On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:33:10 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

This is NOT sailing.
Get a trawler if that's your modus operandi.

I agree with you on this, and many other points you've mentioned.
But you know what they say about different strokes.
Though cruisers come in all flavors, many seem to rely on mechanical
systems for propulsion and refrigeration. Though there's nothing
wrong with going in comfort and keeping a schedule, there's a price
to be paid, and balanced.
Bottom line is motoring is motoring, and running reefers is running
reefers.
There are trawlers that suit these needs better and more economically
that sailboats, because they have been designed with mechanical
systems in mind. They are slow too, and pretty expensive.
Not that well designed and selected mechanical systems aren't
practical for sailboats, but they compromise the boat's intended
purpose (sailing) when they get too elaborate, and sorely test the
mechanical competence of many owners.
I suspect though that many cruisers have no choice but to make those
compromises in order to cruise, and it is more the "romance" of
socializing over mai tais in marinas and harbor raftups in "exotic"
locations than the "romance" of sailing that sustains them.
There are also many cruisers who do sail whenever possible, forego ice
and find secluded harbors in which to anchor, but I get the distinct
impression they are the minority. But maybe they just don't have
internet access.
Note I'm making no judgments here about any particular cruiser here,
or cruising style, and respect everyone's decision to do what suits
them best.
I've read many cruising journals, and am thankful for them, because
they clearly show me I do not want to cruise outside the close
confines of the U.S. coast. Of course that's not to say the
international cruisers aren't having the times of their lives.
Having traveled when younger, and having always been a reader,
I am always amazed when cruisers ride a bus with the locals and
squawking chickens in Haiti or some other godforsaken country, solely
to "identify with the people."
What's that all about? Maybe my amazement at that means
I've seen it before - even if in the mind's eye only - or that I'm
just getting old.
Customs, harbormasters, bribery, getting mechanical parts in the mail,
and other bureaucratic dealings that cruisers engage in seem almost
Orwellian to me, and run counter to my "romantic" notion of sailing,
which entails no more than a few weeks away from home port at a time,
mainly because of my distaste for bureaucracy.
Anyway, just some random thoughts, to be discarded at will.

--Vic