can you convince a reluctant partner to go cruising and if so, how? I started out being afraid of open ocean, deep water, tipping over, sharks, of being along sailing a boat at night, of sea monsters... basically everything one could possibly be afraid of on a boat. I didn't know how to sail when we left, but it turns out that it's really pretty easy, and boats like ours don't easily tip over. Once I was forced to actually do all of the things I feared: be miles offshore in the ocean in the dark at night by myself sailing the boat, with sharks and sea monsters surely lurking beneath, it wasn't actually bad at all. I had just never done it before. Joshua always said we could call it quits when it stops being fun. We decided to take our break when I discovered I was pregnant but I wouldn't necessarily say we have quit yet.  

What is a tip or a trick you have picked up along the way? You can keep cheese for a long time if you put it in a jar covered with oil. You can buy the cheapest, plainest, most tasteless white cheese, pack it under veggie oil of some sort, and after three weeks to a month, it starts to get sharp. The longer you leave it, the sharper and better it tastes. I also kept ginger in vodka for a long time (ginger always went bad immediately otherwise).  

Is there a place you visited where you wish you could have stayed longer? My favorite places were the Sea of Cortez; we were there in the winter and so had to split for hurricane season (we decided to go south). I would like to spend a spring and summer there as well. Then we loved the western Islands of Panama. So much to see and so many deserted islands. We were down to half an onion and some random tubers by the time we got to Panama City.

How do you learn about the rules and regulations of your next port of call before arriving or do you just arrive and find out? We had various cruising guides (i.e., Charlie's Charts) that listed the basics, but regulations and procedures change quickly everywhere. We always brought everything we thought we could possibly need and then expected to be directed from there. Usually we ended up crossing town a few times to visit various auxiliary offices for random stamps or additional copies, etc. We ended up with amusing stories with every check-in and check-out, so I'd say it was always worth the hassle.  

What is your most common sail combination on passage? 
I think we did them all with regularity and probably averaged 2-3 different jibs per day. Maybe we were finicky with our sails but our boat was very lightweight and touchy. We did not have a roller furling but rather a hank-on system. We had four jibs: the mule, the 170, a gennaker, and a storm jib for those exciting moments that are only really exciting when you look back later, you know, knowing you lived through it and all that.   

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?
Sharks. Whales.  

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?   

What is your favorite part about cruising?

Arriving in an anchorage after a passage--more so of course if a nasty passage, but even the smoothest passages were best ended with a lovely quiet cove in which to rest. We didn't draw much so we always had the pick of the place as to where to drop our anchor. First we would sit for a moment, soaking in the calm. Then we would start wandering around the boat, picking things up, stowing the sails, tidying up things that got knocked around. Maybe jump overboard to cool/rinse off and check the anchor. Once things were relatively squared away, the rum would come out and we'd sit on the top of our cabin checking out at our new temporary home. We would talk about how to spend the remaining day, where we would go tomorrow. And plan something awesome for dinner.

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