10 Questions for Georgia

Paul Lever and Chris Hunter have been cruising since 2010 aboard Georgia, an Outbound 44 hailing from Seattle, WA, USA.

They left the Seattle area and traveled down the west coast of the US, Mexico and Central America to Panama. After transiting the Panama Canal and visiting the San Blas Islands, then went to Florida and up the ICW of the US to the Chesapeake and then on to the Canadian Maritimes. They then went to the Bahamas and back up the East Coast of the US. Then they traversed the eastern Caribbean, ending in Bonaire and Curacao. They left the ABCs and went back through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Most recently they have transited the S Pacific and spent last cyclone season in New Zealand. They have just completed the passage out of NZ and are currently in Fiji.

You can learn more about their cruise on their blog.

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

The short answer is so that I could stay married:) I'm a big fan of taking the boat you have to cruise in. We had a nice J/37 that was easy to handle offshore, fast and reasonably comfortable. After a couple of years of cruising we decided we were going to be out for a long time and we wanted some more creature comforts, not the least of which a larger galley. The Outbound is a really well thought out offshore vessel with a decent turn of speed. Con is having more money tied up in a boat-- a depreciating investment.

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

The Atlantic side is so much more crowded than the areas we've traveled in Pacific. The Pacific islands and island people are very interesting and generally extremely friendly. The distances you have to travel are much greater in the Pacific, but the coral reefs make it all worthwhile. On the Atlantic side, outside the US, you tend to see boats that are redoing their passages - like in this is the 5th time we've done XYZ. On the Pacific passages it is often the first time for everyone, making it easier to develop a cruising community.

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

Every cruiser needs to work out what cruising style is best for them. Are they commuter cruisers who spend 6 months on the boat and 6 months back home? Do they get to an ex-pat hangout and just want to enjoy the ease of being in the tropics and forget sailing? Do they want to get in as many stops, anchorages and ports as is possible, collecting all the t-shirts on the way? Is making distance and passages what it is all about? Are short jaunts from home the way to go?

I think we started out moving too quickly and trying to make distance. Our cruising style has worked into making significant jumps to get to a cruising ground and spending more time in one area rather than trying to see it all.

What is the most important attribute for successful cruising?

Its all in the attitude. The attitude you have with your partner. The attitude you have toward officials. The attitude toward locals. The attitude and respect you have for the weather. And the attitude to working through all of the repeated maintenance items and jobs of daily living that are never ending on boat. If you are going to let these items get you down, then cruising is just not for you.

I am pretty good at fixing things quickly on the boat. I'm even OK with doing the same job over again. I do tend to get a bit down when its the third time on the same 'fix'.

Share a piece of cruising etiquette 

That's just too easy a question. Use a long painter when you tie up your dinghy at a dock and leave the outboard down. A far more difficult one to answer would be proper anchoring etiquette. As far as I can tell, that totally depends on what your nationality is.

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

We left with one of those large, Conestoga Wagon covers for the boom. Although it's important to have shade in the tropics, that cover was too much effort to put up, take down, store and deal with when the winds got crazy.

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

I've done the early retirement thing a few times and took an Alberg 35 from Annapolis to Venezuela in my younger days. Chris and I have done the Inside Passage to Alaska and back down the outside. Also, while we were waiting to get our finances in order and sell a house we helped friends bring their Cal 40 down the Pacific coast from Washington to San Francisco.

Everyone who plans on taking up long distance cruising should take the opportunities available to crew on a few offshore passages. You'll learn a ton and be much better at setting your own expectations.

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

The first thing that pops into my mind is not killing or being killed by my spouse while living in such a close 24/7 environment. The second is Gin and Tonics.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

Cruisers that start the blame game and yelling when an anchoring situation occurs. Its amazing how a tiny bit of courtesy and cooperation can make what looks like a bad situation calm down and work out for everyone. Being told that I dragged upwind with a string of F-bombs at 3am just doesn't help the situation get better.

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

How long do you plan to cruise?

We left with an open time frame. After a couple of years it was clear that we were going for the long run. Its now been 7 years and we are half way around the world having covered about 33,000 miles (more than enough to make it all the way around). We still take it one year or one season at a time. Its important to us to have the boat out of the Cyclone and Hurricane belts during the season as we are not one to tempt Mother Nature. We started out as full time cruisers, but now try to spend a few months each year back in Washington with our new, above average granddaughter. We'll keep going as long as its still an adventure and our health holds out.

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10 Questions for Rocket Science

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

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

You can learn more about their cruise on their website.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

Probably the head needs attention most often.

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

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

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

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10 Questions for 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 Brilliant

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

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

You can learn more about their voyage on their blog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do you think is a common cruising myth?

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

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

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

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

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

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

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

What piece of gear seems to break the most often?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

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

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

What is your favorite aspect of Cruising?

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

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

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