Reflections on Long-term Cruising (So Far)
Dave and I are curled up in wool layers, sipping hot apple cider and warm soup near a crackling fire. A purring cat stretches across our laps. It may snow tonight. Rain and hail pummel the windows, but here inside, we’re cozy.
In case it’s unclear, we’re pretty far from Mexico. We returned (by plane) to Washington for a few weeks to visit loved ones, replenish boat parts, and renew our Mexican visas. And most of all, to see our well-missed cat, Uma. We’re also remembering what cold feels like just in case we start to take Mexico for granted.
It’s been about six consecutive months since we said goodbye to our families and friends and headed south. This is officially the longest we’ve cruised nonstop. Long-time cruisers we’ve met along the way claim this milestone is the time things start to change. This is now a lifestyle, not a trip.
We’re currently contemplating these changes. It’s not always easy to reflect on a journey when we’re on it--and that goes for any journey. Stepping away from it allows us to see it with fresh eyes.
Sure going offshore grows our sailing skills, but we’ve grown in other ways too. We’d love to share those other ways with you.
Keep in mind we’re no experts. Far from it. We’re not in any position to set expectations for anyone else on this journey because everyone has different experiences and priorities and needs. Also keep in mind that these lessons are saturated in privilege, as not everyone has the means to take a break from their careers and follow their dreams for an undefined length of time. These lessons just happened to help us along our way. Maybe they’ll help you in your own journey (whether by boat or not!).
Be easy on yourself.
We've found some dreamers believe that sailing away is the perfect cure. They have this idea that they can immediately improve their lives, health, relationships, etc. by simply removing their current stressors. They are then disappointed when they reach “paradise” by boat and after the initial excitement wears off, things get hard again. They may wonder why their depression/ anxiety/ addiction/ irritability/ boredom/ pain returns. They may end up feeling like their dream is broken, or worse, that they are broken.
In fact, this lifestyle may initially magnify problems. It forces people to unplug from their distractions and examine themselves closer. It holds up a mirror, which is a fantastic tool, albeit sometimes an uncomfortable one.
But there’s good news! While sailing away doesn’t provide a quick fix, it can be a great way to work toward a slow one. People often make drastic decisions like sailing the world because they want a change, and perhaps because they want to change. This lifestyle offers the opportunity and beautiful surroundings to look at things differently. It also offers the time to do what’s needed: to continue working on ourselves.
Embrace the adventure.
“It’s an adventure, not a vacation.” Our friend Lauren on SV Griffin recently said this and we love it. Vacations are about comfort and escape while adventures are about challenges and triumphs. Adventures are supposed to be hard. And with most sailors’ budgets, sea life doesn’t feel like land life--especially when you've been away from a marina for months. Sometimes it doesn't line up with expectations. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s scary.
And really, that’s the beauty of it. Because when everything’s perfect, it’s predictable. It’s boring. Isn’t that why we cut the dock lines in the first place? Looking back over the thirteen years Dave and I have sailed together, the parts that pushed us out of our comfort zones were often the best.
According to “The Nature Fix: Why We’re Hardwired for Adventure” by Florence Williams,
We can’t see what we’re capable of if we’re not challenged. We can’t overcome obstacles if there aren’t any. Adventures allow us to push back against the lifestyle creep and mindless scrolling that so often dominate our lives. If we try to prevent every issue and avoid every discomfort, we might find we lose out on the very things we came out here to find. Embrace the hard.
Let go of old standards.
Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Your worth is not measured by your productivity.
Oh sorry, just talking to myself. Where were we?
If your identity was wrapped tightly around your career, you may suddenly feel a sense of loss when you leave. You may need to use a different metric to define self-worth, success, and even happiness. And if you’re like me, and it takes you four times longer to complete tasks on a boat than it does on land, you may need to look at time differently as well.
Dave and I planned for this for over a decade. We scrimped and saved in pretty extreme ways. When we weren’t working, we were often doing boat projects and practicing the myriad of skills needed to go offshore: sailing, storm tactics, seamanship, engine mechanics, rigging, fiberglass work, sewing, electrical systems, plumbing, first aid, survival, marine communication, planning, provisioning, etc. We believe we worked hard for this, and yet we rarely feel like we deserve it. We often feel bad we’re not currently employed cool time--societal measures of hard work.
But boat life is different from working life. It’s designed to be less structured. Tasks are self-created: they’re based on basic needs and survival, boat maintenance, weather, or even fun. They’re rarely based on external or artificial deadlines. And while wonderful, this can take some getting used to.
Keep learning.
“That much time on a boat? Won’t you get bored?” Sometimes, but not usually.
No sailor knows everything. And if you’re lucky like us, you know very little. Doing something like this allows us to learn from a community of other boaters, locals, and just people in general with different experiences and perspectives from us. It allows us to get out of our cultural bubble.
As humans, we want to learn. We want to satisfy our curiosity, practice new skills, and measure growth in areas that interest us. If we look at this adventure as an opportunity to grow, the possibilities are endless. Listen to people who sail differently. Learn a new language. Start a new hobby even if you don’t finish. Try things you would have never tried on land. Make mistakes. Ask the big questions. Join a cult. Start your own! It’s never just about the sailing.
We don't know what are next step is: Cross the Pacific? Sail south to Panama? Stay in Mexico? What we do know is we're enjoying the now. And we hope to never stop learning.
Photos!
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| Beach landing at Caleta Lobos |
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| Puerto Balandra as seen from the cliffs to the south |
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| Caleta Lobos, from the north |
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| Sunset at Isla San Francisco |
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| Salt flats at Isla San Francisco |
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| Mangroves at the south end of Isla San Jose |
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| Lupe Sierra & Maggie Mae's restaurant in San Evaristo |
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| Salt flats northwest of San Evaristo |
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| Natural reserve land northwest of San Evaristo's salt flats |
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| San Evaristo as seen from the hillside to the north. De Novo is tucked into the northeasternmost corner of the anchorage, on the left side of this photo. |
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| Collaborative beach art made with SV Wild Blue (shown in the background) |
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| Spearfishing catches of the day! Dave caught that little silver fish; SV Wild Blue caught the other four. |
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| So many vultures! |
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| Isla San Francisco, as seen from our anchorage at San Evaristo, at dawn on the morning we left for Agua Verde |
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| Underway from San Evaristo to Agua Verde |
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| Approaching Punta San Marcial, near Agua Verde |
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| Agua Verde |
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| The surf right outside of our protected anchorage at Agua Verde |
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| Puerto Escondido |
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| It's not always sunny in Mexico! |
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| We enjoyed taking one last excursion, this time to Loreto, with Brian and Lauren from SV Griffin before they sail to the South Pacific Fair winds, Griffin! |
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| This shopkeeper and his assistant, Salvador ❤️ |
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| Waiting for our flight at Loreto's Airport |
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| Flying over Ensenada, our first stop in Mexico all those months ago, on our way to Seattle |
As always, thank you for reading our blog.
đź’›Denise and Dave
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