Skip and Lydia got beat up pretty bad and I hope it doesnt ruin their
dream.
However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome. The
magazines dont give a real pic of what it is like. Most of the
problems are not physical but mental. Days at 4 knots and soon you
are so bored you are talking to jellyfish. Then suddenly you are so
scared you become a jibbering idiot. Then you anchor and you and your
spouse drive each other nuts being so close. Mowing that lawn at your
old place ashore starts to look real good.

How to keep it from happening? Dont defer sailing while you build.
Keep your small boat and sail and cruise regularly. I think Skip and
Lydia ought to have stuck to their original plan of daylight sailing
only EVEN IF IT MEANT GOING DOWN THE ICW DITCH. This would have
exposed many flaws in the plan until they could jump on the outside to
Naples and then Everglades City. From there it is a daylight trip to
Marathon. By the time they really needed to sail at night they'd be
good.

I know another couple who just bought a big boat to fix up, by
coincidence, a Morgan. They talk of selling their old 25' boat but I
hope they dont until the big boat is really ready.

On Feb 13, 7:43 am, "Frogwatch" wrote:

Skip and Lydia got beat up pretty bad and I hope it doesnt ruin their
dream.

This fact speaks loudly. The weather by S&L's account was 25 knots
with 6-8' waves. Regardless of wave frequency or if 30 K and 10'
waves. And yes I have worked the GOM. Those conditions are an
excellent day in most waters. And for a 46' boat !?!?!?

However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome.

YES..... I agree!

I have met four couples in the last 6 years who fit this pattern. Most
recently in a little harbor called Winchester Bay, OR. The couple
worked in finance, bought a never sailed 42' something. It was so
shinny bright white I had to wear shades. She drank wine, he worked
busily adding do-dads. After 1+ years getting ready for their "Dream"
the two headed out over the bar. They got about 3 miles off shore, got
knocked around, the alternator light went on and they returned to
port. The boat has not left the slip since. That was three years ago.

I wont detail the Rawson 30 couple. They are a case study and she is
just a ....case. Neither have ever sailed, she doesnt know how to swim
because she doesn't like the water, bought the boat over the internet
sight un seen, and have spent the last four years "fitting" their
vessel for their Dream cruise to Mexico and beyond.

The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise. For them a
sailboat is a symbol of freedom, a blissful way of life that can free
you from the shackles of stress, boredom, drudgery, and pressures of
deadlines, bills, screaming kids, or a demanding boss. In other words,
if I buy this thing it will make me feel happy.

The
magazines dont give a real pic of what it is like. Most of the
problems are not physical but mental.

Agreed. And I would add that equipment (as seen in their magazine)
will solve ALL problems. "...This NAV gizmo will guide your boat through
any treacherous channel. My gosh, technical accuracy to 3 meters...!"

Days at 4 knots and soon you
are so bored you are talking to jellyfish. Then suddenly you are so
scared you become a jibbering idiot. Then you anchor and you and your
spouse drive each other nuts being so close. Mowing that lawn at your
old place ashore starts to look real good.

Agreed! But for the few who truly are humbled by the sight of petrels,
albatross, the first sea spout, flying fish jumping on deck, a bunch
of spinner dolphins 20' away or my all time favorite. Sailing in total
darkness with two dolphins riding the bow wake. The bioluminescence
lighting up the dolphin. Stardust streaming off every fin leaving a
trail of sparkles in their wake. My guess is that sort of stuff is
rather boring to the Dreamers.

How to keep it from happening? Dont defer sailing while you build.
Keep your small boat and sail and cruise regularly. I think Skip and
Lydia ought to have stuck to their original plan of daylight sailing
only EVEN IF IT MEANT GOING DOWN THE ICW DITCH. This would have
exposed many flaws in the plan until they could jump on the outside to
Naples and then Everglades City. From there it is a daylight trip to
Marathon. By the time they really needed to sail at night they'd be
good.

Yes, if the reported weather gave them such a problem it is obvious
they needed more training/experience.

Ive read a few plane analogies. If I had soloed a Cessna 150 with 25
logged hours and then bought a Boeing 707 to fly around the world I
think most people would think I'm going to kill myself.

Excellent obervations Fogwatch.
BOb

However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome.

YES..... I agree!

snip examples
The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise. For them a
sailboat is a symbol of freedom, a blissful way of life that can free
you from the shackles of stress, boredom, drudgery, and pressures of
deadlines, bills, screaming kids, or a demanding boss. In other words,
if I buy this thing it will make me feel happy.

I have a violent objection (myself) to talking about "DREAMS" Dreams
are pie in the sky and impractical. If all you do is dream, you
deserve to have your dream broken (IMHO). I don't want to just dream
about something. I want a plan (and I don't mean a schedule).

There are some places where dreams are appropriate. Inventors,
composers writers and artists need to dream. Possibly also
entrepreneurs. Not pilots, or sailors.

I think S&L had a plan. The fact that there was a schedule associated
with it was an unfortunate element in the plan, but at least they were
thinking about how to accomplish what they wanted.
snip

Hey Rosalie ,, BBB ... boat .

You got me thinking ??? There should be a reality tv show called "Cruising
Dreams". Get a very disfunctional couple. A few very weird friends, an old
sailboat, have the wicked marina owner, the dock kid with the beautiful body
who is doing the rich lady on the big cruiser ,,


This could be hilarious.


My agent; R Long of the Titanic movie series ... Roger ??? Are you out
there? You are the MAN! Get this going.


The show :: opening scene: Roger standing off to the side speaks into
camera;

There is Tom. He is beyond help. What a dope. Lets take a closer look....


And then the show will start with me messing up my boat.



This is going to be bigger than Ozzy .. no, not that Ozzy .. Ozzy and
Harriet.


HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

Hooray for Hollywood
That screwy, ballyhooey Hollywood!
Where any office boy
Or young mechanic
can be a panic
With just a good-looking pan (pan=face)
And any barmaid
Can be a star maid
If she dances with or without a fan (reference: Sally Rand*)
Hooray for Hollywood!
Where you're terrific
if you're even good!
Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple (child actress)
to Aimee Semple (Aimee Semple McPherson - evangelist)
is equally understood
Come on and try your luck
You could be Donald Duck
Hooray for Hollywood!



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

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...

However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome.

YES..... I agree!

snip examples
The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise. For them a
sailboat is a symbol of freedom, a blissful way of life that can free
you from the shackles of stress, boredom, drudgery, and pressures of
deadlines, bills, screaming kids, or a demanding boss. In other words,
if I buy this thing it will make me feel happy.

I have a violent objection (myself) to talking about "DREAMS" Dreams
are pie in the sky and impractical. If all you do is dream, you
deserve to have your dream broken (IMHO). I don't want to just dream
about something. I want a plan (and I don't mean a schedule).

There are some places where dreams are appropriate. Inventors,
composers writers and artists need to dream. Possibly also
entrepreneurs. Not pilots, or sailors.

I think S&L had a plan. The fact that there was a schedule associated
with it was an unfortunate element in the plan, but at least they were
thinking about how to accomplish what they wanted.
snip

On Feb 13, 1:37 pm, "NE Sailboat" wrote:
Hey Rosalie ,, BBB ... boat .

You got me thinking ??? There should be a reality tv show called "Cruising
Dreams". Get a very disfunctional couple. A few very weird friends, an old
sailboat, have the wicked marina owner, the dock kid with the beautiful body
who is doing the rich lady on the big cruiser ,,

This could be hilarious.

My agent; R Long of the Titanic movie series ... Roger ??? Are you out
there? You are the MAN! Get this going.

The show :: opening scene: Roger standing off to the side speaks into
camera;

There is Tom. He is beyond help. What a dope. Lets take a closer look....

And then the show will start with me messing up my boat.

This is going to be bigger than Ozzy .. no, not that Ozzy .. Ozzy and
Harriet.

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

Hooray for Hollywood
That screwy, ballyhooey Hollywood!
Where any office boy
Or young mechanic
can be a panic
With just a good-looking pan (pan=face)
And any barmaid
Can be a star maid
If she dances with or without a fan (reference: Sally Rand*)
Hooray for Hollywood!
Where you're terrific
if you're even good!
Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple (child actress)
to Aimee Semple (Aimee Semple McPherson - evangelist)
is equally understood
Come on and try your luck
You could be Donald Duck
Hooray for Hollywood!

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

"Rosalie B." wrote in message

...



However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome.

YES..... I agree!

snip examples
The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise. For them a
sailboat is a symbol of freedom, a blissful way of life that can free
you from the shackles of stress, boredom, drudgery, and pressures of
deadlines, bills, screaming kids, or a demanding boss. In other words,
if I buy this thing it will make me feel happy.

I have a violent objection (myself) to talking about "DREAMS" Dreams
are pie in the sky and impractical. If all you do is dream, you
deserve to have your dream broken (IMHO). I don't want to just dream
about something. I want a plan (and I don't mean a schedule).

There are some places where dreams are appropriate. Inventors,
composers writers and artists need to dream. Possibly also
entrepreneurs. Not pilots, or sailors.

I think S&L had a plan. The fact that there was a schedule associated
with it was an unfortunate element in the plan, but at least they were
thinking about how to accomplish what they wanted.
snip



Somebody ought to write a book, fictional, about cruising but based on
reality. It should have an adventure story, a love story and should
feature long distance cruisers discussing their concerns, how they do
it, etc. I dont want to see another "My Familes Life At Sea"
nonfiction book; I hate that genre.

On Feb 13, 10:37 am, "NE Sailboat" wrote:
Hey Rosalie ,, BBB ... boat .

You got me thinking ??? There should be a reality tv show called "Cruising
Dreams". Get a very disfunctional couple. A few very weird friends, an old
sailboat, have the wicked marina owner, the dock kid with the beautiful body
who is doing the rich lady on the big cruiser ,,


Have you ever watched the movie with Captain Ron!

Its a maritme version of the 1980s movie titled, MONEY PIT.

Both should be required watching befor any couple buys a boat to
follow their Dream.

Bob wrote:

On Feb 13, 10:37 am, "NE Sailboat" wrote:

Hey Rosalie ,, BBB ... boat .

You got me thinking ??? There should be a reality tv show called "Cruising
Dreams". Get a very disfunctional couple. A few very weird friends, an old
sailboat, have the wicked marina owner, the dock kid with the beautiful body
who is doing the rich lady on the big cruiser ,,

Have you ever watched the movie with Captain Ron!

That's a classic.

Don W.

Bob wrote:

On Feb 13, 7:43 am, "Frogwatch" wrote:
Skip and Lydia got beat up pretty bad and I hope it doesnt ruin their
dream.

This fact speaks loudly. The weather by S&L's account was 25 knots
with 6-8' waves. Regardless of wave frequency or if 30 K and 10'
waves. And yes I have worked the GOM. Those conditions are an
excellent day in most waters. And for a 46' boat !?!?!?

The first time we went very far offshore, we
crossed to Bimini from Fort Lauderdale in a
chartered Beneteau 51 with a hired captain. The
forecast was for 18 to 22 kts of wind with 6-8' seas.

When we left it was blowing 15-18Kts with 3-5's,
but six hours in we had 28 to 32Kts showing on the
instruments, and seas that were in the 8-12'
range. It was a very wet ride, eye opening, but
never dangerous--although the green water over the
deck revealed the leaking hatches in the v-berth
and wet down some of our clothes. We motor sailed
the whole way with about 9kts showing on the speed
log.

As a result of that trip, we both had our eyes
corrected with LASIK, because eyeglasses are
completely unusable in those conditions--something
we would not have thought of.

The next day we met a few cruisers that were holed
up behind Gun Caye waiting for a weather window to
cross, and they were surprised that we had crossed
at the time we did. Of course, when you are
chartering, you do not get to wait for a weather
window. You either go, or don't go.

We learned that my wife can sleep through
anything, and doesn't get seasick easily. I on
the other hand barely made it through six hours of
8-12's without feeding the fish.


I have met four couples in the last 6 years who fit this pattern. Most
recently in a little harbor called Winchester Bay, OR. The couple
worked in finance, bought a never sailed 42' something. It was so
shinny bright white I had to wear shades. She drank wine, he worked
busily adding do-dads. After 1+ years getting ready for their "Dream"
the two headed out over the bar. They got about 3 miles off shore, got
knocked around, the alternator light went on and they returned to
port. The boat has not left the slip since. That was three years ago.

One of my uncles sailed with a couple from San
Diego to Papeete, French Polynesia by way of the
Marquesa's. The couple had a lot sailing
experience, but had never been offshore, and they
were planning on doing the Pacific loop, and maybe
continuing on around the world.

Somewhere out there they caught a squall with the
spinnaker up, knocked down the boat, apparently
let fly and doused simultaneously, and ended up
with a sheet wrapped around the prop, and the
spinnaker wrapped under the keel, with no sail up
to keep making way. There was some screaming
involved, and by the time they made Papeete, the
dream was dead.

The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise.

Gordon Lightfoot wrote: "I guess it must be
wanderlust, or trying to get free..."

Agreed! But for the few who truly are humbled by the sight of petrels,
albatross, the first sea spout, flying fish jumping on deck, a bunch
of spinner dolphins 20' away or my all time favorite. Sailing in total
darkness with two dolphins riding the bow wake. The bioluminescence
lighting up the dolphin. Stardust streaming off every fin leaving a
trail of sparkles in their wake. My guess is that sort of stuff is
rather boring to the Dreamers.

For me it is a big part of the "dream". That and
all the stars and the milkyway on a clear night at
sea, and the excitement of a landfall someplace
you have never been. It is also being someplace
interesting and not having to leave in two weeks
to get back to the job when the vacation is over.

How to keep it from happening? Dont defer sailing while you build.
Keep your small boat and sail and cruise regularly. I think Skip and
Lydia ought to have stuck to their original plan of daylight sailing
only EVEN IF IT MEANT GOING DOWN THE ICW DITCH. This would have
exposed many flaws in the plan until they could jump on the outside to
Naples and then Everglades City. From there it is a daylight trip to
Marathon. By the time they really needed to sail at night they'd be
good.

Well, we own a 27' and a 38' sailboat right now,
and the one thing we are for sure getting good at
is fixing up sailboats (sigh).

Excellent obervations Fogwatch.
BOb


Agreed.

Don W.

Don W wrote:


Bob wrote:

On Feb 13, 7:43 am, "Frogwatch" wrote:
Skip and Lydia got beat up pretty bad and I hope it doesnt ruin their
dream.

This fact speaks loudly. The weather by S&L's account was 25 knots
with 6-8' waves. Regardless of wave frequency or if 30 K and 10'
waves. And yes I have worked the GOM. Those conditions are an
excellent day in most waters. And for a 46' boat !?!?!?

The first time we went very far offshore, we crossed to Bimini from Fort
Lauderdale in a chartered Beneteau 51 with a hired captain. The
forecast was for 18 to 22 kts of wind with 6-8' seas.

When we left it was blowing 15-18Kts with 3-5's, but six hours in we had
28 to 32Kts showing on the instruments, and seas that were in the 8-12'
range. It was a very wet ride, eye opening, but never
dangerous--although the green water over the deck revealed the leaking
hatches in the v-berth and wet down some of our clothes. We motor
sailed the whole way with about 9kts showing on the speed log.

As a result of that trip, we both had our eyes corrected with LASIK,
because eyeglasses are completely unusable in those
conditions--something we would not have thought of.

The next day we met a few cruisers that were holed up behind Gun Caye
waiting for a weather window to cross, and they were surprised that we
had crossed at the time we did. Of course, when you are chartering, you
do not get to wait for a weather window. You either go, or don't go.

We learned that my wife can sleep through anything, and doesn't get
seasick easily. I on the other hand barely made it through six hours of
8-12's without feeding the fish.


I have met four couples in the last 6 years who fit this pattern. Most
recently in a little harbor called Winchester Bay, OR. The couple
worked in finance, bought a never sailed 42' something. It was so
shinny bright white I had to wear shades. She drank wine, he worked
busily adding do-dads. After 1+ years getting ready for their "Dream"
the two headed out over the bar. They got about 3 miles off shore, got
knocked around, the alternator light went on and they returned to
port. The boat has not left the slip since. That was three years ago.

One of my uncles sailed with a couple from San Diego to Papeete, French
Polynesia by way of the Marquesa's. The couple had a lot sailing
experience, but had never been offshore, and they were planning on doing
the Pacific loop, and maybe continuing on around the world.

Somewhere out there they caught a squall with the spinnaker up, knocked
down the boat, apparently let fly and doused simultaneously, and ended
up with a sheet wrapped around the prop, and the spinnaker wrapped under
the keel, with no sail up to keep making way. There was some screaming
involved, and by the time they made Papeete, the dream was dead.

The one common word I hear in every case
is.................................. DREAM. For some reason people
have lives they want to escape and sail away to paradise.

Gordon Lightfoot wrote: "I guess it must be wanderlust, or trying to get
free..."

Agreed! But for the few who truly are humbled by the sight of petrels,
albatross, the first sea spout, flying fish jumping on deck, a bunch
of spinner dolphins 20' away or my all time favorite. Sailing in total
darkness with two dolphins riding the bow wake. The bioluminescence
lighting up the dolphin. Stardust streaming off every fin leaving a
trail of sparkles in their wake. My guess is that sort of stuff is
rather boring to the Dreamers.

For me it is a big part of the "dream". That and all the stars and the
milkyway on a clear night at sea, and the excitement of a landfall
someplace you have never been. It is also being someplace interesting
and not having to leave in two weeks to get back to the job when the
vacation is over.

How to keep it from happening? Dont defer sailing while you build.
Keep your small boat and sail and cruise regularly. I think Skip and
Lydia ought to have stuck to their original plan of daylight sailing
only EVEN IF IT MEANT GOING DOWN THE ICW DITCH. This would have
exposed many flaws in the plan until they could jump on the outside to
Naples and then Everglades City. From there it is a daylight trip to
Marathon. By the time they really needed to sail at night they'd be
good.

Well, we own a 27' and a 38' sailboat right now, and the one thing we
are for sure getting good at is fixing up sailboats (sigh).

Excellent obervations Fogwatch.
BOb


Agreed.

Don W.

The definition of a cruiser is "someone who likes to repair boats in
exotic locations"
krj

I think all the FP problems came about from not having a proper
denaming ceremony when they renamed her! ****ed off old King Neptune!
G