[MikeOReilly]

I keep hearing that sailing is on the decline. Boat sales seem to be down (at least big boat sales), and I keep hearing that fewer young people are getting into activity. At the same time I also keep reading (here and other places) that popular cruising areas have never been busier. Anchorages are apparently full and moorings are hard to get.

Seems contradictory.

As someone just beginning the full-time journey, I'm curious what to expect "out there." Is it more packed than it has ever been (as I often read here), or is there a decline in boaters, and hence a reduction in busy anchorages and marinas?

 

[night0wl]

Thats because they've made it impossible to anchor in many places...mooring fields, restrictions, and developing waterfront. So the anchorages that remain are more concentrated.

 

[mbianka]

My perception has been that some popular harbors appear to be more crowded around my local waters. But, that's because more moorings have been dropped by yacht clubs and weekend sailors and the anchoring areas have shrunk. During the week and especially after Labor Day (U.S.) the place is pretty empty. But, if you are not interested in taking the dingy into a town for dinner every night you can still find places to drop the hook where you can find a world of ones own pretty easily.

 

[SailingJackson]

Yes and No

Yes,
In the past 5 years there are longer waiting lists for dock slips, yacht clubs have been busier, and boat sales have been improving. This is a short term recovery of the great recession.

No,
Sailing is down 70% in the last 20 or 30 years. The 0.5% are getting richer while the 0.05% have all moved on to megayachts. The mainstream 98% cannot afford a new boat, but there's no need to buy new as the decline in sailing makes for lots of very good used boats about.

GJ

 

[capecodda]

I don't think there is a non-region specific answer to this, but I can say that in my neighborhood it's pretty darn busy in the summer. Popular bays in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, or Falmouth require advance reservations for moorings or dock space. That said, within a few miles of these popular bays there are places you can anchor even on the 4th of July. And shoulder seasons things are wide open.

In Maine last year in late August (excellent sailing weather), it was really quiet, you could get in to very popular places. Definitely quieter than usual.


And right now, unless you've got an ice breaker, your not going anywhere in my neighborhood. Hard to believe it's nearly March.

 

[travlin-easy]

Mike, there are lots of days when I have most of Chesapeake Bay to myself. Of course, weekends can be somewhat busy, but thbaat's mostly go fast powerboats, not sailboats. On weekdays, the bay is pretty much deserted with the exception of a few local hotspots, locations where sailboats tend to be congregated, Havre de Grace, Rock Hall, Annapolis, Baltimore, but other than those locations, the bay is wide open.

Here in Florida, owners of McMansions don't want blowboats clogging their million dollar views. Consequently, anchorages here are few and far between. When I'm at, the town fathers don't want boaters at all, and have imposed stiff fines for things such as living aboard, rafting up, parking your trailered boat on the street, etc...

Add to this the overall cost of boating is insanely high. Same goes for recreational fishing, which often requires a boat. When I was in the boat retail business, I sold 15 HP outboard motors for under $1,500 and a 14-foot aluminum fishing boat, with a depth finder, for about the same price. That same rig today is $15,000 and fishing pretty much sucks throughout the nation.

Another thing I've noticed during the past decade is many mom & pop marinas have closed down. The docks were torn down, bulkheads were put in place and condos were erected where those old homes once stood. In other instances, those old shore homes were torn down and McMansions now overlook the water. Those folks don't want people anchoring in front of their homes, thus those boats are the ones now relegated to the mooring fields and monster marinas such as those found floating in Baltimore's inner harbor area. Those floating docks are so vast that many have golf cart service to reach shore.

All the best,

Gary

 

[TomMaine]

I keep hearing that sailing is on the decline. Boat sales seem to be down (at least big boat sales), and I keep hearing that fewer young people are getting into activity. At the same time I also keep reading (here and other places) that popular cruising areas have never been busier. Anchorages are apparently full and moorings are hard to get.

Seems contradictory.

As someone just beginning the full-time journey, I'm curious what to expect "out there." Is it more packed than it has ever been (as I often read here), or is there a decline in boaters, and hence a reduction in busy anchorages and marinas?

To my eyes, it's about the same. 25 years ago cruising up and down the US eastcoast, in our mid to late 30', we were in the youngest group. There were no 'kids' outside a a group of college students on a dads boat.

I haven't sailed outside of the Northeast in the last couple decades. Here, things look stable. The length of waiting lists for moorings in this area of coastal Maine, ebb and flow. No real trend.

As far as cruisers on the coast of Maine, the same or less,which is to say not many! Few boats on the East coast get much beyond Southern New England.

I can't remember the last time I had trouble finding room to anchor in Maine because of too many boats. I rarely have a problem even in Southern New England.

New big sailboat sales seem to be mostly happening in the custom field. The production builders in Maine stayed a course while the buying market had new ideas.

I hope you make it to our area, I think you'll love it. Say hi!

 

[chuck5499]

I think it really depends on what anchorages you are talking about.

As full time cruisers we do find some anchorages a bit crowded close in to harbors/marinas where folks can come out for a weekend and those anchorages in the charter business area.

Get beyond that and there are some uncrowded anchorages but if I may hazard an opinion and hypothesis based on nothing more than spectulation; I believe more people are cruising now than before as they did put saving away and created for themselves a nice lifestyle after working for a long while.

It has been said that the current up and coming generation will be the first that did not do better than their parents. Why? I will not go in to that but suffice it to say that if that is true those cruising now paid their dues in the past and are now reaping the rewards.

 

[Delezynski]

Mike,

I think we are seeing many different views of the same subject.

First, young people seem to have a shorter attention span. At least that was me and all of my friends as we grew up. Today, I think it's even more prevalent. After all watching TV we see every bad problem can be solved in a fast paced half hour show and the world can be saved in a 2 hour movie.

Sailing, even racing does not appear to be fast paced. At least not from the sidelines! If your on the foredeck you know different.

And cruising, at least in our mind is a slower paced, relaxed way of life / pass time.

As for far more boats out there, I think that's because most of the "out there" that people are talking about is just not that far out there. As you pointed out

that popular cruising areas have never been busier. Anchorages are apparently full and moorings are hard to get

.

Once you head out, I think you will find plenty of room, as much as you want. In the Sea of Cortez we had no problem finding an anchorage with no others in it. We cold spend a month without seeing another boat, or, head to a better know anchorage and visit with a few others.

It's cruising full time, without the NEED to get some place, that gives you the freedom to choose what you want.

Greg

 

[capta]

As someone who NEVER uses marinas or moorings, I can't speak for those, but the anchorages in the Caribbean we frequent are definitely not becoming more crowded.
Of course, during the Christmas thru Easter season, the charter and bare boats are out in force, but even at that it seems it's less crowded than 3 or 4 years back.
Right now, sitting in Admiralty Bay, Bequia, there are probably fewer than a hundred boats moored or anchored, down from a high of 250+ a few years back.
All in all, I do believe that there are fewer full time cruising boats out here. Many more Europeans and Canadians than Americans, right now. There are many more 'commuter cruisers' than ever before, as evidenced by the number of boats on the hard during the hurricane season, throughout the Eastern Caribbean.
In the 70's and 80's there were a lot of younger people sailing around, but these days there are almost none, proportionately.

 

[MikeOReilly]

Interesting observations so far. Thank you all.

So the oft repeated lament here, and on other cruising forums , that it's getting so much more crowded out there, may not apply everywhere. Certainly in my cruising area, which has been admittedly quite remote (Lake Superior), I've seen no real change over the years. If anything, the numbers of cruisers have decreased. At the same time, my former yacht club keeps expanding, with more boats and more members. Seems that most of these people are just racing around the pylons, and not venturing much past the break wall.

 

[killarney_sailor]

I think it is a relative thing. We are finding Grenada much more crowded now than five years ago even if the number of boats here is probably no different. It is just that we have spent several years cruising in places where there were few (and in some places, no) cruisers. From my perspective you get two types of cruising grounds. In one there are enough cruisers for there to be a 'cruiser society' and a 'cruiser economy'. In other areas, neither exists and you are just part of the local harbour or anchorage scene. Coming from where you have cruised you likely will find most places crowded. For someone coming from the western Med, the same places will feel uncrowded.

 

[miatapaul]

Re: Yes and No

Yes,
In the past 5 years there are longer waiting lists for dock slips, yacht clubs have been busier, and boat sales have been improving. This is a short term recovery of the great recession.

No,
Sailing is down 70% in the last 20 or 30 years. The 0.5% are getting richer while the 0.05% have all moved on to megayachts. The mainstream 98% cannot afford a new boat, but there's no need to buy new as the decline in sailing makes for lots of very good used boats about.

GJ

It is the Mega Yacht thing I can't get my head around. These huge and huger boats with electronically controlled everything that I can't believe. I get a free subscription to Yachting magazine, and all the new companies building these 80+ foot 4 story tall monsters. Seems like they can't make enough of them. I understand that with all the electronics and remote controls they can now be handled by a "couple" so you don't need a full crew, perhaps just a cook and a maid. Are there really that many people out there with that much money? From what I understand it is mostly the big boat slips that the waiting list is so long for in many places.

 

[vega1860]

It certainly seems to us that there are more people out here cruising. The crowds last summer in the San Juans and the Canadian Gulf Islands were amazing. It seems, too, that there are more people every year.

We attribute that to increasing numbers of early retirees - the Baby Boomers are now transitioning to the Retirement Boomers. before spurring the big boom in the assisted living, undertaking and burial plot businesses.

We have probably contributed a little with our videos and web site showing that even people like us can go cruising; and we figure if we can do it anyone can...We would love to keep the secret but we can't help ourselves

 

[outbound]

Before Xmas you could go anywhere in the BVIs and decide if you wanted to moor or anchor. After Xmas you can't get into coopers I. unless you are there before noon,or anagada or jos,regardless. Think this is a function of power cats. Now gets salesmen or venture cap or small cap folks thinking this is a good way to,show off and stay drunk,for a week. They are now at least a third of the charter boats racing through the mooring field for that last spot or running the generator and sound system to 2am. This power cat thing is a new thing and on multiple levels puts more pressure on available spots. That and increasing number of captained charters. So,at least down here, there are more boats. Especially given the lousy winter the north east is having.
At home ( R.I.)think there are less boats cruising. People have less time and money to coastal hop. More boats on the water as people still day sail but less boats cruising the north east when ever a trip is more than a weekend. So block and the vineyard are jammed but places like stonington, Penobscot, Marion or sag aren't.

 

[xort]

Marathon boot key mooring field filled up in dec and waits of 20 days are common.

I think a lot of retirees who survived the recession are facing 'now or never' and are flooding the popular spots. Don't forget that powerboats cruise too and help fill the marinas, moorings and anchorages.

I've talked to several knowledgeable industry insider's who tell me they see a lot of newbys buying big cats. We noticed a surge in cats just in the last 2 years.

 

[Dog8It]

As someone who NEVER uses marinas or moorings, I can't speak for those, but the anchorages in the Caribbean we frequent are definitely not becoming more crowded.
Of course, during the Christmas thru Easter season, the charter and bare boats are out in force, but even at that it seems it's less crowded than 3 or 4 years back.
Right now, sitting in Admiralty Bay, Bequia, there are probably fewer than a hundred boats moored or anchored, down from a high of 250+ a few years back.
All in all, I do believe that there are fewer full time cruising boats out here. Many more Europeans and Canadians than Americans, right now. There are many more 'commuter cruisers' than ever before, as evidenced by the number of boats on the hard during the hurricane season, throughout the Eastern Caribbean.
In the 70's and 80's there were a lot of younger people sailing around, but these days there are almost none, proportionately.

Admiralty Bay. It is 30s outside, for the high. Envy is not even the right word. Last time we visited Admiralty Bay was about 8 years ago. Bare boating. Place was jam packed. Had to hunt for a mooring ball. Memories . . . Hope you are enjoying the place . . . and Jack Iron. Dennis on Mayreau used to serve a wicked one

Cheers from the frozen tundra.

 

[aloof]

Yes. more crowded now, certainly. There must be almost 24 cruising boats and a few superyachts enjoying the dozens of atolls and 1300 islands here in the Marshalls. I'm moored next to a Google executive's superyacht. Philippines were just the same. Saw another cruising boat at least once a month. 3000 islands. Unbearable crowding

The edge of the known world is not just south of Puerto Rico, get moving...

 

[travlin-easy]

Tonight, I played music at the tiki hut at Marathon City Marina, which manages the mooring field at Boot Key Harbor. Ever inch of the marina is taken, and every mooring ball has a boat attached to it. In fact, every marina in Boot Key Harbor has a boat in it. Fortunately, the old Boot Key Marina, which was owned by Faro Blanco, is now owned by Hyatt and they will begin renovation of this huge marina in the next few months. It should be open by late fall and that will provide another 500 or so slips for cruisers visiting this part of the world. Currently, there are about 20 boats awaiting a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor, which has 250 mooring balls available most of the time. By early December, they will be filled with folks trying to escape the northern climates.

All the best,

Gary

 

[mbianka]

The peak of the "Baby Boomers" is now 58 years old. So there will probably be a bump up in crowds as well in the next couple of years as they retire and "follow the dream". Though the crowds may not be as big as they could have been had the recession not knocked people for a loop in the 401K's etc...