"Doug Dotson" wrote ...
Absolutely. Cruising can be very stressful


mmm, I must be doing it wrong.


--
Scott Vernon
Plowville Pa _/)__/)_/)_

On 19 Oct 2004 09:27:49 -0700, (Parallax)
wrote:


Does anybody else have such odd thoughts before a cruise?

Uh-oh...you've fallen in love with the process.G

Problem-solving IS a form of relaxation, P., or can be--and should be
for the dedicated cruiser--particularly for the problem-solving
personality your posts reveal you to be.

So, turn the problem on its head: Long-term cruising will allow you
field-test and refine all those ideas you're always having, and I
think the closest "responsible obsessives" (possibly the ideal
cruising skipper personality) get to relaxing is unwinding in the
cockpit with a rum-based beverage having solved a nagging problem or
found a simpler/better/cheaper way to mess about in boats.

Until those of us who intend to go actually do so, P., we need keen
fellows like yourself to cruise, if only to selfishly poach your more
successful ideas.

Besides, haven't you always harboured a secret desire to get an item
into "Hands-on Sailor" or "Practical Sailor"? I see a few names from
this list in both publications, and that's as close to fame as
recreational Odysseuses want to be.

You MAY not enjoy every second of the cruising life, but I guaranteee
you WILL regret not going.

R. (four years to go and counting...)

Well here's the thing for me ... see something, research it, try it, it's
fun/challenging/whatever and there's a learning curve, then the curve
flattens ... what's next. Just yesterday my buddy that I haven't seen in a
while asked how's it going ... I said ok ... but I need a project. In the
meantime, there is nothing I like better right now than heading downtown for
some pool and beer, conversation and a good band. And that old
beater/project boat will get even less use next season.


"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
By happy and fortuitous circumstance, I suddenly find that not only am
I financially able to do the cruising I want, but my personal life has
fallen into place with my 17 yr old daughter seeming to be cured of
melanoma. So why am I suddenly not looking forward to it? We had a
great day of sailing on Sunday. The short hops will not involve too
much time away from family or work so what is it? Is it possible that
the work toward achieving it is better than the actual doing it?
I've done a little cruising in the past so I know the stress at night
of worrying "Is my anchor dragging" whereas home in bed that never
crosses your mind. I know the "God, am I bored" during
loooooooooooong days of very light wind followed by the "Omigod, what
am I doing here" fear at night with wind that is probably less than I
imagine it to be. Is it possible that the last 9 years of starting
and running a small business has stressed me so much I just want to
relax? Regardless of that Christopher Cross song "Sailing", we all
know sailing is NOT relaxing. People have asked me what I like about
sailing and I always tell them that for me its about problem solving,
not relaxing.
Does anybody else have such odd thoughts before a cruise?

Do the reasons for wanting to go sailing change with time and age?
When young (less than 30?) it can be just for the fun and adventure.
over 30, maybe to escape the boring job, mortgage or business woes?
over 50..... well the kids are leaving home, maybe you are secure and why
risk all
the material assets you have accumulated by heading over the horizon into
the unknown?

I am over 30 and *still* enjoy the fun and adventure.

Do the reasons for wanting to go sailing change with time and age?
When young (less than 30?) it can be just for the fun and adventure.
over 30, maybe to escape the boring job, mortgage or business woes?
over 50..... well the kids are leaving home, maybe you are secure and why
risk all
the material assets you have accumulated by heading over the horizon into
the unknown?

"R Whellum" wrote in message
...
why risk all
the material assets you have accumulated by heading over the horizon
into
the unknown?


If you have to ask....................

"Scott Vernon" wrote in message ...
"R Whellum" wrote in message
...
why risk all
the material assets you have accumulated by heading over the horizon
into
the unknown?


If you have to ask....................

I appreciate everybody's perspective on this and have heard some I had
not really considered. One most often cited is summed up as:
"Leaving the rat race". Somehow by either extreme luck or major
personality defect, I have avoided conventional employment all my life
so had not personally considered this one. This also explains the
popularity of magazines such as Crusing World. This just goes to show
that ones own experience and motivations cannot be easily generalized
to others.

This just goes to show
that ones own experience and motivations cannot
be easily generalized to others.

My god - someone on usenet who actually has perspective!

From reading many of your previous posts, I have noticed that you are an
intelligent, thinking person. That may be your undoing right there!

Boating does not make sense. We just do it because we like it. Some people
like it for different reasons than other people, and none make more sense
than the others.

So, if you want to cruise, then cruise. If you want to work towards
something, then do that. (It's a little like the old boating question: do
you want to get somewhere or do you want to __go__ somewhere?) If you're not
sure, you could always follow your original plan and see how your heart
adapts to that.

Will your cruising take you away from your daughter - pardon the decidely
amateur psycho-analysis - even for short periods of time? Could that be
what's really bothering you?

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====

"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
By happy and fortuitous circumstance, I suddenly find that not only am
I financially able to do the cruising I want, but my personal life has
fallen into place with my 17 yr old daughter seeming to be cured of
melanoma. So why am I suddenly not looking forward to it? We had a
great day of sailing on Sunday. The short hops will not involve too
much time away from family or work so what is it? Is it possible that
the work toward achieving it is better than the actual doing it?...

Get a trawler.

--


Keith
__
Buckle up. It makes it harder for the aliens to snatch you from your car.
"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
By happy and fortuitous circumstance, I suddenly find that not only am
I financially able to do the cruising I want, but my personal life has
fallen into place with my 17 yr old daughter seeming to be cured of
melanoma. So why am I suddenly not looking forward to it? We had a
great day of sailing on Sunday. The short hops will not involve too
much time away from family or work so what is it? Is it possible that
the work toward achieving it is better than the actual doing it?
I've done a little cruising in the past so I know the stress at night
of worrying "Is my anchor dragging" whereas home in bed that never
crosses your mind. I know the "God, am I bored" during
loooooooooooong days of very light wind followed by the "Omigod, what
am I doing here" fear at night with wind that is probably less than I
imagine it to be. Is it possible that the last 9 years of starting
and running a small business has stressed me so much I just want to
relax? Regardless of that Christopher Cross song "Sailing", we all
know sailing is NOT relaxing. People have asked me what I like about
sailing and I always tell them that for me its about problem solving,
not relaxing.
Does anybody else have such odd thoughts before a cruise?