On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:36:18 +0000, Larry wrote:

Vic Smith wrote in
:

Yep, and if the cruise ship crew would let you lend a hand in fixing
things in exotic places, you'd have it all.



If I went on a cruise, would I HAVE to fix their electronics and
electrical problems....like I do cruising on sailboats?...(c;

If you watch the stories from anyone, not just Rosalie, notice how most
of the stories involve the marina, boat maintenance, navigation, etc.
with casual mention of restaurants/sightseeing/etc., which is the reality
of cruising on a boat....that docks.

No matter where you're going, the "view" from the boat is either a ditch
full of bouys in the middle of a non-descript swamp, a river with
mountains and cows on both sides and the occasional town, or the ocean
which never varies the view until something just awful happens in a
storm. After you seen a few hundred hours of these places, I get awfully
bored of them.

I've never tried living like a hermit-on-the-hook, trapsing back and
forth to land begging for a little dockspace to leave a dink, which most
marinas don't want, so you can do a little sightseeing. That's gotta be
just awful boring after day 3. There's only so many times I could
replace toilet parts to keep me occupied.

I always wonder about someone whos boat is packed with books. Books are
an escape from your natural surroundings, traveling to far off exotic
places where terrible things usually happen, if the author wants to stay
in business. It's ESCAPE. Is the guy with all the books trying to
escape the sheer boredom of being a hermit on a boat so much? I've
sailed with guys like that. They open their book and might as well be
walking across Mars, having escaped the boat we were sailing.

This kept me from buying my own boat. I like the occasional sail,
followed by long periods away from boats, entirely, that recharges the
thrill of fighting the sea. I'd hate it if I actually had to own one,
with all the expense and work. I'd hate it much worse if I were forced
to live on one, which is a LOT of really hard work, just hauling life up
and down the docks. I love to sail to X and back. But, when I get back
and have cleaned up the mess, I'm ready to abandon boating for a year,
the thrill being gone, the boredom having set in.

Why people spend half a year going to live in a ditch in Florida is even
a greater mystery. There's nothing in Florida to see from a boat unless
you love Real Estate!

First off, to allay any thought that I don't respect the people here
and what they do, I'll say that's not so.
I've learned here and in cruiser logs lots of useful info on boats and
places.
The most important thing I've learned is I'm not cut out to be a
cruiser, for many of the reason you've given.
Maybe I'm just too damned lazy, but it sure seems like too much work.
Really fun to read about though (-:
Of course actually doing it could change my mind, so I never say
never.

--Vic