Why I seldom read forums

Obvious but true, a pretty solid reading list, and something well worth reading...

There is a really depressing thread on a certain popular forum discussing sailing in close quarters, anchoring/mooring under sail, and suchlike. It would seem a whole lot of cruisers (and I use the word advisedly) seem to think its dumb, dangerous, and arrogant.

It would seem to me that not possessing the needful skills (which most certainly include maneuvering in close quarters) of sailing your boat is the more dangerous and dumb option.

Listening to some more Ramones covers

So it goes...

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On the fact that Im simply tired of getting depressed when I read boat ads

Something interesting/scary, video meets the memory hole, and in the ongoing "Attack of the PFD Nazis" department...

This morning I saw that a boat I know was still for sale and had been recently reduced in price... It got me thinking about how everyone makes mistakes. In this case, a young couple bought a boat that was as close to perfection (in their mind) as they could find, spent a sizable chunk of money making it even better, and then discovered, for one reason or another, that cruising simply did not suit them.

Sort of a bummer that.

Of course, this is not an isolated incident and, over a fair amount of years, Ive seen this scenario play out time and time again and, at the end of the story, there is always a boat with so much invested in it selling at a deep discount. To say its depressing is something of a gross understatement. So, just a little advice...

Get yourself a cheap boat in decent shape and just go cruising.

Go cruising for six months or a year and find out if you actually want to cruise. An old Pearson Triton, a CAL 29, or a Hunter 33 will tell you everything you need to know about cruising and if in the process you discover you want to cruise full time you can always buy a nicer/better boat with added smarts on what a better/nicer boat actually is.

That said, if you find you dont actually like being on a boat you can then sell your cheap Pearson/CAL/Hunter for around what you have invested in it or at most a minuscule loss.

Just saying...

Listening to Lucy & La Mer

So it goes...

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