Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Cruising Sailor?
Are you interested in sailing? Cruising? Are you serious about it? Because that’s awesome if you are. It’s just that if you are serious, then you should think about these questions & if you have these qualities. -Or, if not, are you willing to work to acquire them?
Here are the top 5 traits that I think you really need to have if you want this kind of sailing/cruising lifestyle:
Do you have a Positive Attitude?
None of us can realistically keep up a positive attitude 100% of the time but if you have one 85% - 90% of the time you’ll definitely float when it comes to the hard times at sea, in an anchorage or even in port. If you’re reading this, you probably aren’t considering solo sailing around the world. Which means you are going to be in a small space with at least one other person; if not more. That other person, or people, is going to maroon you somewhere if you become unpleasant to be around on a daily basis. I mean they may even jump ship themselves if they’re really desperate to get away. There’s enough problems on a boat. Don’t be one of them.
Be that positive light on your vessel!
2. Can you come up with Creative Solutions?
Things go wrong on boats. Things break on boats. Plans get ruined on boats. You may have the handbook that helps you to deal with your problem but sometimes that problem is unique. Sometimes you don’t have the handbook. Sometimes there isn’t any expert around to help you. This is when you have to be a detective, re-invent the wheel, be like The Professor on Gilligan’s Island & make something from the elements surrounding you or be like MacGyver & fix a part with floss & a paper-clip. If you really want to sail around then you’re not going to be in ports all the time & your not necessarily going to be in ports that have the parts you need. -Just ask Matt. There are definitely times you’re going to have to dig deep into the crevices of your brain to figure something out. And hopefully you have plenty of time to think but there are times when you got to think fast. -It can prevent a big problem from becoming an even bigger one.
Problem solving can be fun!
3. Do you have a Willingness to Help Others & Accept Help?
Yep. This is one area where you need to be good about balancing the giving & taking. Especially when you are new to this life, you will have to get humble & take help that is offered to you. I mean, not just any help. You have a sense of when people can actually really help you or if they may be inept but have their heart in the right place. It’s usually the former. We have accepted so much help from other sailors & locals that I’m hoping we can actually pay it forward to those who need it from us. If nothing else, we should have good wine & gourmet baked goods to give out to others. -See, this is why we need a bigger boat: for tool & gift storage. Oh, & for people storage. -So we can sail family & friends around.
4. Are you Flexible?
I don’t really mean physically. -Although that definitely helps. There’s a lot of nooks & crannies on a boat to get in & out of & around. But I’m actually talking about your plans & your mindset. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you have heard me constantly bring up making plans or changing plans all around the weather. However, weather isn’t the only thing that can speed up your trip or slow it down. There’s the need to take time to fix something in port & waiting for parts. There’s leaving an anchorage early because you’re running out of fresh food. Maybe an anchorage is gorgeous but you’re being attacked by flies. Maybe you thought an anchorage was going to be meh but it turns out there’s great snorkeling! Sometimes you don’t love your neighbors in an anchorage. Sometimes you meet the coolest people & want to stay around a lot longer than anticipated. Crowded ports. Pandemics. Events come up that sound too much fun to pass up. There are so many variables that the best plans you can have should be made with a pencil. All you can do is try to plan to have as much fun as possible. Then the more disappointing times will have you just sighing instead of crying.
5. Do you have A Deep Personal Desire to Do This?
Probably the most important thing, in regards to starting a sailing life, is that you really, really need to want it. The hard parts will definitely start getting to you & breaking you down if you don’t have that deep desire to live this way. I mean it has broken us down many times but we are always able to bounce or crawl back because for some reason we love doing this sailing/cruising thing. The pros we find absolutely outweigh the cons for us. Although, if there comes a time when that flips, we will have to find our next “thing”. Just ask yourself if this is what you really want & take small steps at first to get there. This is one of those things that is a big commitment! Don’t go into it lightly.
Feeling inspired, discouraged, totally bored? Well, regardless, watch our new video! We have some more anchorages to show you! It’s crazy how different they all seem to be. -Which made the voyage really fun & interesting! Click below to take a look!
Click above to watch our latest adventures!
Our voyage has both taken a lot out of us & filled up our lives with joy! We find that it’s worth it but know that it might not be for everyone. We have found out that RVing is a lot harder than it looks & is definitely not for us but may be just the thing for a lot of you. It’s all about what you love & what you’re willing to go through to experience it.
Zephyr & his unshakeable desire for this spot. Cushion thrown on him be damned!
Thanks for reading, watching & sending us love! We love you back! Next week we stop in more anchorages. -Inching our way up the Sea of Cortez!
