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 Dos Libras

Tammy, Bruce, and Jezabelle the cat have been cruising since 2013 aboard Dos Libras, a 1995 Catalina Morgan 45 hailing from Corpus Christi, TX, USA. They traveled down the ICW to the Gulf of Mexico from Corpus Christi to Florida then ICW and Coastal down to the Florida Keys. They turned North up the East Coast as far as Charleston, SC., then spent a season in the Bahamas.  They returned to Florida for a summer and then passed through Bahamas on their way down the Caribbean island chain.

You can read more about their cruise on their website.

They say: "We cruise very slowly.  We’ve spent the past three summers in various marinas plugged into the dock with wifi and air conditioning while doing boat projects.  We may or may not do the same this next summer down south.  

Something changed for us over this past summer in Puerto Rico.  Before then we have always felt “compelled” to be on our way to somewhere/  It is difficult to explain but while in Puerto Rico, we realised that we had no real plan until late in the summer and even then it was just to amble slowly down the Eastern Caribbean chain and then decide.  

Bruce is not getting any younger and the stresses of keeping up with the maintenance and repairs is beginning to wear on him.  At this point we may be looking for a place to stop moving and spend a longer period… but…no plans to return to the US!"


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

I did a lot of research prior to leaving home and found many sources of information.  Gradually over time I have realised that much of the negative information and warnings provided by others has been exaggerated.  Warnings about areas where current is an issue, warnings about shallow waters, warnings about passes or entrances that are tricky. I don’t know if we have just been lucky, or if our skill level is perhaps more developed than the authors of those warnings… but we have taken our boat into places that are supposed to be difficult, with little or no difficulty at all.  That is not to say that a healthy amount of caution is a bad thing. We all have to know our own skill level and what our boat will do, but just don’t be put off completely by what you read. Dig deeper and take current conditions into consideration when making your decision.  You just might miss someplace wonderful if you’re too easily put off.

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

I have to laugh at this question.  We cruise so slowly and stay so long in some places that we’ve almost forgotten how to plan for passages.  What I consider to be a passage is anything that will require us to establish a watch schedule.  We have found that for the two of us, a two hour watch schedule works best.  It is short enough that we don’t become fatigued, and after the initial sleep, it seems that we are able to fall asleep quickly enough to get a good rest.  I always make brownies or cookies and prepare some pasta salad that is easy to serve and has lots of goodies in it.  I’ve always got my route planned out and we’ve been pretty close in our estimation of the time it will take to arrive with sufficient daylight to safely navigate to our destination.  I guess that is more than one thing isn’t it?  

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

We spend a lot more time motorsailing than we ever thought we would.  We always try to sail when possible, but we are not willing to let our boat speed drop below 4 knots for very long before the engine gets fired up.  We have found that the winds are often close to on-the-nose as we’ve been making our way east until now.  But I still hold onto that hope that now that we’ll be traveling in a more N/S direction, we can sail more.  A huge contributing factor that requires motorsailing is that for passages, we would rather wait for conditions that provide a more kindly sea state, which often means lighter winds.  We would rather motorsail in more flat seas than travel under sail alone in seas much over five feet.  Thus far, current has also been an issue - we’ve been traveling against it.  The majority of our longer passages have been with reefed and overtrimmed main to steady the boat, and with the engine on to help us point closer to the lay line.  

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

I like the fact that you can make it what you wish. If you want to have bunches of friends and a full social calendar no problem.  If you want to keep to yourself and see almost no-one that’s OK too.  If I had to come up with a dislike it would be that in some of the more popular Cruiser hang-outs it is sometimes difficult to get OFF of the merry-go-round!

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

Tea Tree Oil.  I used it a lot the first couple of years out. Now it seems like I find myself using less and less but I believe that is because the mildew has been killed.  I clean my ceilings and walls much less often and my towels don’t get stinky like they used to.  (I use tea tree oil in my laundry soap and in home-mixed cleaners)

What do you miss about living on land? 

Not being wet and salty when I get to where I’m going. Whenever we go ashore in the dinghy it is almost guaranteed that we will be thoroughly splashed either coming or going. Secondly I miss fast internet.  Finding a signal that is fast enough to do much blogging is a constant struggle.  I dream of fast, unlimited internet.
 

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)? 

I have found each place we’ve been to be better than I thought it would be in some way or other.  I have a tendency to project past experiences on my expectations for the future.  I have been proven wrong time and again.  Each place is unique and completely different from how I thought it would be.  I have to remind myself of this so that we won’t skip someplace that could be wonderful!
 
Speaking just about your boat (not gear), what is one thing you wish your boat had that it doesn’t and what is one thing your boat has that you wish it didn't? 

I wish we had more deck storage lockers… but then we would have to give up some inside space, so it’s a trade-off.  I can’t really think of anything we wish our boat did not have…

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

A new in-house generator and additional battery amp hours.  Our Fischer Panda has died and we are using portable generators.  While this is doing an adequate job, it is a lot of work for Bruce to charge up the house bank, which he has to do at least once per day, sometimes twice depending upon cloud cover. It is also difficult for us to be “that boat” in the anchorage that ruins a perfectly good sunset with a noisy generator.

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

We’ve been asked many times why we chose to round Hispaniola to the west and cruise the southern coast of the Dominican Republic instead of following Van Sant’s instructions to do the northern coast.

We like to review all available resources and then make our own decisions as to when and where to sail.  For us, it seemed more sensible, safer and more comfortable to go the way we did at the time of year we did.  Late in the winter when the norther’s were less frequent and weaker, but still making it down as far as Hispaniola the light wind days just before the north winds arrived would provide us with easy travel east, and then when the winds turned north, the island provided protection from the high winds and waves, but we could still travel east with the north wind to carry us along on a beam reach.  Seas were very flat with the island between us and the  winds blasting off of the Atlantic ocean, so it was perfect.  We experienced none of the danger of being on the northern shore with fewer safe anchorages and much higher seas.

The Mona Passage also seems more benign further south and we had a shorter passage than the northern route.  The timing was much easier without having to worry about the hourglass shoals. Plus the storms that roll off of Puerto Rico don’t affect the southern Mona as much.  I don’t know why anyone would ever choose that route over the one we took.  Note:  It can be a very different experience at a different time of year.  We had help with late season northers.

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10 Questions for Naoma

Nicole and Ryan Levinson have been cruising on their current voyage since 2014 aboard SV Naoma, a 1988 Ericson 38 hailing from San Diego, CA, USA. They left San Diego for Mexico and then made the jump to French Polynesia where they have been cruising since 2015. They have been sailing together since the late 1990's but started more seriously cruising the waters off Baja, Mexico and southern California in 2006.

They say: "I may seem like I have the maturity of a 10 year old but really it's more like a teenager..."

You can learn more about their cruise through their videos or on their Facebook page.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

You mean aside from Nicole doing Yoga in her black bikini?  We don't appreciate when cruisers publicly post detailed information about some of the more remote or less commonly visited areas they've explored.  Especially in the Soggy Paws Compendiums or on personal blogs where they include names and/or coordinates.  We think the Compendiums and blogs are a valuable resource, especially for new visitors to an area, but we strongly believe they should be focused on information about the "gateway" anchorages.  In other words, anchorages that are generally already well known and commonly visited.  Once cruisers reach those gateways they can explore remotely or remain mainstream as they see fit!  We personally witnessed one particular spot in the Tuamotus that was more or less ruined (in our opinion) after detailed information about it was included in the Compendiums and shared widely via email.  One season we anchored there alone.  The next season there were a dozen other boats having endless beach bbqs (and leaving the fire pit residue) on the otherwise pristine beaches, disturbing motus that are bird nesting places, leaving the remains of trash burns, stomping all over the coral in the shallow water, carving their initials in trees, etc.  We heard it just got worse as the season progressed.  There are plenty of anchorages for that kind of behavior but precious few that offer a glimpse of "untrammeled" nature or the experience of true solitude.  If you "discover" a remote uncrowded paradise please don't share it with anyone except maybe a few trusted friends or you will destroy the chance for cruisers following in your wake to also have the special experience you had!  Certainly don't share it with the entire world on the internet or Compendiums!

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?

Many potential cruisers, especially from the USA for some reason, are afraid that if they have not adequately prepared for every conceivable contingency then they are doomed to certain death on the high seas.  It is up to each individual to decide what level of preparation is "right" for them but potential cruisers should know that no matter how much they prepare there is always something that they didn't foresee that could cause injury or death.  Accepting a level of risk is a fundamental part of cruising and a key part of adventure!  The thing potential cruisers SHOULD worry about is letting their fear and endless preparation become a reason for never leaving.  There's a great saying, "There are two types of cruisers - Those that leave without being fully prepared and those that never leave..."

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

The location of good surf spots in French Polynesia...  :)  Kidding aside we feel we were given excellent information before we left and can not really think of any other particular thing we wished we had known.  On the other hand there was a lot of stuff we were told that we later regretted ignoring such as "have a gravity feed system pre-rigged for butane" or "you will want a bigger watermaker" There was also plenty of stuff that people told us or we read that turned out to be a bunch of garbage...  Consider the source!

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 were not big fans of Nuku Hiva, especially when compared to the other islands in the Marquesas chain.  On the other hand we thought the Marquesas in general were underrated.  We only spent six weeks there our first time through but when we returned we spent six months and could have easily spent more.

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

We like the sense of community that we've experienced amongst cruisers, especially in the South Pacific.  There is a strong practice of looking out for each other and expressing genuine good will towards each other.

We are not fans of the packs of boats that travel en masse like locusts swarming anchorages with a sense of entitlement since they are part of this-or-that rally or whatever.  Luckily the rally clones tend to blaze through, always in a hurry, and once their trash is picked up and whatever damage they caused is repaired, life usually returns to normal.  :)

Nicole adds that she thinks it's an unfortunate tendency for many cruisers to crowd into certain anchorages and just endlessly socialize with each other rather than seeking a deeper connection with the local place and people.

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

At the risk of sounding glib I'll say that the main requirements for a boat for safe fun long term cruising are the boat must be likely to stay afloat, can move, and can hold food/water.  Anything else is just layers of comfort and increased margins of safety.  I think too many people stress about what is a "blue water" boat or whatever even though they plan to follow relatively easy trade wind routes.  Those people often end up in somewhat unresponsive expensive tanks built to survive cyclones despite never seeing winds over 30 knots...  Thor Heyeredahl "sailed" from South America to the Tuamotus on a bunch of logs tied together!  People cross oceans in kayaks, paddleboards, whatever.  Think of it this way, what are the chances you will simply drop dead or become gravely ill in the next three weeks?  Fairly slim, right?  The same is true of a blue water passage!  In many places if you sail during the right seasons you have extremely little chance of experiencing a major storm.  If you can stay afloat, keep moving, and have food/water the chances are you will be fine even if "extra" stuff breaks like your chartplotter, computers, etc.

With that in mind, and the benefit of hindsight, if I were to start over I'd likely pick the same boat but possibly modify her to have fewer through hulls and possibly more secure hatches and portlights (enhances the "stay afloat" factor!)  Our boat is fun to sail, she is responsive, handles well, is fast in wide range of winds, and is well built.  She would probably not be our first choice for sailing in high latitudes or long off-season passages in a cyclone area but those are not our intended routes. We see a HUGE variety of boats out here, from cheaply built coastal cruisers (some don't even have toilets) to top dollar luxury ocean sailing yachts with all the latest gear.  The boats are all different but they have one thing in common... They all safely crossed the ocean to get here.

Is there something you wish you had bought or installed before starting cruising?

A programmable battery charger (versus one with a few pre-set programs) so we could more easily equalize our batteries. Possibly a charger that can handle both 110v and 220v.  When we left we did not yet have a Honda 2000 gasoline generator but it has become invaluable and has saved us from having to put countless hours on the engine.  We left with 400w of solar but have since increased to 700w.  Finally, a larger capacity watermaker would be nice.  Ours is efficient, small, and reliable (so far) but at 7-8gph it takes a looooong time to fill our tanks.  Sorry, I know you asked for one thing so consider this a 4 way tie...  :)

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

We did not gain any offshore experience before leaving but we were both already sailors with extensive coastal experience.  I (Ryan) have been sailing most of my life.  For over a decade I taught keelboat sailing at a few notable centers including J-World and as an adjunct professor of keelboat sailing at San Diego State University.  I have a masters license and have worked as mate and captain of large (120'+) luxury sailing yachts in California and Mexico.  I sailed on the US Sailing national team and was a former national champion (along with my teammates) for my class.  I am an Emergency Medical Technician.  Before this voyage I spent a few years studying extensively - stuff like celestial navigation, life raft survival, long distance communication, diesel engineering, electrical maintenance, marine firefighting, meteorology, and other related topics. With the exception of the rigging we did nearly all our own boat work and installations while preparing Naoma for this voyage.

Nicole is also a certified sailing instructor, although for smaller boats, and she has experience working on large sailing yachts including standing navigational watches.  She is an Emergency Medical Technician and is a former San Diego ocean lifeguard.

Having said all this we are often anchored next to people who literally purchased a boat having never sailed a day in their lives before heading out on their voyage.  I'm not recommending that, but it does help keep things in perspective...

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you? 

Cruising can create distance from your "community" back home, not just in a geographical sense but also because this is a truly life changing experience that few or none of your friends and family will never really be able to relate to.  We were not so much surprised by that fact per se but rather by the extent to which we find it's true.

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 YouTube sailing channel?

Two Afloat Sailing!  ;)

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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 Sage

Connie McCann and Tony Gibb are currently cruising aboard Sage, a Wauquiez 38 Mk1 hailing from Victoria BC, Canada. They began cruising in 1983 onboard their first boat Hejira, a Vancouver 27, on which they sailed through the Pacific (Mexico, French Polynesia, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Mexico, Solomons, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Philippines, Japan and US). They began cruising again in 2010 aboard Sage. You can keep track of their current voyage via their blog. Editor's note: Because of an error on my part, there are more than 10 questions. Bonus for the readers!

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?
Tony: One of the most important criteria is seaworthiness.  The boat has to be well constructed, well rigged and perform well under sail.  The additional add ons such as electronic gear is not so important nor critical for safe offshore passage making.  It does make it easier but it's better to go sailing now then wait till you have the money to buy all the fancy electronic gear.
 
Connie:  Performance. Shoal draft. Solid construction. Our Vancouver 27 certainly had 2 of those but lacked the performance factor.

What are your impressions of the cruising community?
Tony: For us the cruising community in every port has been incredibly supportive. Everyone pitches in when help is needed and when emergencies require everyone to work together.  The downside is that it's hard to say goodbye to people one has spent time with. It seems to be always saying goodbye although the longer one is out cruising the more frequent those chances at reunification are in some small out of the way place where one can once again spend time getting to know and enjoy each other.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?
Connie:  I truly am thrilled and always newly amazed at finding an island with a sextant and may miss that thrill as we have joined the electronic navigation world. Landfalls are very special, searching with your eyes for land then seeing it at a great distance as in the case of Attu in the Aleutians or searching and searching and not finding it until you are almost on top of it as in the Tuamotos is not something that can be easily described to land based folks.

I don’t like not being able to talk about politics with most folks and relish the days when I can. I have spent a large percentage of my life working in the political realm and am always keen to know what is happening politically in both my home country and in the country I am anchored in.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?
Tony: Usually use 3 on 3 off although now with a larger boat we do expect to have more people onboard and have been using 2 on 4 off for Sage when crewed by 3 people.  This has worked very well providing consistent watches within the 24 hour period.

When have you felt most in danger and what was the source?
Tony: Sailing between the San Bernadino Straits and Okinawa we were followed by a Taiwanese (?) fishboat with no-one on deck and no communication.  This fishing boat followed us for about 3 hours and was never more than 50 metres from our starboard aft quarter. All we could do was keep sailing and hope that they were not interested in such small pickings from a very basic boat.

Of the changes, choices and compromises you had to make along the way, which were you happiest and most satisfied about, which do you wish you had chosen otherwise and why?
Tony: Going when we were young and poor.  This provided us an opportunity of working and living in other countries to try and pay the bills and keep the cruising life alive.  We never understood when meeting people 55+ when they said they wish they had done it when they were younger.  Now that we're out sailing again we can understand why.  The compromise in the above was the fact that we had to choose a smaller boat than we would have liked but it was affordable.  I can't think of anything at this time in terms of choosing otherwise.

Over the years, how much time do you think you spend at anchor, at marinas, sailing and motoring?
Tony: Anchor (80%), at marinas (5%), sailing (10%) and motoring (5%)

In your own experience and your experience meeting cruising couples, can you convince a reluctant partner to go cruising and if so, how?
Tony: By providing the tools for the reluctant partner to be able to manage the boat on his/her own resources.  Every person on the boat should be knowledgeable and have the ability to handle every aspect on the boat on their own.  This sense of empowerment may provide the reluctant partner not only the ability to manage the boat but also the confidence that should something happen to the other person that they're not helpless.  It doesn't mean that the person has the interest in all the aspects of running the boat but they will learn where their strengths are, focus on their strengths to complement the team while also understanding where their weaknesses are and not ignoring them but at least having a basic understand and knowledge about how to manage them when necessary.

What has been the most affordable area to cruise and the most expensive? What was affordable or expensive about each area?
Tony: Most affordable - Philippines - food is plentiful and cheap.  Facilities and land travelling are reasonable. 

Most expensive - the U.S. - food and marinas are expensive.  The temptation to tie up to a dock is enticing and difficult to resist as the marinas are usually located in prime locations for services and land touring. 

How did you (or did you) gain offshore experience prior to leaving?
Connie:  When we moved the coast within 3 months we bought a small inexpensive sailboat but we sailed it extensively here in the Pacific North West, mostly during the winter season. We sailed obsessively – on the boat from Friday night at 5 pm until very late Sunday. Took weeks in the winter season to sail longer distances. We propped up Eric Hiscock’s Cruising under Sail and practiced everything, from sailing out the anchor to sitting in the Juan de Fuca straights hove to. We made lists (and after 3 boats still making lists) especially the list for the boat that would take us across oceans.

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you?
Connie:  Always saying goodbye. Tony and I are both outgoing sorts of people and we make new friends easily. It became difficult to say goodbye. Having to work. From 1983-1990 during our Pacific circumnavigation we had to work – we would work for one year and sail a year. By the end, in Japan 1990 it became a touch labourious. This was one of the primary reasons that we returned – to have an income and not have to work. We enjoyed our work sojourns but it was the sailing that we really wanted to do.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
Connie:  This will be different for Tony but for me it is about seasickness – I wish someone had told me about Sturgeron. I finally found out about it in Australia and my sailing life became a touch less violent in the first three days! I know that people told us of the need for sun protection but perhaps because we are from the North and the sun does not have quite the same strength – we just didn’t take sun protection seriously enough. Our new boat is much better at sun protection while we are sailing.

Which spares do you wish you had more of? Less of?
Connie:  Never too many spares. Engine parts are problematic – do you carry an extra transmission? We don’t but did have that discussion when a spare one became available.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time?
Connie:  I may have been attracted to the travel aspect prior to offshore but I came to enjoy the sailing just for the heck of it. I did not come to sailing naturally – I had to work at it. However I love the aspect that I am traveling with my home – that is a very special relationship and so very different from land traveling.

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)?
Connie:  Everywhere I have sailed to was underrated. Too often travelers tell you ‘oh you should have been here xxx years ago – it was better’. I simply don’t believe that – yes, it is different than it was xx years ago but it is just fine. I do not long for the days when it ‘looked’ different. I am just thankful that I am there.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?
Connie:  My body. Now that it is in its 5th decade it may break even more often! Our Vancouver 27 had very little breakage but we also sailed very simply on that voyage. Sails wore, mostly from the UV. And, we never pushed the limits on our sails except maybe sailing into Wellington NZ….

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

Tony: How much does it cost to cruise? 

I know this all depends on one's pocketbook but it would be interesting to see what people's responses are.
 
Having just left our our new (old) boat we're not sure what it's going to cost this time.  In the 1980's we could get by quite comfortably on $12,000 U.S. dollars/year.  This would pay for everything such as land travel, repairs and replacement to required equipment, food, communications etc etc. However, with a larger boat, 20 years added on we're not quite sure what to expect but hope we can do it on $24,000/year.

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10 Questions for Grace

Shane, Nicole, Neisha, Jessica and Jackson Collins cruised from June 2007 - October 2010 aboard Grace,  a 49 foot Halberg Rassy hailing from Mooloolaba, Australia. During that time they cruised through Scandinavia, the SW coast England, the Atlantic coast Europe, the Med, and the Canaries, the Caribbean, and the Pacific through to NZ. Readers can find them on their two blogs or by sending them an email (slowtravel@gmail.com). They report that the hardest decision for them to do this, was to make the decision to do this.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
Go slower then go slower again.

Describe a perfect cruising moment that will make cruisers-to-be drool with anticipation
Sailing the inside passage on the west coast of Scandinavia. To be in 30 meters of water but to nearly be able to touch the rock face's you pass. To pull into magically beautiful towns and tie up ( for free ) in deserted boat marinas. To wander through fantastic forests, picking berries. To view amazing archipelagos from cliff top perches. To walk in the paths that have been walked for hundreds of years. To marvel at the worlds amazing history. To experience strange and new foods. To learn new languages. To laugh out loud with locals when you get it wrong. Then to contrast. In the warm waters of the Caribbean and South Pacific. To take a early morning swim off the back of the boat. To snorkel and dive fantastic coral and to swim with turtles. To find great surf breaks with no one there. To catch Mahi Mahi and cook it immediately. To kayak with humpback whales. To walk secluded beaches. To have sundowners with friends on a beach watching the sun go down and the kids playing along the shore. To share all this and more with the people you love most!

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you?
What's to dislike?!! I can't say we actually disliked anything that much. Maybe sometimes the lack of space, but that wasn't a major concern. I would say the fridge annoyed me. Its only that to get to the thing you most want you have to pull other things out to get to the said item......Actually that is true for a lot of storage on the boat. It is usually at the back or the bottom.

What piece(s) of gear would you leave on the dock next time? Why?
CQR anchor. Why? Because if you leave it (and change anchors) you won't have to worry so much that you may be dragging.

Have you found "trade goods" to be useful on your cruise? If so, what kinds?
No, but dock sale can be great. A dock sale is like a cruisers garage sale. Usually held in the winter months or coming into spring when everyone starts thinking of sailing again. It is a trade, swap or sale kind of day. Cruisers even bring out their crafts and preserves they have been working on over the winter to sell. Our kids made and sold jewelery. Lots of fun.

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)?
Morocco, specifically Rabat. The city has just opened up to cruisers and was a amazing place to visit. The authorities were friendly the facilities great. We were worried about visiting with children, but we need not have been. The colorful spectacle and smell of the markets attacked the senses. The architecture is spectacular.  It is a wonderful base to leave the boat to travel inland.

What do you think is a common cruising myth?
There are so many! People often ask or presume you have to deal with big seas. While that may happen, if you sail with the seasons and don't have to rush, you quite possibly won't see any. We certainly didn't.

How do you recommend securing your vessel while going ashore? And your dinghy?
For the vessel the most you can do is close and lock hatches and lock the main entrance.We also would sometimes turn off the engine isolation switch and take personal items off the deck i.e. fishing rods, etc. There are more options of course but if someone is serious about gaining entry, they generally will. I would add we had no problem what so ever.

The dingy and outboard is a different matter. Get the heaviest chain/cable and padlocks you can. Lock the outboard, fuel and dingy ALWAYS! When traveling in Sicily we had a attempt to steal our dingy but they couldn't get through our heavy duty locks.

How has cruising affected your personal relationships?
Strengthened them. Prior to leaving we ran a business that required allot of commuting, so to then go to a 24/7 existence was a big change. You see the best and worst of someone living so close. You learn not to sweat the small stuff and appreciate your partners and children's special skills. You depend on one another and the buck stops with you.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time?
Shane loves the sailing and the cruising to travel, I love the destination but over time have come to enjoy cruising to travel.

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 cruising given to you and your family?

Cruising has given us the ability to spend time together as a family and to really get to know each other again. It has enabled us to 'linger a little longer' while traveling as we did not have constraints of time or accommodation costs. It has allowed us to meet some amazing people in amazing locations. Cruising together has made us truly appreciate what we have.

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10 Questions for Spetakkel

Kjell O. Stave cruised through the Caribbean and South Pacific with Daryl from 2005-2008 aboard Spetakkel, an Ericson 29 built in 1973 and hailing from Farsund, Norway. You can read more on his website or send him an email (kjell72@gmail.com). Kjell says: I started out cruising with 14 hours experience in a 24 footer, my crew and friend had no experience at all. This was not a perfect scenario but with a lot of help and humble attitude towards tips/help from the fellow cruisers this was not really a problem.


Share a piece of cruising etiquette
Try to bring your own drink (sometimes food as well) when going to someone else’s boat for dinner. Most cruisers are on a budget.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?
The cruising culture is constantly evolving but the constant seems to be that people are always helpful and willing to help/share experiences and personal time. It is a lot harder for find something negative that is constant about the community, I really can’t think of anything right now

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising?
I guess most of the people I met never really stopped cruising they simply took a break to work on refilling the cruising kitty or went home to reproduce themselves.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
Buy a new engine!, I had a great atomic 4 gasoline engine and although it was quite easy to fix, it broke down way to many times to be funny. It also used way too much gasoline. I don’t have experience with diesel engines but if you are going to cruise for 3 or more years I would have a good look at the engine and see if a new one (maybe electric?) would pay itself over the years in consumption or maintenance/stress.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?
I think I would have to say the sails (except the engine of course) because I did not experience much else breaking more than once. At the same note I would like to brag of the Monitor self steering, it more or less worked perfectly for over 10.000 Nm.

What have been the most affordable area to cruise and the most expensive? What was affordable or expensive about each area?
At anchor, underway somewhere or wherever you are that is not in a marina will always be the cheapest but for provisioning Panama, Colombia or Ecuador will be your best bet in the Caribbean/Pacific. In the Pacific the Society Islands and Tahiti can be expensive but do stock up because this is that last stop where there is a choice until you reach Vanuatu. An interesting thing about French Polynesia is that if you stick to the staple French things like baguettes, cheese and wine you can live quite reasonable as they are the cheap items there.

Over the years, how much time do you think you spend at anchor, at marinas, sailing and motoring?
Anchor 80%, Marinas 3%, Sailing 15%, Motoring 2%

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)?
The Galapagos. It is hard to get permission etc to stay in the Galapagos islands for a long time but one month is not a long time there (they only give you ten days), stay as long as you can. It might be expensive to keep bribing the officials to be able to stay but it is worth it. If it get’s a bit dodgy try sailing to another port/island and feel out the new port captain (maybe say you have engine problems?).

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?
For me it is all about how much $$ I have but ideally I would have a closet for wet clothes immediately inside, new engine, hard dodger, wind vane or oversized autopilot, windlass that works, lots of chain, two solar panels and place to store 12 months of supplies when I find a cheap place to make provisioning.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?
Where on the internet can you find a good list (easy to read not just a list) of the cruising guides that are available? I would not know.

Kjell was kind enough to answer two follow-up questions I posed to him:

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

I think I would have to say a water maker, I did just fine with my small tanks but in many places it was a pain to get water and some places almost impossible to find good tasting water. The water maker would also make my partner very happy as we would be able to take more and longer showers, wash clothes and maybe even the boat with the knowledge that we don't have to haul the water we use from a town supply somewhere. A water maker would also enable me to stay in places like the San Blas or other really great but remote places for longer periods of time.

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

It is more easy to say what I had than what I did not have. I had 4 gps's (two in the end), a bad engine, wind vane, depth sounder, two burner cook top, dingy with engine and all the necessary safety gear.

My philosophy was that I should leave with what I had and then buy along the way if I found that I really needed something. I had some money. My dilemma was not unlike a lot out there that once you have set sail and left your job behind the kitty will decide how long/far you can go. If I had spent 1000 dollars on a small radar I would have a radar but I would have had to go back home and work one month earlier than planned.

In the end I ended up purchasing nothing except a gas cook top instead of the alcohol one. I am an electrician and love all the new and old gadgets but I could never justify losing precious time from my sailing adventure for a gadget.

If I cast off and leave for distant shores again I would probably end up doing the same again, go simple and maybe you can go now!

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10 Questions for Do It

Angus & Ruth Ross-Thomson have been cruising aboard ‘Do It…’ since April 2005. Do It is a steel cutter rigged monohull, a Subrero Petit Prince, 12.5 metres (41ft), hailing from Portsmouth, UK. They have completd three quarters of a circumnavigation via the milk run (Europe – Caribbean – Panama – Pacific Islands – NZ/Australia) and are currently in Indonesia heading for Malaysia and Thailand. You can read more about them, warts and all, on their website.

What is the most important attribute for successful cruising?
Angus: For the crew, a team who has confidence and pride in each other, for the boat, a vessel in which the crew has confidence and pride.

Ruth: The ability to slow down.

Most cruisers have come from the world of work, where time pressures dominate. When cruising, the only schedule which must be followed is the change of the seasons – avoiding the cyclones/hurricanes. There is no need to dash between anchorages at full speed. If the wind eases, try sailing slowly. It is permissible to progress at less than 5k. It isn’t a race.

The clearance procedures on many islands are tortuous, long-winded, and may not appear completely relevant to sailing yachts. However, getting stressed and abusive to officials just ruins everyone’s day. Sit back. Relax. OK, the clearance process might take all day – so what?

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why?
Angus: The Aries wind vane.  It has reliably and uncomplainingly steered the boat for tens of thousands of miles at apparent wind speeds down to 3-4 kts with nothing more than the odd squirt of WD40, the odd new bush and some new control lines.

Ruth: Looking at my list of three pieces of gear, I realise they all provide us with an increased independence.

Sailrite sewing machine - These machines have a well-deserved reputation, being able to stitch through a dozen layers of acrylic canvas or sailcloth. The Sailrite has helped us save money by avoiding the dockside sail makers (some of whom are excellent, others are decidedly less so), however where it really scores is on passage and in remote islands where there is no sail maker. On several occasions the machine has been brought on deck to fix splits or tears. Without the Sailrite, we’d have been faced with long, long periods of hand sewing.

Aries wind vane - The Aries windvane is our stalwart third crew member, he never complains about steering 24 hours a day, requires no food (or electricity), and only asks for the occasional new retaining pin. The Aries has even taught us how to trim our sails better.

Pactor modem - The Pactor modem, linking our SSB and laptop, has enabled us to keep in touch with friends and family even when we are mid ocean. Of course it also enables us to access the info necessary for the business of sailing – weather forecasts.

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true?
Angus:  “To cruise, it is essential that you have...”.  Before we set off. we kept reading about all sort of things that were essential, watermakers, generators, RIBs, huge outboards, biminis, electronic chart plotters, various hull types, various rigs.  The most important things would appear to be a reliable boat, a good crew and a sense of fun and adventure.

Ruth: The nastiest shock at the end of the Pacific Ocean crossing was discovering that prices in New Zealand and Australia were certainly not similar to those in Pamama – as one leading cruising guide had indicated.

When have you felt most in danger and what was the source?
Angus:  Being rammed while we were at anchor by a short sighted 300 tonne tourist cruise vessel in Puerto Ayora harbour, Galapagos.  Just before impact my main fear was that the hull would be stove in and we would loose the rig as the impact point was around amidships by the upper stays. I was wondering how in heck we were going to fix the damage out here in the middle of the Pacific.  Fortunately being a steel boat, she took the impact in her stride, keeled over 40 degrees and bounced back with no damage other than bent stanchions and broken guard wires.  I still don’t understand why the rig was not damaged.  The ship’s Captain was most apologetic and offered to pay for the damage.  We were on our way 5 days later.

Ruth: During a passage from Tonga to New Zealand, we found ourselves in the path of a tightening depression, along with several other yachts. The radio scheds were alive with news from vessels which had already started to feel the effects of the increasing winds, with over 60k being reported. The anticipation of “violent storm” force winds left me terrified, despite assurances from my husband that the synoptic charts just didn’t support such conditions.

As the system passed, the winds never exceeded 35k. I have learnt that whilst the radio can be used to provide support and assistance, it also encourages the predilection of many cruisers to spread bad news.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?
Angus:  For the two of us, 3 hours on, 3 hours off, 24 hours a day.  The changeover timings (0100, 0400, 0700, 1000, etc) are based on my wife being on watch during the BBC radio soap opera “The Archers” so she could listen in when we were in the UK.  We haven’t seen the need to change the timings since.

Ruth: We always use a 3 on, 3 off watch system, with my watches starting at 0700, 1300, 1900 and the dreaded 0100. We find this works well for providing a shared time for lunch and supper.

What are your impressions of the cruising community?
Angus:  Generally, a varied, community spirited, wonderful people.  There are the odd exceptions but they are a small minority.

Ruth:  The cruising community is as diverse as those individuals who make it up. There are those who are happy spending decades exploring one area, and those set on circumnavigating within two years, there are those who hop from one full service marina to another, and those who spend years at anchor. There is no “right” way to cruise.

We find that as the density of yachts in an area increases, the camaraderie decreases. I guess this reflects the difference between village and city living.

In general, we find the cruising community to be extremely supportive. Need a widget? Need advice? A call on the VHF will usually bring an answer.

Finish this sentence. "Generally when I am provisioning..."
Angus:  “…we try to have plenty of treats.”

Ruth: “… I am happy”

Firstly there is the monster shopping trip required to fill the lockers before departing on a long passage, working through the six page list of stores, filling multiple supermarket trolleys, and then trying to figure out how to get everything out to the boat.

Then there’s the first trip to the supermarket in a new country. Not looking for what you can buy at home, but seeking out the weird and unknown. Why not buy a can of “Sweat” instead of “Coke”? It may turn out to be your new favourite drink.

Finally there are the produce markets, where a little of the local language goes a long way with the village ladies. OK the produce may not look as shiny and uniformly shaped as it does in supermarkets, but boy does it taste good.

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)?
Angus:  The south coast of Cuba.  Wonderful friendly people, music, dance, cars, buildings and officials (if you treat them with respect).  The Government tourist industry (including the compulsory marinas sadly) is overpriced and of poor quality, you just need to use some imagination to keep away from the official system

Ruth: Top of the list must be Cuba. Haven’t you heard about the officials and the paperwork???

Yes, there were many forms to fill in, but all officials came to our boat with smiles, and all brought an assistant to fill in the paperwork. An afternoon for chat and formalities was rewarded with a complimentary Cuba Libre (rum & coke) from the marina. 
The music, people & culture of Cuba is unique, and certainly worth the effort of half a day of paperwork.


Of the changes, choices and compromises you had to make along the way, which were you happiest and most satisfied about, which do you wish you had chosen otherwise and why?
Angus:  We were happiest about keeping the boat simple and not buying all the latest gizmos and toys.  The one mistake was the fitting of a PSS carbon face seal propellor shaft seal.  We could never get it to seal properly and removed after three months to fit a Volvo shaft seal which has performed faultlessly for 5 years since.

Ruth: Change/choice/compromise happiest with? The choice of yacht for extended cruising is the ultimate compromise. We opted for a steel yacht, thereby sacrificing speed for security. It would be nice to cruise at 7k in a light breeze, however when hitting semi-submerged logs at speed, in the dark, the security of steel is unbeatable. We have met a steel yacht which had spent weeks grinding on a remote reef, awaiting a rescue tow. The boat didn’t look pretty after the experience, but it was afloat and the crew were safe.

Change/choice/compromise wish chosen otherwise? We elected to visit Australia for a season to undertake some extensive metal repair work. We didn’t do sufficient research, and discovered that prices, regulations and weather were all against us. A better decision would have been to continue on to Malaysia or Thailand and undertake the work there.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?  
Angus:  “What is your top tip?”.  Keep the boat simple and inexpensive and go as soon as possible.  A disadvantage of this approach is that the endless cruiser conversations about how to fix/get spares for the generator/watermaker/chartplotter, air conditioning, etc will be very dull and of no interest.

Ruth: “How have you made the transition back to “normal” life?”  In 2-3 years time, we will be returning to the UK and will need to make the transition back to jobs, houses, and two-week summer holidays. Much is written about how to prepare for setting off, little about how to return. I have no answer to this question – but would love to know how others have coped with the transition.

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10 Questions For Eventide

Phil and Pat cruise aboard Eventide, a Custom 50 foot unpainted aluminum motor vessel hailing from Kingston, WA, USA. Phil has cruised since 1969, over 80,000 miles under power and under sail including Alaska to La Paz Mexico, Maine to Florida, Windward Islands from Virgins to Grenada, Venezuela, Panama, Galapagos, Marquesas, Societies, and Hawaii. He can be reached by email (swigard@centurytel.net).

How did you (or did you) gain offshore experience prior to leaving?
I acquired experience very gradually, sailing San Francisco Bay, the Delta, and then short trips up and down the coast to Drakes Bay and Monterey.  Then I took a three month trip from San Francisco to Mexico to be sure that this was for us.  It was, and so I moved aboard and over the next 40 years, did more and more.

When I talk to people who have never been offshore and they say they are going to circumnavigate, I tend to think that they never will.  Crossing oceans is very, very different than any inland or coastal cruising from port to port.  There are just too many stories of people who have set off from the West Coast to Hawaii, get there, and sell their boat vowing never to go to sea again.  It is a financial and personal tragedy.

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you?
Dealing with officialdom in all the foreign ports – clearing was almost always a hassle, and I did not find it fun.  I guess this is partly an attitude problem, but I understand that it has not gotten any better.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
That it is a good idea to leave the boat somewhere for a few months each year if you are planning to be gone for a very long time.  I didn’t do this, and after 4 years out of the country, we were pretty well burned out when I got back to Seattle.  Today there are more places that you can safely leave your boat and go do something else for a couple of months.  If I had done that, I feel sure that I would have been good for another 4 years.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?
What a good question.  I think that the major thing I have learned after almost 50 years of cruising is that there is no perfect boat.  And the less experience you have, the more sure you are that only certain boats and rigging details will do.  Actually lots of very different boats will do.

Probably the other thing that I think I knew from the beginning is that “bigger is not better”, especially as applied to sailboats.  And that a crew of one is not enough for crossing oceans (I believe in a constant watch and am of the controversial opinion that single handing is by definition unseamanlike) – a crew of two is perfect – and any more than two is too many.  Conflicts at sea become exaggerated, and I do not remember any boat that that I met that cruised for years at a time with more than two with the possible exception of a couple with kids.  If there is any doubt about this point, there won’t be if you hung around a port like Saint Thomas and talked to crews of more than two after an ocean passage.  It is like a real life soap opera.

So you want a boat comfortably handled by two – which, again controversially, means no bigger than around 42 feet.  Smaller is ok, mine was a 35 foot cutter, but the amount of food, clothes, spare parts, and so on is the same for any size boat – you get too small and storage becomes a major issue.

Also, as a “Lin and Larry Pardey” fan, the simpler the better.  The mantra should be “stuff breaks, and if you do not have it aboard, it won’t break.”

And I have to say that I hate bowsprits – not only are they a weak point in the rigging, but working on them in serious conditions is not for the faint hearted.  I am among the faint hearted.  So I like an all inboard rig – preferably a cutter for offshore.

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?
This is an easy question – it all breaks! In the tropics, I think that critical parts just dissolve. But a list of the most common gear failures most seem to have starts with autopilots, refrigerators, and watermakers.  We cleverly solved part of this problem by not having refrigerators or watermakers.  Tanks, after all, seldom break.  However, had four autopilots (three spares) plus a Aires Windvane.  After four years in the tropics, all four failed on the way to Hawaii from Tahiti.  Only the windvane was left.

Autopilots, I think, come under the heading of essential equipment.  So buy the best, and buy two of them.  Keep one in a box for spares.  You will need them.

Which spares do you wish you had more of? Less of?
I carried a huge amount of spares.  This adds weight, cost, and takes space.  I never had a major failure that I could not fix.  I would not carry less – and if I had room and thought of more, I would carry them too.  We even had a EMT quality medical kit – which we ended up needing by the way.  Maybe I would just tow a spare identical boat and have all the spare parts.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time?
For me, at first it was sailing first and travel a far second.  There is nothing like a good day at sea with the wind abaft the beam, reasonable wind speed and mild seas.  And no land in sight or expected for weeks.  Of course, it is far from always like that.  At this stage of my life, where we cruise from Seattle to Alaska in a powerboat, there is no sailing.  But I think I would rate our underway time as 30% of the experience, and the travel and meeting people 70%.  There is no more beautiful place in the world, I think, to cruise than the Pacific Northwest.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?
I guess that depends on how you define "cruising" - If you mean serious offshore cruising, power or sail, then I cannot think of any one general characteristic of the people who cross oceans that I do not like.  Of course, this group comprises all kinds of people, ages, boats, etc.  It is inevitable that some of these people may have less than appealing personalities individually, but, as a "culture", as a group of people focused and driven, and even fanatic enough to do something as difficult as crossing oceans, I find all of them fascinating.  If you cross an ocean on a small boat, there has to be a lot to admire in the crew.

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)?
Yes, I think I would say that Maine, although rated very high, was still underrated – except for all the lobster Pot buoys.  They are a nightmare!  I thought the weather, scenery, ports, people, accents, and culture along the coast were unbeatable!

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?
I cannot think of one – and if I do, I will let you know.  In the meantime, I have to go change the oil on Eventide.

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