A Cruising Mindset
As a society, we're incredibly goal oriented and that's not a bad thing – for society. It can be a really crappy thing for you however, if what you want to do in life doesn't fit with what society's goals are. For many of us, our presumed goal is to get south to warm sunshine, sandy beaches and palm trees.
So most cruisers race south, rushing past all manner of interesting places, regarding the trip south as a purgatory to be endured before entering the gates of paradise to the south. If you're planning on going south, my first piece of advice to you is this: STOP! SLOW DOWN!
Take it easy. You don't have to be anyplace. I know that's hard to fathom after so many years of having to be someplace, to do something, to be busy, always and eternally busy. Our previous lives have not conditioned us for what we are now doing.
You're cruising. Get into the mindset. Don't have a schedule, have plans. Or as one cruiser I know says: "Don't have plans, just have 'intentions'."
Most importantly, learn to enjoy every day, every minute, every single second. Sure, your goal is to get south, but there are many many worthwhile stops along the way to achieving that goal, and you want to experience as many as you can.
Let's say you're leaving from your usual cruising grounds. How many harbours, how many anchorages, are in your area that you have always wanted to explore? One? Two? Several dozen?
I'd bet it's a lot closer to several dozen, isn't it? So start your trip south early enough to drop your hook in these places, and start your adventure off right, learning and exploring new places. Might as well start early and be well practiced before you get too far south!
Actually, there are valid as opposed to metaphysical reasons to do this as well. Most of us cruise to the same old spots we've been stopping at for years. Stopping in at new places, you'll get practice docking and anchoring in new situations. That will help you develop skills you'll need as you get further south and into less 'civilized' cruising areas.
SImple observation is one of those skills. Because you're someplace new, you'll be paying far closer attention to the docks and anchorages you encounter and be actively thinking of how to successfully get on that dock, or anchored in the right spot. You'll start thinking anew of all those skills you learned years ago that have become rusty from being used in the same places and always in the same old way.
Nothing is the same anymore, or, to paraphrase what Dorothy said to Toto: "We're not in Kansas anymore…'
Another advantage to starting 'cruising', as opposed to 'traveling', early, is that you subject your boat (and yourself) to the stresses of cruising. Should your boat have issues you haven't discovered – mechanical, rigging, setup and so forth – that cause issues while cruising in new places, you'll discover the problems close enough to home to easily and comfortably deal with them. Should there be a piece of equipment you find yourself in need of, its necessity will become apparent, and be easily resolved while you're still close to home.
I can tell you, speaking from experience, that dealing with breakdowns and other issues while far from home can be – no, make that is – very challenging, if not maddeningly frustrating.
One of the biggest mistakes new cruisers make, and I'm speaking to the guys here, is rushing. It's a guy thing – gotta get there. The cure?Take one day every week to ten days and pull into a marina.
There are lots of valid reasons to do so: boat maintenance, laundry, bad weather and so on. But the reason I advise doing this is to give your spouse a break. Odds are, this trip is in fulfillment of the man's dreams and the better half is only going along because of that ring on her finger.
There's a saying in the cruising community, you might have heard it: If the admiral isn't happy, nobody's happy. So make sure this trip fulfills some of the goals of your partner.
What? You have no idea what she wants out of this trip? Or, worse yet, you think that she wants exactly what you want? Give your head a shake. In case you haven't noticed, women are different.
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