I guess I have to admit it, I am a failure at cruising. With my son, I
did manage to get from Carabelle in N. FL to Sarasota in three seperate
trips in which I left the boat in marinas for a month between trips.
Every time I was on the boat for a day or so, my mind would begin to
race with things I want to try at work I invent weird x-ray optics for
a living) so I was unable to relax to enjoy the cruise.
At work, I really enjoy myself most of the time as I have all the cool
toys every science geek wanted when he was a kid. However, whenever I
have to do days of managerial things, I dream of cruising. I could
hire a manager but I worry that any real manager would be horrified at
the bizarre ideas on which we spend money and time so I am left to do
it myself.
My real worry is that someday, I will regret that I did not take time
to go cruising. Then I worry that if I did take a lot of time to
cruise that I would regret spending that time on the boat instead of
inventing interesting stuff (ok, interesting to me at least).
Its hell when you have to choose between things you really like to do
(sarcasm). However, when i listen to my neighbor who hates his job and
feels trapped, I think "There but for the grace of God...."

Funny, a friend who is just about to buy a boat said to me today that
he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle cruising after a life of
doing two or three things at a time at top speed. I told him I have
the same concerns. In my case, it has a lot to do with several years
of flying in which I've gotten used to getting places fast.

I told him I was sure we would both be able to buck up and tolerate it
one way or the other.

The cure for the restless mind while cruising used to be navigation
but now GPS has taken the fun out of that.

--

Roger Long



wrote in message
oups.com...
I guess I have to admit it, I am a failure at cruising. With my son,
I
did manage to get from Carabelle in N. FL to Sarasota in three
seperate
trips in which I left the boat in marinas for a month between trips.
Every time I was on the boat for a day or so, my mind would begin to
race with things I want to try at work I invent weird x-ray optics
for
a living) so I was unable to relax to enjoy the cruise.
At work, I really enjoy myself most of the time as I have all the
cool
toys every science geek wanted when he was a kid. However, whenever
I
have to do days of managerial things, I dream of cruising. I could
hire a manager but I worry that any real manager would be horrified
at
the bizarre ideas on which we spend money and time so I am left to
do
it myself.
My real worry is that someday, I will regret that I did not take
time
to go cruising. Then I worry that if I did take a lot of time to
cruise that I would regret spending that time on the boat instead of
inventing interesting stuff (ok, interesting to me at least).
Its hell when you have to choose between things you really like to
do
(sarcasm). However, when i listen to my neighbor who hates his job
and
feels trapped, I think "There but for the grace of God...."

Maybe it`s just me, but I was always doing 3 things at the same time on
land, on the water found the first couple days of a long passage boring, but
then the brain adjusted and the days flashed past. I had difficulty finding
time even to navigate g even though there was little else to do but eat,
sleep and watch the waves- oh, and go for a swim now and again when the boat
was moving slow enough to keep up with (not really recommended g).
Bob Larder
Roger Long wrote:
Funny, a friend who is just about to buy a boat said to me today that
he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle cruising after a life of

wrote:

I guess I have to admit it, I am a failure at cruising. With my son, I

I don't think you are a failure at cruising. You just haven't found
the type of cruising that you will succeed at yet.

did manage to get from Carabelle in N. FL to Sarasota in three seperate
trips in which I left the boat in marinas for a month between trips.
Every time I was on the boat for a day or so, my mind would begin to
race with things I want to try at work I invent weird x-ray optics for
a living) so I was unable to relax to enjoy the cruise.

Why not consider that letting your mind go like that IS enjoying the
cruise instead of worrying about whether you were enjoying it in the
way that you think you ought to be enjoying it.

At work, I really enjoy myself most of the time as I have all the cool
toys every science geek wanted when he was a kid. However, whenever I
have to do days of managerial things, I dream of cruising. I could
hire a manager but I worry that any real manager would be horrified at
the bizarre ideas on which we spend money and time so I am left to do
it myself.

My real worry is that someday, I will regret that I did not take time
to go cruising. Then I worry that if I did take a lot of time to
cruise that I would regret spending that time on the boat instead of
inventing interesting stuff (ok, interesting to me at least).
Its hell when you have to choose between things you really like to do
(sarcasm). However, when i listen to my neighbor who hates his job and
feels trapped, I think "There but for the grace of God...."

grandma Rosalie

Not a failure. More than typical. There are big differences between a
4-5 day cruise, a 2-3 week cruise and slipping the lines for an extended
cruise. My programmers hate for me to go on a delivery. After 10-12 days
standing watch 3 times a day I come home with a notebook full of notes,
flowcharts and schematics to work on. When my brain is relieved of the
daily pressures of the company the creatrive side goes into overdrive. It
takes a week or two depending on your pace of life to get over the wall.

It varies for everyone (retireees being a major exception) but on a long
cruise typically the first few days you have an exciting feeling of
adventure interspersed with feelings of guilt and panic about what you are
missing at work. After about the first 5-10 days youl start to unwind and
your brain sort of goes into a neutral "vacation mode". After a few weeks
pass, if you come from a high power life, you start to need some
productivity component and will find something to do like write your
autobiography, compile a directory of Caribbean rums, build a school in
Haiti or try to reform the government of the Grenadines. :-).

Personally, as I can't fit my woodworking shop in the back stateroom, I
pland to bring a complete software development suite and a supply of
electronic components. :-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
I guess I have to admit it, I am a failure at cruising. With my son, I
did manage to get from Carabelle in N. FL to Sarasota in three seperate
trips in which I left the boat in marinas for a month between trips.
Every time I was on the boat for a day or so, my mind would begin to
race with things I want to try at work I invent weird x-ray optics for
a living) so I was unable to relax to enjoy the cruise.
At work, I really enjoy myself most of the time as I have all the cool
toys every science geek wanted when he was a kid. However, whenever I
have to do days of managerial things, I dream of cruising. I could
hire a manager but I worry that any real manager would be horrified at
the bizarre ideas on which we spend money and time so I am left to do
it myself.
My real worry is that someday, I will regret that I did not take time
to go cruising. Then I worry that if I did take a lot of time to
cruise that I would regret spending that time on the boat instead of
inventing interesting stuff (ok, interesting to me at least).
Its hell when you have to choose between things you really like to do
(sarcasm). However, when i listen to my neighbor who hates his job and
feels trapped, I think "There but for the grace of God...."

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in
news0E3e.98795$SF.16460@lakeread08:

you start to need some
productivity component and will find something to do like write your
autobiography, compile a directory of Caribbean rums, build a school in
Haiti or try to reform the government of the Grenadines. :-).



No, no, no....You boys got it all wrong. Productivity means cleaning out
that biological disaster in the bilge, changing out those frayed fanbelts
driving the alternators, getting the windlass to run again on ELECTRIC
power, unstopping the hose running from the Y-valve to the through hull
fittings on the holding tank outlet.....

If you really need to get inventive, draw a nice schematic linked to a
bubble drawing of the electrical system you installed a year ago last May
you never got around to doing....

The Rum Directory isn't a bad idea, though.

I once gave some thought to going cruising and inventing stuff for
cruisers as I went. After all, living the life in which things would
be used should be conducive to invention for it. Unfortunately, that
is not the way inspiration works for me. Furthermore, cruisers are
cheap so unless you can license an idea to a larger company to make and
have them make many of them, it isnt worth patenting.
At work, in addition to normal machine tools, we have a tiny Prazi
jewelers lathe with a microscope mounted on it for ultra fine work.
Prazi also sells a tiny milling machine. On a 42 boat (say a Morgan
Out island)you might have enough room to put these and then do very
strange machining jobs. I am not sure what these would be but maybe
making injectors for diesels in an emergency. Unfortunately, I do not
have enough attention for deatil to be a good machinist.
Programming might be an option but I really do not like computers.
However, there may be a way for someone to make money writing
specialized engineering or scientific programs. I know people who make
a good living writing x-ray analytical software. One of them just goes
to analytical instrument trade shows to show his stuff; last year was
Savannah, this year Hawaii, not a bad life. Early in my career, I
wrote Sag-Tension calculation programs for people who built power lines
(seriously arcane)and even sold a few copies but the computer stuff
just bored me.
Is it possible for financial planners to do their work by computer
using the Iridium network?
I am sure that some people manage to do work that they love and
cruise at the same time but for most of us it is more difficult. Most
people simply work because they have to and cruise when they can get
time off. Some of us do work that we love and are torn between
cruising and work. I think that for me, the part of the brain that
gets pleasure from the exploring part of cruising gets the same
pleasure from work so I cannot decide which is better.
Tonite, I went to teh local yacht club meeting to hear a talk by a
biologist who collects strange sea critters for shipment to labs around
the world. He doesnt cruise but is passionate about his work and it
shows in the way he talks. Other people I talked to there mostly
seemed to be putting their dreams on hold until they retired, kinda sad
but I dont have an answer for them.
For full time cruisers, I have to ask; are you passionate about it?
Do you ever think that you are wasting time that you could be using to
do something special? How do you justify your existence considering
that cruising is mostly about self gratification. My questions are not
directed at retirees who have made their contribution to society but to
younger cruisers. Is there some way in which you feel that your
lifestyle is of benefit to others? Are these questions the result of
to much tequila?

Larry W4CSC wrote:
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in
news0E3e.98795$SF.16460@lakeread08:

you start to need some
productivity component and will find something to do like write
your
autobiography, compile a directory of Caribbean rums, build a
school in
Haiti or try to reform the government of the Grenadines. :-).



No, no, no....You boys got it all wrong. Productivity means cleaning
out
that biological disaster in the bilge, changing out those frayed
fanbelts
driving the alternators, getting the windlass to run again on
ELECTRIC
power, unstopping the hose running from the Y-valve to the through
hull
fittings on the holding tank outlet.....

If you really need to get inventive, draw a nice schematic linked to
a
bubble drawing of the electrical system you installed a year ago last
May
you never got around to doing....

The Rum Directory isn't a bad idea, though.

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from
the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.

- Mark Twain

wrote:
I once gave some thought to going cruising and inventing stuff for
cruisers as I went. After all, living the life in which things would
be used should be conducive to invention for it. Unfortunately, that
is not the way inspiration works for me. Furthermore, cruisers are
cheap so unless you can license an idea to a larger company to make and
have them make many of them, it isnt worth patenting.
At work, in addition to normal machine tools, we have a tiny Prazi
jewelers lathe with a microscope mounted on it for ultra fine work.
Prazi also sells a tiny milling machine. On a 42 boat (say a Morgan
Out island)you might have enough room to put these and then do very
strange machining jobs. I am not sure what these would be but maybe
making injectors for diesels in an emergency. Unfortunately, I do not
have enough attention for deatil to be a good machinist.
Programming might be an option but I really do not like computers.
However, there may be a way for someone to make money writing
specialized engineering or scientific programs. I know people who make
a good living writing x-ray analytical software. One of them just goes
to analytical instrument trade shows to show his stuff; last year was
Savannah, this year Hawaii, not a bad life. Early in my career, I
wrote Sag-Tension calculation programs for people who built power lines
(seriously arcane)and even sold a few copies but the computer stuff
just bored me.
Is it possible for financial planners to do their work by computer
using the Iridium network?
I am sure that some people manage to do work that they love and
cruise at the same time but for most of us it is more difficult. Most
people simply work because they have to and cruise when they can get
time off. Some of us do work that we love and are torn between
cruising and work. I think that for me, the part of the brain that
gets pleasure from the exploring part of cruising gets the same
pleasure from work so I cannot decide which is better.
Tonite, I went to teh local yacht club meeting to hear a talk by a
biologist who collects strange sea critters for shipment to labs around
the world. He doesnt cruise but is passionate about his work and it
shows in the way he talks. Other people I talked to there mostly
seemed to be putting their dreams on hold until they retired, kinda sad
but I dont have an answer for them.
For full time cruisers, I have to ask; are you passionate about it?
Do you ever think that you are wasting time that you could be using to
do something special? How do you justify your existence considering
that cruising is mostly about self gratification. My questions are not
directed at retirees who have made their contribution to society but to
younger cruisers. Is there some way in which you feel that your
lifestyle is of benefit to others? Are these questions the result of
to much tequila?

Larry W4CSC wrote:

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in
news0E3e.98795$SF.16460@lakeread08:


you start to need some
productivity component and will find something to do like write

your

autobiography, compile a directory of Caribbean rums, build a

school in

Haiti or try to reform the government of the Grenadines. :-).



No, no, no....You boys got it all wrong. Productivity means cleaning

out

that biological disaster in the bilge, changing out those frayed

fanbelts

driving the alternators, getting the windlass to run again on

ELECTRIC

power, unstopping the hose running from the Y-valve to the through

hull

fittings on the holding tank outlet.....

If you really need to get inventive, draw a nice schematic linked to

a

bubble drawing of the electrical system you installed a year ago last

May

you never got around to doing....

The Rum Directory isn't a bad idea, though.

On 2 Apr 2005 20:22:47 -0800, wrote:

I am sure that some people manage to do work that they love and
cruise at the same time but for most of us it is more difficult.

=============================

I have done a lot of cruising over 35 years or so, most of it in 2 or
3 week stretches as vacations permitted. That's about to change as I
get close to retirement but I have generally found that I am plenty
busy enough just keeping up with boat chores and maintenance.

Unless you settle down in one place and become a "liveaboard" as
opposed to a "cruiser", I can't personally imagine having enough time
to actually earn a living. Pocket change maybe, but serious "make a
living" money seems unlikely to me. Even with highly marketable
skills, you usually need to establish a reputation for competence and
reliability which is hard to do if you are constantly on the go, and
taking care of your own boat at the same time.

wrote:

For full time cruisers, I have to ask; are you passionate about it?
Do you ever think that you are wasting time that you could be using
to
do something special? How do you justify your existence considering
that cruising is mostly about self gratification. My questions are
not
directed at retirees who have made their contribution to society but
to
younger cruisers. Is there some way in which you feel that your
lifestyle is of benefit to others? Are these questions the result of
to much tequila?

My wife and I took a year and a half off in our thirties to go
cruising. It never crossed my mind that I was wasting time. When you
consider that probably the majority of what people produce in their
jobs is basically just fleeting entertainment for others, and not true
necessities, dropping out to go cruising doesn't seem like such a
waste. Who is "contributing" more to the world: the cruiser who is
experiencing an adventure and really enjoying life, or the person who
grinds away in a cubicle coding a video game that will be completely
forgotten 3 years from now?

Andy