Pros & cons of cruising

I always write about the good stuff, today I’ll write about some of the cons of cruising.

I was looking at this boat at anchor the other night and thinking about the film, it occupies much of my thoughts these days.

What a magic and beautiful thing it is to be so free to sail the world without a care. Well that’s what many people think at least. It is such a beautiful thing to be free to sail the world, however it demands personal responsibility, especially if you do it like I do, with very little money. 

Personal responsibility is something I notice less and less people taking. Freedom can only be achieved by taking full responsibility for our lives.

How is it we can slip in a supermarket parking lot, or get in an “accident” and think we are entitled to “financial compensation”? Why is it we look to others to take responsibility for our own possessions & actions (insurance)? Why do we feel the need to point fingers in blame for an accident, accidents happen. It’s not so much like that in Latin America, and it’s not like that at all in Kuna Yala.

Do we really want to walk through life risk free, where is the fun in that? No wonder so many people are afraid to cut the dock lines, the matrix (fear) has control of you!

I guess this is a “normal” concept like credit. And as time passes it just becomes “normal” to pay, pay, pay (work, work, work) our lives away. I get a chuckle when I think back of the California woman who spilled hot coffee on her lap and burned her junk. She sued McDonalds for a million dollars, and won (Psychological trauma in association to her genital area). This was the end of getting a hot cup of coffee at McDonalds, forever. BTW, I loathe McDonalds, and to this day the coffee is still lukewarm and nasty, internationally.

Insurance and credit are at the heart of the matrix and a philosophy that keeps us working and afraid. Credit inflates mortgages, and insurance makes healthcare barely affordable. How do we navigate our way away from these “normal” concepts if we want to? The only thing I can think of is to sail away.

I remember having a conversation with a backpacker a while back and he told me one of the big bummers about backpacking is you are chained to your backpack. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving it in hostels and he needed to bring it to breakfast, the movies, out to a bar at night, everywhere. To an extent, the same can be said for a sailboat.

My life and all my possessions dangle at the end of a hook, and no I don’t have insurance. When the wind blows hard I man anchor watch, when its dangerous to enter a harbor I go to sea no matter how tired I am. If I want to go somewhere and don’t have someone to watch the boat, regrettably I stay behind. If I drag and hit someone’s boat I’ll fix it. If you want to bicker about whether or not my paint job matches your shiny paint job I’m sorry, work and carry insurance for that luxury. I got hit hard last year by a guy I asked to move a number of times. He damaged my paint and bent a few stanchions, I asked for nothing and just fixed them.

There are risks associated with cruising and if you are thinking about it you should consider this. When you sail out of American waters/marina your boat turns into a cruising boat. Paint isn’t so important, anchors are.

I’ve been thinking about this because I recently wanted to go to Miami with Carla at the end of August. Where do I put Splendid? My friends in Linton won’t be there to watch her and I don’t feel comfortable leaving her unattended at anchor. Marinas are just too expensive, nor do they provide liability. A few years back a friend of mine’s boat was totaled in a local marina, they didn’t pay, however he did have insurance that replaced his boat with a much bigger, and more expensive one.

I remember getting in a debate with the Fort Myers harbor master. He was trying to force me off the anchor and onto a mooring that I had to pay for. After reading the mooring contract I laughed at him as it specifically stated that in no way would they be held responsible for any liability or damages due to a faulty mooring. Funny how people want money for nothing? “I trust my anchor, far more than I trust your mooring”!

I cancelled my insurance on Namaste when my insurance company wanted me to return to Florida for hurricane season as opposed to sailing to Colombia. “But there are no hurricanes in Colombia”? Needless to say I canceled my insurance and went to Colombia. I just don’t get it?

I guess my point is, if you’re thinking to go cruising, think about the down side. Unless you have insurance you will be connected to your boat, and if you do have insurance, you will have to work/pay for it. It’s kind of a double edged sword. Boats do drag, and a friend may unwillingly hit you in the night, this is just the way it is. Be prepared for it and protect your boat.

Scottish friends of mine just saved a boat from sinking while the owner was away. They asked the American couple that was anchored next to them if they knew anything about this and they said “Yeah, the boat’s been sinking for a few weeks”. “Did you think to tell anyone”? “It’s not my responsibility”. My friends spent the day bailing and pumping water, I suppose the other boat was afraid of being liable in some way and decided to do nothing. Years ago I had to kick my way into a boat smashing the campaign-way slats as it was dragging towards a reef in a blow. The German owner thanked me repeatedly for saving his home, I suppose he could have sued me? Food for thought?

Aside from that I’m really into shooting time-lapse HD video, sooooo beautiful. I’ve always been a fan of time-lapse and its fun to be making it now. I’ve cut together much of my opening and I’m really excited about “The Minimalist Sailor”. I’m getting some amazing footage with the T3i. I still want to get a rail system to control focus better, and a fast 50mm lens, but all in all I have an awesome floating production facility.

Carla’s Brother has an amphibious RC plane that can hold a HD flip video camera. I saw some awesome HD youtubes where people are getting professional-looking aerial video with a $400 RC plane. If you’re a video junkie like I am search youtube and you’ll find tons of stuff. I saw one video where the guy had LCD goggles on and was flying his RC plane from the plane’s POV (point of view), IE the plane was transmitting video back to him, fun stuff, eh?

Yesterday was a bad day on the reef for me. I chased a snapper into a hole just at the breaking point of the waves. I took a long shot into the hole and got him The spear was lodged into the rock and I reached down the shaft of the spear and was trying to dislodge it for about 5 minutes. I was being thrown around the surf onto the rock like a rag doll. I wanted to retrieve my spear and put my kill out of misery as we were both getting torn up.

At one point I nearly broke my arm as it was deep in the hole and a large roller tossed me onto the rock. I must say I was relieved to get out of that situation with my spear and prey. The smart thing would have been to cut the spear away and forget about the dying fish and spear. I don’t always do the smart thing

Anyway my coffee cup is empty and I need to get to the chore of making breakfast and starting the day.

It’s a good day to be alive!

Peace, Love, and Coconuts.

– alex

Author: Alex

I'm just a sailor bum ;) View all posts by Alex