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 Tranquility Bay

Scott, Kimberly and their ship cat Allie have been cruising since 2005 aboard SV Tranquility Bay, a 38' aluminum Groupe Finot Reve d'Antilles hailing out of Detroit, MI, USA. They have spent the last twelve years sailing up and down the east coast of America and throughout the Caribbean.

They say: "From the glass towers of NYC to the steamy jungles of the Banana Republics, we've been pondering escapism and searching for a more connected and meaningful way of life.

You can learn more about their cruise at their website and their YouTube channel.

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

We take it for granted that our boat is incredibly strong. It always brings us feelings of security when the going gets rough. Something that appeals to us more regularly, however, is it's uniqueness. A lot of people – especially in the States – don't know what to make of it. It may as well be a spaceship with its unpainted aluminum topsides and bubble. People are usually very surprised when they come inside and settle into its cozy wood interior.

Our least favorite thing about our boat is that it is often difficult to go unnoticed. Its rugged fishing boat-like appearance has always appealed to us because in our minds it has a simple look, and not a yachty one. When we arrived in Panama, however, where most of the indigenous population paddles dugout canoes, it was hard to ignore the frequent amazement of many of the locals. They pound on the side grinning and say, “Aluminio!” Then they chuckle about scrap prices and the equivalent amount of recycled cans that they'd have to collect to make as much money as they could get by cutting off a chunk of our hull. Sometimes they make us nervous.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

We'd love to have a set of lithium batteries. They're so light weight and put out so much juice. It would be a huge boon to our cruising comfort and if we ever ended up shipwrecked, we'd be carrying our own extensive prescription for depression. However, considering that lithium is a limited resource and witnessing the roadblocks faced by the electric car industry, we don't have fuzzy feelings about any big changes coming soon. But we'd sell our soul for a set of those babies! (hello sponsors?)

In your experience, how often do you think cruisers spend sailing vs. motoring, coastally vs. on passage?

The percentage of motoring vs. actual sailing is hard to know, but what we certainly can say from our own experience is that there is a lot of impatience in the world. If you've just abandoned a thirty-year mortgage or walked away from an unfulfilling career and hopped aboard a sailboat, it can be hard to restrain your excitement. The wind isn't blowing, but you're anxious for the 'real' adventure to begin so you crank up the iron genny and head off, despite a forecast of glassy calm. Or in our own case, you start out making the mistake of jumping at the first stormy opportunity, puff out your chest and call yourselves 'real' sailors. Then you take a severe beating, and spend the next week shore-side looking for parts to replace everything you broke.

We see a lot of people out here trying to girdle the globe during one year sabbaticals. We also see lots of retirees deep into the final chapter of their lives – frequently complaining about there being “too much wind this year.” Of course people that have been out traveling longer tend to be tuned in closer to Mother Nature's frequencies, but really, the true percentages of sailing/motoring are all over the map. I don't think there is a science or study to accurately describe what percentage at any given time choose to motor or sail. Maybe chaos theory?

Spending days on end deafened by a throbbing engine, and enveloped in a cloud of soot isn't so magical. On the other hand, beating your brains back and forth and not making it into an anchorage before dark just to lay claim to some kind of sailing prowess certainly isn't smart either. Everybody wants to paint the perfect picture of their sail through paradise, but sometimes, you just have to eat it – with torn sails or a bruised ego. So … .. . 50/50???

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you?

There is always a lot of talk about the cruising community. The number of people actually going someplace in their boats is probably equivalent to the population of a small town, so it seems like a fitting analogy. It's remarkable how often we cross paths with the same people flitting about on sailboats.

We've had friends on boats deliver generous loads of medical and school supplies to third world villages. We've met crazy wandering gypsies that have told us stories about parts of the globe that we've never heard of. We've also met folks on shore that have welcomed us with open arms thanks to the many ambassadors of good will that have traveled before us. And then, there are the Hamburger Cruisers.

There are a lot of Hamburger Cruisers out here. Most of them are pretty friendly. Don't get us wrong, many of them have been wonderful to us, but it often seems that their main priority is to eat hamburgers in every country they visit. On an extended progressive dinner party, Hamburger Cruisers travel great lengths, at great expense and discomfort, seemingly, only to find their next patty. Sometimes, however, when there are no burgers to be found – things can get ugly.

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

Slow down and open yourself up to new experiences beyond sampling some local food and taking a tour. Ask yourself why you've signed up for this adventure. We often meet new people trying out life on a sailboat that think they're subscribing to some kind of special 'lifestyle' that they've caught a glimpse of on YouTube, but living and traveling on a boat isn't easy. It takes awhile just to get comfortable with your floating home and develop an understanding for how things work.

We've lost count of the number of times we've met cruisers committed to crazy accelerated plans – things like two year circumnavigations. They often have scarcely enough time to even say hello, much less keep their boat together before rushing off to the next spot. From what we've seen, it's a horrible way to see the world. What is the sense of traveling thousands of miles at great expense and a snails pace, only to do a waterfall tour and head off to the next place?

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

Probably the most common reason we find people bailing out early is that they've discovered traveling by sailboat was much more difficult and uncomfortable than they had imagined. It never occurred to them what it might feel like to get beat up for days on end. It continuously amazes us how many people – young and old – we watch head out for the first time after lengthy preparation, only to call it quits after they've had their first rough experience. Old age, and difficulties coping with the simple drudgery of operating a boat and living on it is another reason. Sometimes, the missus just wants to be with her grandchildren.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

It's hard to pin down one place, but we do have fond memories of our time in Venezuela. We entered the country shortly after their president called ours the devil. Despite some positive reports we heard before departing Grenada, we had reservations. More than one couple tried to convince us that “Hugo Chaves will confiscate your boat.” While we thought this was foolish, we did debate flying a Canadian flag to save face. Later, we thought that was foolish as well.

The Venezuelans were some of the friendliest people we've met in our travels, and the diverse scenery there was otherworldly. There was a serious crime problem everywhere we went, but thanks to a howling black market currency exchange, we remained somewhat blind to the dangers. Trading a personal check for a backpack full of money was unbelievably exciting. It was like living in the old Wild West.

Over the coarse of a year, we rode a towering wave of economic collapse. Fuel was thirty cents a gallon – delivered. To our surprise, in addition to discovering that Venezuela was indeed a democracy, we learned that the island of Margarita was full of top notch shopping centers where we loaded up with goods at pennies on the black market dollar. We filled shopping cart after shopping cart full of quality liquors, exotic brands of chocolate and giant wheels of cheese. Lomito, Spanish for tenderloin, cost less than ground chuck, so we ate it like hamburger.

We had a great time in Venezuela, and we've never regretted taking advantage of the economic situation there. We were even given free health care as visitors. What's most interesting, however, are people's reactions to our stories about this amazing place. We tell stories of many of our friends that still live there, and of all of the starving Venezuelans – still being crushed by the world oil economy. But the most striking response we ever get back at home is, “gas only cost thirty cents a gallon?!?!”

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

Venezuela seems to no longer be an option for cruisers. It is now the world's largest remaining oil reserve – and an economic war zone.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

People that tell us, “it must be nice to live like you do.” They say it as if they themselves have somehow been cursed. It drives us crazy how people complain about their hectic lives in America. They often hear only what they want to from our stories. We fish. We swim in paradise. We drink cocktails at every sunset.

After meeting so many happy families that live in palm thatched huts with dirt floors – people that swim in the oceans, eat fresh food out of the jungle, and breathe the fresh air – it's really hard to listen attentively to some our friends or relatives complaining incessantly about the horrible complications of their material worlds.

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

So I hear you guys have started a YouTube channel, what do you hope to achieve?

We'd like to share what we've learned in the last twelve years of our sailing experience and inspire others to follow their dreams. Currently we are completely overhauling/reconstructing our boat to outfit it for travel to colder climates. It has always been our ambition to travel to the edge of the icepack to see with our own eyes how the world is being changed. We'd like to take anyone else interested in the conversation about the future along for the ride in hopes of increasing awareness of the current situation. Come along for the ride at Sailing Tranquility Bay. 

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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 Wondertime

Sara, Michael, Leah (11), & Holly (8) Johnson began cruising in 1999. Their most recent cruise was aboard Wondertime, a Benford 38 Ketch hailing from Seattle, WA, USA. Before they had kids, Michael and Sara cruised to British Columbia and Alaska (their honeymoon!) and a few years later down to Mexico for the winter. With their children Leah and Holly, they departed Seattle again in 2011, circumnavigated Vancouver Island, continued down the west coast to Mexico then did the puddle jump to New Zealand in 2012. They are still in New Zealand but are preparing to take off again for a third time at some point.

They say: "We sold Wondertime in 2014 and after spending the past three years on land (in a house for a year, then a year of RV travel in NZ, then an apartment for a year) we’ve just bought another boat, a German-built 12m steel Feltz Skorpion II (name TBD!). We’ll be in New Zealand for another few years then we've got to see Fiji, at least."

You can learn more about their cruise on their website or by email.  Editor's note: Sara is a co-author of Voyaging With Kids: A Guide to Family Life Afloat.

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

Our Benford 38 was the perfect boat when our girls were young (they were 1 and 4 when we moved aboard). But we simply outgrew the boat; the dinette was only big enough for just the four of us and by the time the girls had doubled in size we were simply too cramped. We also needed a break from cruising so decided to sell Wondertime in Auckland.

After a couple of years of living on land we missed the simplicity of liveaboard life and started looking for the next boat (which would be Michael’s and my fifth together!). We had several criteria: sloop or cutter-rigged (we felt Wondertime’s ketch rig was far too complicated for a boat under 40 feet), comfortable living space (BIG saloon table, separate beds for the girls, comfortable double for us), fun to sail, and 40 feet or less. After a year of searching around NZ we finally found the one: a 12-meter steel boat built in Germany and recently arrived in NZ after being sailed across the Atlantic and Pacific by a meticulous German couple. She’s tough and simple and fun to sail and has a great comfortable layout. I think she’ll take us through the teen years and beyond just fine.

The major con is all the money we wasted with the changeover. Thankfully the new boat is set up with much of the same cruising gear we had on Wondertime (and definitely in better shape at this point!)

What advice would you give to parents thinking about taking their children cruising?

You do NOT need a catamaran to take children cruising. Seriously though, I see parents online who think they need 50’+ boats to take their kids out on and if they can afford that kind of boat AND handle and maintain it that’s great. But plenty of families are out and about in 40 feet or less and are having the time of their lives. Kids really don’t need a lot of room (but layout—a space everyone can call their own—is definitely key).

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

Oh yes it has. We navigated to Alaska in 2000 with paper charts. I had a website even then and to update it I’d have to copy the files onto a CD and bring it into an internet café to upload. Now

everyone’s posting on Facebook via their sat phones. Cruisers are so much more connected these days than twenty years ago, both with each other and with those back home. Since sailing has always been about "getting away from it all" this kind of goes against that idea. On the other hand, we too love staying in contact with not only other cruising friends that have sailed on but also our families.

But the great thing is that it’s still so easy to disconnect by sailing a few miles offshore or to an anchorage without cell coverage (always plenty of anchoring room in those!). But the good news also is that this connection is all optional: the most fascinating cruisers we’ve met the past few years hardly ever even check email.

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

How painful it is to stop. Even if you want to.

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)?

We thought Bora Bora was overrated, quite touristy. But we only had a couple of days there as we'd already checked out of French Polynesia so didn't get the chance to explore outside of the main harbour. Like anywhere, finding those hidden nooks is where the best cruising happens.

Our favorite cruising ground is still Mexico; we love anchoring out in Mazatlan's "old harbor" and taking an open air Pulmonia taxi into the city. It's rough and dirty and our dinghy was nearly stolen in the middle of the night one time (too bad the guy didn't see the locked cable!) but we still love it there. Mazatlan is a beautiful old city. Actually, now that I think about it, the entire west coast of Mexico is really underrated: there are so many amazing anchorages, the weather is generally good, the food is to die for and it's insanely affordable. I feel bad for the Pacific-bound east coast cruisers who miss it! We can't wait to go back one day.

What piece(s) of gear would you leave on the dock next time? Why?

The mizzen mast. A ketch rig on a 38-foot boat is cute, but our upwind sailing ability was pathetic (the mizzen would just slat and slam so we'd take it down, thus losing 1/3 of our sail area) and it was twice as expensive to replace the standing rigging before we left (not to mention the additional sail). All our other boats have been sloops or cutters and we're glad to be in the single mast club again!

How did you (or did you) gain offshore experience prior to leaving?  

Michael was a cruising kid as a teen, and besides sailing with his parents he crewed on a friend's boat across the Atlantic when he was 15. Our first offshore trip together was in 2000 when we sailed directly from SE Alaska to Seattle offshore. It blew about 30 knots the whole trip. It was a bit rowdy and I didn't know enough then to be nervous. In 2002-3 we sailed from Seattle to Mexico together, hopping down the coast. When it came time to leave with our two kids, we grabbed a friend to do the trip with us. We left Ucluelet, B.C. and sailed directly for San Francisco. Our daughters were 2 and 5 at the time and having a third adult made the trip so much more pleasant. We also had a crew member on our Pacific crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas. I think we're still friends.

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

All of the above: we love sailing (the feeling of the boat steering herself in tradewinds day after day just can't be beat). We love slow travel, even if it's just gunkholing locally. We love the simplicity and affordability (compared to a city mortgage!) of living on a boat even if we're not moving for years at a time. I love having my home where ever we go. Boats and cruising, for us, really is the ideal platform for an enjoyable life.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

My major beef with the cruising community is this unspoken idea that you cannot “quit” (i.e. take a break from) cruising ever. To do so means you’re not a “real” cruiser. Or you’re a quitter. Or something. Also only “real” cruisers circumnavigate, or cruise for 10 years without stopping, or….you get the point. In our opinion, it doesn’t matter how long, or how far anyone cruises. It’s all about the experience, no matter how or where you sail. There isn’t any one right way to do it.

Michael and I have been on again/off again cruising since shortly after we met in 1998 and we have to take breaks from cruising -- both for our sanity and our finances. Like right now, we’re living and working and going to school in New Zealand. We’re saving money and dreaming of places we might want to go (which is far more fun aboard our own boat than in a rental, let me tell you). This is one of the best phases of cruising, the dreaming one.

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

Is cruising the best way to raise kids? 

Yes and no. It depends. Just like some adults, not all kids enjoy the constant change of actively cruising, often leaving friends behind, etc. Parents need to respect their child(ren)'s individual personalities when planning a cruising life, even if that means swallowing the anchor if a kid is really miserable or just wants to go to school, for example. Maybe part-time cruising would work better for some kids or shorter, local cruises. There are many different routes to enjoying sailing as a family.

We think the best way to raise kids is to spend time with them and provide interesting and varied experiences and there are lots of ways to find that outside of cruising. But boat life is definitely our favorite way to do that.

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10 Questions for Leander

Paul Robertson, Sima Baran, and Alexander Robertson have been cruising since 2007 aboard Leander, a Bristol 41 hailing from  Boston, Massachusetts, United States. They have taken a circumnavigation route, starting in Boston, heading down the U.S. east coast, through the Panama Canal, through the Pacific Ocean and Islands, visiting New Zealand, Australia, SE Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and are now in the Eastern Mediterranean. Readers can read about their adventures on their website.

They say: Paul is originally from Boston, and Sima from Istanbul, Turkey. We met when we were both working in Boston. We had only modest prior sailing experience, and we started cruising as a husband and wife team of two shortly after we bought the boat, our first, and got married. We’ve since been joined by a third crew member, our young son Alexander, who was born in November 2010. 

Why did you decide to cruise?
We were both working long hours, Paul as an attorney and Sima a management consultant. We thought that our all-enveloping careers were causing us to miss out on other meaningful aspects of life. For two non-sailors, the prospect of sailing across oceans to far-away lands posed a particularly exciting challenge, and would be a good way for us to see a bit more of the bigger picture.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
Most marine vendors do not share your goal of having quality work done at a reasonable price. Learn to do as much as possible on your boat, and be vigilant in those situations when you must pay for parts or services. Time and again we’ve paid for work that was both overpriced and deficient, and typically found we have no recourse after the fact. Who cares about you – you’re sailing away to the next port! With a little bit of practice, reading, and speaking to others, you will ALWAYS do a better job than someone with less of a vested interest in the outcome. When others must be called in, define the scope of the work as concretely and narrowly as possible, get things in writing, and watch the work like a hawk.

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed?
Useful information available for cruisers on the Internet has exploded. Sites like IWAC, “Wiki Cruising,” and the numerous blogs and photos posted by other cruisers are providing a more complete picture of the cruising life and potential cruising grounds.

Describe a positive experience you have had with local people somewhere you have visited?
The people on the island of Tanna, in Vanuatu, were exceptional. In the place of TV, the internet, and consumerism, there were nightly kava rituals, community meetings, and a family garden. And the islanders reached out to us. During our three-week stay, Paul drank kava and played soccer with the local men and Sima learned to weave mats with the local women. It was pleasant, relaxing, and magical.

What is something that you were dreading about cruising when you were dreaming, that is as bad or worse than imagined?
The amount of work we need to do to keep the boat in shape. Non-cruisers sometimes don’t get it, and when we tell them of how much time we are spending on fixing this or maintaining that, they wonder if our boat is a “lemon.” But we’re all out here doing the same thing. The ocean environment beats on things, and although our boat is one-tenth of the size of the house that we lived in before we left, it is ten times as much work. Really.

When have you felt most in danger and what was the source?
Traversing Pirate Alley – the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the start of the Red Sea. We made the passage in 2010 after concluding that the odds were strongly in our favor. But our hearts were still in our throats for the month and half it took to get through. In light of the subsequent attacks, we wouldn’t do that that trip now. And as we think back, maybe all the preparation we did gave us nothing but false comfort, and was an attempt to control things over which we had, in retrospect, no control.

How has cruising affected your personal relationship?
We figure that one year of life together on the boat is the equivalent of about seven years of life on land. All the time together has accelerated the pace of our relationship. Challenges that might have developed five or ten years down the line had we been together less, have become manifest more quickly. But we’ve also been able to develop tools to anticipate and resolve problems at the same quickened pace. So, in the end, we’re in a better place. (Said another way, laughs Sima, although I’ve become more accurate at throwing frying pans, Paul has become just a little more adept at ducking them!)

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?
We have found that watches of less than four hours are not practical for us because we each need sleep in chunks that are at least that long. We are both on watch during the day. Sima takes watch from 8 p.m. to midnight, Paul from midnight to 4 a.m., Sima from 4 a.m. until Paul awakes in the morning, and Paul from that time until Sima awakes later in the morning. But this was before young Alexander joined us, and we will perhaps need to modify this.

Share a piece of cruising etiquette.
Bend over backwards to be polite to others. You’ll find people on the water who are willing to mix it up with you if you’re game, but it is a draining game. Try to assume the best. Smile and wave at the next boat you encounter, even if the three before didn’t return your greeting. Accept that the boat has anchored a little close. They couldn’t find a better spot, probably. And don’t you remember? Last time that was you.

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

What has it been like cruising with an infant son?

Challenging! We figured that with Alexander, we’d have one less person with a free hand, but he often takes us both out of commission. So things take twice as long as before. For us, an “early” start now means 10:00 a.m. And we don’t do drinks with others at sundown so much anymore. But he loves to hike with us, and we can strap him to our back and go explore, one of our favorite things to do. We certainly wouldn’t want it any other way.

Read the full interview

10 Questions for Silas Crosby

Steve Millar on Silas Crosby completed a self-interview in the Newly Salted style. You can read the original interview here or the perspective of another crew member, his niece Meredith, in her interview.
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At age 56, I am in the middle of another long (metaphorical) cruise.

I started sailing at age 9 just south of Vancouver in a 9′ dinghy, then, in high I school built a 17′ catamaran and cruised the Gulf Islands of BC. My parents didn’t sail or know anything about it.

After several years of race boat crewing, I helped sail a 40′ cutter from Auckland to Vancouver over 6 months in 1974. A good taste of the South Pacific. After a hiatus of about 6 or 7 years of not much sailing, my wife and I bought a Spencer 35 named ‘Cor Leonis’ in 1986. We did an initial trip to Haida Gwaii, then took off again for a classic 3 year trip to Mexico and on to New Zealand , where our son was born.

Returning to BC via Samoa and Hawaii, in 1991, we settled in the Comox Valley, sold the Spencer 35 , had another child , and built the Brent Swain 36 steel twin-keeler, ‘Silas Crosby’ . The construction was a joint project with my brother John , and took 2 yrs and 4 months. After launching in about 1994 we cruised far and wide on the BC coast.

In 2001 the 4 of us did a north Pacific triangle cruise over a year, to Mexico, Hawaii, and home to BC again.

About a year ago in Sept 2010, we set off again to try to fulfill a long held dream., to explore the cruising grounds of the channels and islands of southern Chile and Patagonia. This time the crew was Steve (56) , my brother  (69), and niece Meredith (25). John sailed with us as far as La Paz in the Sea of Cortez before returning to Vancouver.

The idea of sailing from cold water in BC to colder water in southern Chile did not appeal to my wife Barb, so she elected to stay home and live the good life, untroubled by boat fanatics.

We are now in Valdivia, Chile, reaching the end of the austral winter. We arrived about 4 months ago via Easter Island, Galapagos, and Mexico.In the next week or two we plan to continue south eventually reaching Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino sometime around March 2012.

Tell me your favorite things about your boat.
Steel hull , twin keels , continuous tube liferails.  We pay a little bit for the twin keels when hard on the wind , but we still had a good passage from Galapagos to Easter Island with the wind forward of the beam the whole way.

The solid liferails are very sensible. I think only Amel installs them as standard on a production boat. Recommended safety item.

Tell me your least favorite thing about your boat.
Concern about rust. Not too big a problem in the first 17 years , but one does have to pay attention, despite flame-spraying during construction.

I would have loved to be able to justify the expense of a folding or feathering prop. Probably good for 1/2 knot on the wind , maybe more in light winds. The right deal has never come up in a 17 x 15″ 3- blade prop.
Of course, we need a 50′ boat to live aboard in rainy weather but only a 36′ boat to sail and pay for.

How often have you faced bad weather in your cruising? How bad?
Our worst weather was the last week coming in to Chile. We were really psyched up to get some bad weather, and would have been surprised had we not. So the two fronts that passed over us were uncomfortable, but OK.

Until that time I had used the storm jib and trysail only once before to slow down in strong winds coming in to New Zealand in 1987.

Can you think of a sailing tip (e.g., sail trim, sail combination) specific to offshore passages (e.g., related to swells)?  
This is interesting. We really use our whisker pole a lot, and try to sail wing and wing as much as possible because it is so comfortable, steady, and just generally easy on our boat.  When we arrived in Valdivia we have found several cruising boats that don’t even own a whisker pole and make their way downwind by jibing. These are all boats that have sailed thousands and thousands of miles to get here.

Another interesting thing we’ve discovered is how many crews do not keep a watch system. Many of the solo sailors just go to bed and get up whenever. Also some of the couples both turn in at bedtime and get up for breakfast. Some have AIS and radar watches but some don’t.

We tend to generally enjoy the night watches, sort of for private time.

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed? 
Starting in 1974 we navigated the old, scary , approximate way. The last week coming in to Cape Scott with an RDF and DR was sketchy. GPS is excellent .We have occasionally dug out the sextant, mostly to look at it in wonder, but we don’t push the ‘off’ button on the GPS.  But really, the fundamentals have not changed at all. The people are still the same, great and friendly and helpful. The wilderness areas are still wild.
People still run up on reefs

Navigation is a lot easier, and much less stressful. That’s good.

Engines are more reliable. Sails are stronger and more durable.

What piece(s) of gear would you leave on the dock next time? Why?
We have a 10 1/2 foot Portabote, a 7 1/2 foot inflatable , two 13′ solid plastic kayaks with sprayskirts, drysuits etc, and a 2 hp outboard. We haven’t actually used either of the dinghies since sometime in Mexico. It is a lot of gear to be hauling around. I expect we will need the inflatable in Patagonia for shoreline etc.

What do you miss about living on land?
My family.

While cruising, what do you do about health & boat insurance, medical issues, banking and mail delivery?
DAN emergency health insurance and 2 yr coverage from BC government health system. I went to medical school to prepare for cruising , probably overkill (!) but it is helpful. I was offered a pre-emptive appendectomy , but declined , and brought injectable antibiotics instead.

Banking , taken care of by Herself at Home.

Mail : what mail?

Why did you decide to cruise?
Reading Slocum , then Chichester as a 10 or 12 year old.

What did you do to make your dream a reality? 
Became Obsessive.

Finish this sentence. “Generally when I am provisioning…”
I think that food (any food) is important. Also I am associated with experts in the form of Barb and Meredith.

How do you fund your cruise?
Savings.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time? 
The romance of voyaging under sail in a small capable vessel to interesting and far-off lands has not faded for me in the least. Miles Smeeton was the first writer that conveyed that to me. It is the travel across oceans under sail. Sailing is important.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?
As a general lesson, for me, when the ‘Cruising Blues’ set in, it is time to leave town. It happens more often, but not exclusively, in the cities.

I have been back to the Baja side 3 times and around Vancouver Island 6 times, so those must be my favorites.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why?
After several voyages without an HF transmitter on board , I am really enjoying blabbing on the SSB and Ham nets , and on informal scheds. I find that there is still lots of time for watching the birds , the waves, and the insides of my eyelids. The 2 x 85 watt solar panels are plenty to power the radio and the little Engel fridge(also a first for us)

The crude windvane, built to an old design is invaluable.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?
Fluency in Spanish. It isn’t free, though. I has cost me many, many hours to get to the early intermediate stage.

What is a tip or a trick you have picked up along the way?
Mast Up and Water Outside. Hot tips.

How much does cruising cost?  
$17,345.43 per year, plus or minus, depending on beer.

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10 Questions for Asylum

Jim and Katie Coolbaugh are cruising aboard Asylum, a Tayana V42 (42 ft), cutter-rigged sloop hailing from Bethesda, MD, USA. They began cruising in 1999 and are still at it.

They describe their route as: Down the east coast of the US, partly on the ICW to FL; down the Thorny Path thru the Eastern Caribbean to Trinidad and Tobago; west to Panama via Venezuela and Colombia with a N/S detour thru Haiti and Cuba; thru the Canal to Ecuador, which provided a base for land travel in South America; across the Pacific to New Zealand via French Polynesia, Suwarrow Atoll in the Cook Islands, American Samoa, Tonga; then back up to Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and soon to Palau.

Readers can learn more about their travels on their blog or via email (asyluminmates@gmail.com).

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed?
We are about to pass the 12-year mark as live-aboard cruisers and as we reflected back over those years, several changes in the world of cruising came to mind:

• Cruising boats seemed to get bigger. In the early years, Asylum at 42 ft was on the high end of average boat size, but now, on average, cruising boats seem to be bigger.
• There are more cruising catamarans. In the beginning, we almost never saw cruising catamarans. They were all charter cats. Now, it’s not uncommon to have as many cruisers on cats in an anchorage as on monohulls. I even wrote an article about “catamaran converts,” people who’d switched from monohulls to catamarans after setting out to  cruise, and could have added many more to the 4 couples profiled.
• Communications are much easier, faster, cheaper. When we left, there was no sailmail or winlink, no wifi, Skype, or pre-pay cell phones that you could activate anywhere. Communications were often a time-consuming challenge and expense in the early years.
• ATMs are almost everywhere. No longer do you have to carry a wad of cash or a stash of traveler’s checks. Yes, there are still a few remote places out there without ATMs, but they’re very remote and the next town with one usually close by.
• Navigational technology gizmos have mushroomed. We left with a modest radar, a GPS, and paper charts. We now have electronic charts, a chart plotter, a forward looking sonar, and AIS—all of a relatively modest ilk. On some boats we’ve visited I feel like I’m the bridge of an aircraft carrier!
• Much more cruising information is (instantly) available. With Noonsite, SSCA on line, and everyone keeping and emailing copious notes on their routes, it’s easy to get up to the minute information about your next destination. Sometimes almost too much information…
• The world seems a wee bit more dangerous. We have read with dismay reports of growing violence and cautionary “don’t go there” tales for many places in the world. In the beginning it never occurred to us that we wouldn’t head up the Red Sea to the Med when the time came, but now the expanding range and relentless acts of piracy along that route, a route that old-timers used to rave about, are giving everyone pause. Other areas that we or friends remember fondly have had reports of life-threatening assaults on cruisers, incidents much more dangerous than a stolen dinghy or snorkel gear nipped from the deck.

What is something that you looked forward to about cruising when you were dreaming that is as good or even better than imagined?
Approaching the next anchorage and arriving to find it empty…no other boats there, having it all to ourselves! Not that we don’t love hanging out with our friends in an idyllic spot, but empty anchorages are increasingly hard to come by, so when you find one, it’s especially sweet.

Is there anywhere you sailed to that was a disappointment?
Not really. For the most part, cruising destinations are what you make them, and to the extent we’ve been “disappointed” it’s mostly been because we didn’t have enough time in a given place (like Cuba). That being said, Papua New Guinea has been something of a disappointment because of security issues. We were boarded and robbed our fourth night in the country and that made us more cautious about where we subsequently have visited than we might otherwise have been. There is considerable “don’t go there” advice even from the locals, which we respect. So our hope of exploring remote interesting villages here in PNG has been largely unrealized and therefore something of a disappointment, but we’re still glad we came.

When have you felt most in danger and what was the source?
For us, there are 3 main sources of danger out here: bad guys, bad weather, hitting something pointy that could hole the boat. Fortunately, we haven’t had to deal with the latter two. Our weather bad weather experiences mostly have been uncomfortable, not dangerous.

But we have had 2 scary encounters with bad guys, one in Colombia many years ago and one recently in PNG. In both cases, we were boarded at night by armed men (in Colombia, 5 with guns; in PNG, 2 with knives). We won’t take the space for details here; both incidents are described in our blog and on Noonsite. Frankly, the second was scarier because the guys actually got into the boat. In the first, we were able to repel them with pepper spray, but in the second, we couldn’t get at the pepper spray fast enough since they landed on top of us when we were asleep. I think the important thing was that in both cases, scared shitless as we were, we breathed deeply, didn’t panic, assessed the situation, kept our wits, and got out without injury.

Share a piece of cruising etiquette. 
Don’t anchor too close! Just because you can get your boat into that  skinny slot next to mine doesn’t mean you should. Perhaps our greatest pet peeve is how close other boats feel compelled to anchor, particularly when there’s an enormous bay of space to choose from. There seems to be a herding mentality out there that results in everyone anchoring on top of each other and we hereby beg our fellow cruisers to resist it. We don’t want you to have to listen to our generator and we don’t want to have to listen to yours. Drop your hook a healthy and respectable ways away. And if you’re the new guy on the block and someone asks you to move because you’re uncomfortably close, honor their request.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?
After some experimentation we have landed on 4 – 4 – 3 – 3. That is, we each get an initial 4 hour sleep, and then we each get 3 hours of sleep, usually starting around 7 p.m. Because I come from a family of night-owls and it’s easier for me to stay up longer, Jim usually takes the first 4 hour sleep. It’s also easier for me to sleep in daylight, so I get the last 3 hours (which also means I can “sleep in” in the morning). During the day, we’re both up or catch a cat nap as needed.

Why did you decide to cruise?
I’ve always been one of those people who preferred to regret the things they did rather than the things they didn’t do. So, after visiting some sailing buddies who had left to go cruising a few years before we did, we pondered the notion on the flight back to Washington. I said to Jim that I didn’t want to wake up in a nursing home when I’m 85 and a doddering old fool and say, “Damn, I wish we’d gone cruising!” We love to sail, travel, dive, experience odd and out-of-the-way places, eat weird food, meet interesting and unusual people, learn new stuff; I, in particular feared ruts and routine.

Living smaller, cheaper, simpler had great appeal. And perhaps we could even do some good along the way…

In your own experience and your experience meeting cruising couples, can you convince a reluctant partner to go cruising and if so, how?
The crux of any persuasive argument like this lies in zeroing in on the source of the reluctance.

• Is it fear of pirates? Talk about the odds… (ok, well, the Gulf of Aden is a problem these days).
• Is it fear of bad weather? Talk about the odds of encountering really bad weather if you plan your routes and seasons carefully (and read the zillions of blogs and websites where cruisers routinely report that they’ve never really encountered seriously dangerous weather in all their years cruising). And of course a good sound boat is important. A line from a long-ago cruising article has always stuck with me and I quote it often: “A sailboat will scare you to death long before it kills you.” Also, read books and articles about awful weather! People thought I was nuts reading about the Queen’s birthday storm and the Fastnet race disasters (“doesn’t it scare you to read about that stuff?”), but that’s how you learn strategies for coping with those situations and how not to make the same mistakes.
• Is it lack of amenities? Figure out what’s important to you and make sure your boat has it. (It’s amazing, though, how quickly all those really important things become unimportant. I hate washing sheets in a bucket but in the end, it’s just not that big a deal.)
• Is it missing friends and family? Invest in good communications and plan your cruising itineraries to include places where you can leave the boat and fly home often. Lots of cruisers do it.

Finally, I’d say: Give it a try. You can always quit if you don’t like it but you’ll never experience the immense rewards of cruising if you don’t give it a shot.

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?
Most potential cruisers seem to worry about bad weather. It’s not that they shouldn’t worry about weather, it’s just that weather shouldn’t be a crippling fear. There’s so much weather information available now—forecasts, weather patterns for every corner of the world, principles of weather systems, strategies for dealing with it—that the prudent cruiser should be able to plan around and avoid the worst of it. Most people complain about too little wind, not too much. We’ve all been caught by surprises, though, and that’s when a boat you trust and your good seamanship come into play to help allay your worst weather fears.

There is also so much advice and information out there for potential cruisers that it’s hard to imagine anything that’s been missed on the “things to worry about” lists, but one thing that does come to mind is anchoring: both equipment and technique. When it comes to anchors, size matters. Bigger is better. Everyone we know has either started out with or moved up to a bigger anchor than was “recommended” for their boat. But it’s not only size that matters; other key considerations are the type of anchor for the bottom you’re in and the type and amount of rode you carry (and deploy). We have 200 ft of chain, which, in some deep Pacific anchorages is barely enough. When it comes to something to worry about, dragging at night—or being dragged into by the other guy who didn’t worry about his anchor—is a big one.

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

There are so many good questions we would loved to have answered, but since we’ve spent a fair amount of time talking to each other about this issue, we’ll go for this one: With the benefit of hindsight, what
are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?

If we had it to do over again, we would do more homework about the implications of boat design: construction, weight, length, waterline, rig, and all those ratios that define and explain “performance.” In
the end, it may be that we still would have opted for a safe, heavy cruising boat, but it would have been a better-informed decision than the broker-led and somewhat emotional choice we ended up making at the
time. Then we would weigh all those performance standards that are so critical for moving the boat from place to place against the equally critical comfort factor because, after all, you spend a lot of time sitting still while cruising and this is our home. In a line I’ve stolen from a cruiser friend, “I didn’t sign up to go camping.”
Implicit in all the number crunching and analysis, of course, is the issue of the seaworthiness of the boat. It won’t matter how comfortable you are if you worry that it will fall apart every time a wave slaps the hull. And “safety” includes not only sound construction, strong rigging, and rugged sails but also the ability to sail the boat with a two-person crew.

After that, the various aspects of liveaboard comfort come to play. Asylum is a 42 ft, aft cockpit boat, and much as we love and trust her, there are times we wish she was a 48 ft center cockpit boat. We sleep in the V-berth, which, on Asylum, is a bigger bed than the aft quarterberth. If we had it to do over again, we’d go center cockpit (we just didn’t like the lines of any of the center cockpit boats we looked at when we were buying a cruising boat, but we’ve gotten over that!) with a roomy aft cabin and a bed you can access from both sides. But it’s the little things you don’t think about when you’re in the flush excitement of buying a cruising boat, like a place for files and all the paper you accumulate along the way; a place for dirty
laundry; the comfort of the seat at the navigation station; plentiful, accessible storage, especially for all the tools and spares you carry; counter space around the head sink (Asylum has an airline-sized bathroom sink and counter space the size of a postage stamp). It’s hard to think about those things when you’re still living in a house and your current sailboat serves you fine for weekends when none of that other stuff matters (you take your laundry home with you and there’s a chandlery around the corner).

Yes, in 12-year hindsight we’ve decided that a little more waterline and a little more space would have been nice. But at this point, we wouldn’t trade Asylum for the Queen Mary!

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10 Questions for Barbara Marrett

Barbara Marrett cruised from 1986 to 1990 and has conducted sail training since 1994. Based in Friday Harbor, WA, USA, her vessels have included a 31’ Hallberg Rassy Monson Sloop, 42’ Hallberg-Rassy Ketch, 65’ Sparkman Stephens Sloop,  and a 45’ Cavalier Sloop. Her cruising days were in the South Pacific but she is now skippering vacation and learn trips in the San Juan Islands. She can be reached by email (bmarrett@rockisland.com) and says: I teach Vacation and Learn cruises in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, aboard a comfortable 45’ Cavalier sloop through Orange Coast College (949-645-9412). I am a contributing editor for Cruising World Magazine and Port Commissioner.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
That it would be difficult to re-enter the materialistic and fast paced American culture after cruising to the exotic islands and remote villages of the North and South Pacific. I found it refreshing to be among cruisers from other countries who had an adventurous spirit one doesn’t find among most folks ashore. Remote cultures that are welcoming and family-oriented, were a joy to get to know.
I wish I’d been told it would be difficult to find work outside the sailing world for someone who had gotten used to living in a world without walls.

Do you have any specific advice for couples cruising?
Have an area of the boat that is yours, keep what you want there and don’t let your spouse mess with it. Bring a few items that have emotional significance for you.

Connecting with other women was something I took for granted on land. Cruising, I had to make a point to share time with women. When I did, I realized the validation and depth of sharing I was missing.
Take mini vacations from each other. I flew home alone for a family reunion – an extravagance. To be among family without spouse pressure and to take a break from the boat was truly a vacation. Don’t lose track of who you are. Tell yourself, “I am the master of my ship, the captain of my destiny.”

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time?
A boat is like a magic carpet to exotic places. I love to travel and appreciate the simplicity of living aboard (an uncomplicated easy to maintain boat). Being able to bring your home with you as you travel and share it with others can’t be beat. Having said that, I definitely am more into the cruising lifestyle than sailing for sailing sake.

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true?
I didn’t want to jump ship after my first passage. I was like a bird let out of a cage…wanting to fly further and freer.

In your first year of cruising, what transitions did you find the most difficult?
I am someone who gains satisfaction from accomplishment. I found it hard to not feel guilty about just being instead of doing. I got over this by writing articles for sailing magazines…which eventually became a cruising book: Mahina Tiare Pacific Passages. Using my graphics background, I self published the book and sold 8,000 copies. This was tremendously satisfying.

What did you find most exciting about your cruising life?
Feeling really alive and aware of my surroundings, all my senses were engaged in managing the boat, in meeting new people, trying new foods, seeing everything from the giant statues of Easter Island to the volcanoes of Vanuatu.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?
A boat with solid fiberglass construction below the waterline, built for rugged offshore sailing, easily steered by hand or wind vane; sails that are easily managed by the weakest person on board. I prefer hank on sails for offshore. Ketch rigs are great because the sail area is broken up and the sails are easier to manage than on a similar sized sloop. A good windlass and sturdy dodger are a must. For offshore, a 36-40 boat is good for two people. Much bigger and it gets harder to handle, more costly and more effort to maintain. Much smaller, and the passage will seem rougher and there is less space for everything!

Share a piece of cruising etiquette
When in a bay with only one other boat, don’t anchor next to them.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear?
Not being able to socialize or find food in remote places.

And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?
Missing the validation you received from your former career.

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

Is cruising worth it? Absolutely!

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10 Questions for Wings

Judy Jensen & Fred Roswold have cruised part time since 1986 and full time since 1996 aboard Wings, a Serendipity 43 hailing from Seattle, WA, USA. During that time they have cruised through the Pacific, Asia, and the Indian Ocean. You can read more about them on their blog or by email (svwings@aol.com).

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

One of the wonderful things about cruising is discovering things for one’s self. Of course safety practices and certain practical matters like how to sail, how to anchor, how to survive living in close quarters, are among things which one shouldn’t have to learn the hard way, but these we think we had that covered long before we left on our extended cruises. Other things, if we had been told, such as that cruising is more expensive than we imagined or that the world is too big for us to get to all the places we dreamed of, we probably would not have listened to anyway; you believe what you want to believe. So we really can’t think of anything that, if someone had told us, would have made a difference, positively or negatively, in our cruising experience.

Is there a place you visited where you wish you could have stayed longer?

You have to find a balance between staying longer and longer, so as to become fully immersed in a country or locality, and quickly moving on so you get to more places. We stayed in many countries far longer than most cruisers, often over a year, and we encourage cruisers to slow down and stay places longer, and not just the normal cruiser haunts where all you do is hang out with other cruisers, but places where you are not surrounded day in and day out by yachties. But staying does not mean putting your boat in a marina and flying home for a year. It means staying there long term and really getting into the community and getting to know people who live there. You get more out of cruising when you stop checking off the list of places you visited, stop saying, “Been there, done that”, and start smelling the flowers, most of which you won’t even see are there for the first few months.

And we think, in all honesty, that there has never been a place where we were not ready to move on when we did, or that we regretted leaving after we left.

Can you think of a sailing tip (e.g., sail trim, sail combination) specific to offshore passages (e.g., related to swells)?

The most important thing we can say about sailing offshore is to prepare yourselves and your boat so that it is enjoyable for you to be sailing.

Prepare yourselves. Do a lot of sailing before you set off. Sail in all kinds of weather. Sail on as many boats as you can so that you learn what you like and what you don’t like (before you buy).

Choose a vessel which sails well and can sail in any direction (including upwind) so that you are not struggling or forced to motor in heavy weather. A boat should be a sailboat first and a house or storage locker second. Place a priority on sailing.

Make your boat easy to sail. Make it easy to adjust things with proper winches, leads, and cleats. Make it easy to move around on (and in). Reduce clutter; such things as jerry cans, dinghy’s and other items which, if stored topside, restricts easy movement. This is a safety issue for you and also makes your vessel more seaworthy (so that sailing in heavy weather and taking a wave aboard is less likely to carry away something or do damage).

Keep your vessel it simple. Evaluate critically those complex labor saving devices which can cause big trouble if they fail or tangle in bad weather.

Keep your vessel clear below decks as well so that living aboard during the offshore passage feels comfortable and relaxed and is not an endurance test.

Set a regular watch schedule and keep to it.

And the most important tip: Reduce sail early.

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

The amount of money people spend on their boats and to cruise has gone up. There are more people out there with high personal wealth. There are fewer low budget boats and low budget families cruising.

Typical cruising boats now are bigger and more complex. These boats are also more costly to maintain. Marinas are more costly because more people are going to them and the demand for marina berths often exceeds the supply. Many marinas are reducing numbers of berths for smaller boats and increasing berths for superyachts.

This does not mean that it is no longer possible to cruise in a smaller, simpler, boat with a low budget, but people who do are in a minority. In general, costs have gone up.

On the other hand navigation has become easier with better charting tools and other electronics and the internet is everywhere more accessible so communications and financial issues are now simpler to handle.

Piracy is now much more of a concern.

When have you felt most in danger and what was the source?

We felt most in danger in some third world countries when local people acted in a hostile or threatening manner. This occurred in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many other countries, such as places in the Caribbean, may also have similar dangers. No bad situations actually developed for us but we realize that a boat and the cruising people aboard it represent a vast amount of wealth to a third world person who has nothing and few hopes or prospects. A cruising boat in a remote place is highly visible and might look like an easy target.

Share a piece of cruising etiquette.

Have courtesy and compassion to locals who wish to sell you things even when you are tired of hearing their pleas. Remember that they are just trying to make a living for themselves and their families. Be generous.

Show respect for local people and customs and the laws of other countries, including clearance procedures, even when you think they can’t or won’t be able to enforce them.

Toward other cruisers show tolerance for those who anchor too close or do other things which seem to intrude on you.

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

We like the camaraderie around the docks and in anchorages including the friends one makes, social scene and the willingness people show to help each other with problems and tips.

We don’t like arrogance which is often shown towards locals and local officials. We were saddened to hear cruisers in Mexico advise others not to reveal their weekend arrivals in order to avoid paying overtime clearance fees, for example.

We don’t like cruisers who are disrespectful of local people and their customs.

We don’t like the rumours and incorrect conclusions which cruisers pass around and which become accepted as truths when there is little basis or foundation. This includes weather and safety issues, equipment issues, as well as other things related to local customs and cultures and personalities.

What is your biggest lesson learned?

We learned to slow down while sailing, not to push the boat too hard.

We also learned, or are still learning, to accept what comes our way and appreciate where we are, physically and psychologically. We realized that we won’t get to every place which we dreamed of going, or do everything we dreamed of doing, and no matter what we thought about our capabilities and what our futures would hold, plans change.

What did you do to make your dream a reality?

We created a reasonable and detailed financial plan and we stuck to it.

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

I wish you had asked what were our objectives for going cruising and what are the important considerations for making cruising a success? What are the wrong reasons for going cruising?

Our objective was to continue living on our boat but to do it in some new places and to enjoy sailing as often as we could while doing it. We viewed living aboard and sailing as the life we preferred, not as a means to achieve a goal and then to be discarded as we moved on to other things. “Sailing around the world”, so we could say we’d done it, was not our objective. Don’t go cruising to escape the modern world, it exists everywhere.

Cruising, for us, would only be a success if we truly liked doing it, liked the sailing part (I can’t emphasise enough how important this is, and how often it is not true for cruisers) and enjoyed the experience of living in other places.

To make cruising a success, if you measure that by how long you continue to like doing it:

• Both parties, if it is a couple, must equally want to do it and enjoy it. It is unlikely that the non-sailor you met and introduced to sailing will like it over the long term.
• You need to know that the type-A personality, which earned you the money to buy that boat, will need some adjustment or you won’t find the life challenging enough to want to continue (after a 1000 white sandy beaches and a million palm trees, how many more do you need to see?).
• Consider how you will be able to deal with being away from children, grandchildren, and parents.
• Have a realistic cruising budget.
• Like and be good at “fixing things”.
• Make your boat comfortable and natural to live on because otherwise you will soon get tired of “camping out”. That means: neat, tidy, uncluttered, a good shower, galley, office, place to relax and read, plenty of ventilation and light, plenty of storage for the personal things which mean so much to you, and the ability to work on things and have small projects going without completely inconveniencing your partner.
• Go cruising only when you know from experience you like it, not because it looks good in a magazine article. You won’t spend many days sailing along reclining in your cockpit with your arm around your sweetheart and a glass of wine in your hand.

Read the full interview