"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:08:05 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I had a sense of having
accomplished something. You don't sit in a chair reading a book or
snoozing. You are navigating, weather watching, planning, checking the
boat
mechanically, decision making and learning something.

That's all true, plus one of the more memorable quotes from "the
Perfect Storm" (the book): "No one ever gets tired of watching the
water".

Sounds like you're about ready for another ICW cruise.


Missing one important item at the moment ..... namely a boat.



International cruising has yet another planning dimension that I'd
never fully appreciated until this trip. The Bahamas are easy by
comparison: You check in at the first port of entry, pay your $300,
get your cruising permit, and then you can come and go as you please
for up to 6 months, anywhere in the Bahamas.

Down in the Caribbean almost every island, or group of islands, is a
different country. You not only have to check in with customs,
immigration and the Port Authority, known as "clearing in", but you
also have to "clear out" out before you leave. If you don't clear
out, then you can't check in to the next country because they will ask
for your "out clearance" documents. It's a bit of a pain to those of
us who are used to coming and going as we please but the rules are
fairly easy to follow once you understand them. It does take some
planning however.

Another challenge is weather forecasting and planning. There are no
weather channels on the VHF radio once you leave Puerto Rico and the
US Virgin Islands. Local radio and television stations are few and
far between, and usually in a language other than English. That
leaves the internet, which has some really good weather resources when
a connection is available, and various broadcast services on high
frequency single side band radio (HF SSB). The HF SSB services
require some specialized equipment and a certain amount of skill to
receive and interpret the broadcasts. With the right equipment and/or
computer software you can actually receive various weather charts and
maps by fax 4 times a day. There are also various cruiser nets on
both VHF and SSB where weather information is exchanged, and some
people subscribe to private weather services such as the well known
Chris Parker. Chris communicates with his clients by SSB radio, sat
phone, or cell phone where it is available.


That's great stuff. Way out of my league, but I can completely understand
the challenge.

Even in the domestic voyage only trips like the ones I made, piloting a
larger vessel
in and to new destinations is a bit of a challenge and rewarding,
especially when you
are in new locations that are new and you are not familiar with.

I liked the whole process, from getting up early in the morning, making
coffee while getting the
weather forecast, charting the day's course, programming the plotter,
determining
alternate ports, checking provisions, etc. Getting underway, and enjoying
the views on the
ICW if traveling "inside" or the beautiful expanse of the ocean if cruising
"outside", particularly
on those nice sunny days with nothing but big ocean swells. Coming upon the
occasional big
freighter or cruise ship and even being buzzed by aircraft ........

I gotta go buy a boat.


Eisboch