What would I do if I couldn't cruise anymore?

I really love cruising…both land and water, but especially water. It is an immense freedom to carry your entire household with you no matter where you go and not be rooted in one particular spot.

When I sold my house to buy “Faith” it was much more difficult than I had anticipated. For so many years I had dreamed of ‘selling the house and the stuff and sailing off into the sunset’ that I was taken quite by surprise at the emotional distress I suffered when it came right down to the act of giving up my cute little house and most everything I had accumulated in the previous 20 years of living. I had carved myself a very comfortable little niche and, even though I wanted very much to go cruising, it was a niche I felt great trepidation about leaving. Every dream, though, has its price. Since I couldn’t afford both a house and a large cruising boat it was imperative to shake off the chains of dirt living. If I didn’t, I would forever be doomed to the land of “what if…” and “I wish I’d…”

As I begin my third year of gypsy living, my occasional musing comes down to “what would I do if I couldn’t do this anymore? I don’t think I could ever go back to a “normal” lifestyle. There are pieces and parts of this style of living that are pretty difficult. Putting the boat “to bed” for a summer in dry storage and then putting it back together in the fall so we can leave requires a tremendous amount of hard work and it is usually fairly hot here in Mexico so that adds to the equation. Still, the rewards of seeing new places, meeting new people and enjoying some incredibly beautiful moments in life makes it all worth it.

Chris & I have begun a discussion during the past year about what we would do if we became physically unable to keep cruising. Anyone who sails knows that it is an activity that requires a fair amount of physical strength and coordination. Thus far we are still capable, but now that we are both over 60 we must face the fact that “something” could happen to one or both of us that would leave us in a much different position.

We have seriously evaluated a number of small Mexican towns that are particular favorites of ours and discussed finding a nice little palapa of our own in one…maybe with a smaller day-sailer close by. The down side is that it would mean we’d be in one place most of the time. Over the past couple years we have discovered that, while we both love being able to stay in one spot for a while, after a few weeks the “itchy-feet virus” seems to hit pretty hard and pretty soon one or the other is suggesting a new destination only to discover that the other person was just thinking that same thing.

We have also talked of getting a trawler (power boat) in order to continue cruising. Many of our friends have done just that. They are still living on the water and going where they want but it involves much less stress on your body. The down side is that trawlers are generally quite a bit more expensive to purchase and run.

Another option that has been discussed is getting a larger travel trailer or RV and just doing our traveling on land. That, too, is much more expensive than water cruising but still brings some wonderful rewards. The down side is that, as we’ve discovered, people who RV aren’t nearly as open and friendly as those who cruise on water (except, of course, for Canadians who have to be some of the nicest, friendliest people on the face of the earth). Nothing personal against RVer’s. It has just been our experience (at least in the U.S.) that they seem to stay in their own little plot and don’t really enjoy the camaraderie that cruisers do.

Just as an aside, we have some ideas why that might be true. First of all, cruisers don’t tend to have TV so they spend a lot of time together socializing, playing games, helping the local communities and each other, exploring (mostly on foot or by bus) etc. Secondly, water cruisers have a morning net wherever they go. Each day the cruisers who are in residence in a particular place come together via the radio to address possible medical emergencies, welcome newcomers, say goodbye to those who are leaving, exchange information about needed parts & repairs, find out about the weather (this is BIG when you are traveling by sailboat), learn about social events, trade things, and just generally get acquainted and help each other. That’s something the RVer’s don ‘t have. Also, all the cruisers understand that anything can happen when you’re “out there” (as Captain Ron said) and while we are all truly on our own, we are also truly all together. If ever someone is overdue or has an emergency, the entire community is on alert and ready to step in with whatever help they can provide, so, as a group they tend to become very connected, very fast.

So…what would we do if we couldn’t do this anymore? Well, I honestly don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet we’d find some way to stay on the water from time to time and continue traveling. The one thing I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t do is sit and vegetate.