Is it getting more crowded out there?

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

Click to expand...

.

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

mbianka said:

Hmmm.. That reminded me about the cruise I took up to Hook Mountain just before superstorm Sandy hit the area. I met two young guys on two separate boats in my travels who were making their way south. One guy in his early thirties had quit his IT job to sail south. He figured since he was not married, no kids and it seemed like a good idea to do it now. The other fellow was a little younger late twenties and he was heading south too. Since superstorm Sandy hit the area a few days later. I often wonder what happened to them if they and their boats made it. But, they certainly were not waiting for retirement to make the trip.

Click to expand...

There certainly is a few ways to go cruising. When I was young, in my twenties, I had a plan to head out cruising before I was 30.

I then went to a retirement seminar (when I was about 25) to hear what was said. I was the youngest person there and many people looked at me like I was crazy. BUT, the upshot of the talk was that if you waited till you were in your 50's or later, there was very little you could do!!

Then, the specter of having to return to work ate at my brain. What could I do when I got back. How long could I go on the $$ I had. And, how about a wife and kids?

SOOOOoooooo, I waited till the earliest I could retire from my work. I kept in mind one of the great thoughts I heard at that first retirement seminar, "IF you do everything correctly, the check for your funeral will bounce".

SO, EARLY retirement was our plans, kids grown and out, no NEED to return to go to work, we were out just after my 55th birthday. Now we cruise about half time and we don't feel cramped for cash or time. We follow the seasons.

Greg