Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-24-2014, 10:54 PM   #1
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,267
What are your cruising dreams?

We are all drawn here by a common theme, and that is the love of the water.

We all have different dreams of our cruising future.

Some are happy just getting away, in heir own local area.

Some dream of circumnavigating.

Some want to explore North Americas Great Loop.

This is where you get to share your dreams, and your plans for making them come true.

What are your cruising dreams?

What steps are you taking in your life to prepare to fulfill those dreams?

I'll start this out with mine.

Since I'm on the west coast I dream of starting my cruising down the coast and exploring all that it has to offer. The things that might seem plain to some intrigue me.

Cannery row
The Spanish missions
The Columbia basin
Santa Barbara where I spent time as a child.
Then on to Mexico and all it has to offer.

That's the start, and that's doable.

After that, well, we'll have to see. Possibly Central America, the carribean and finally the great loop.

What am I doing to plan for it????

First, I'm preparing for a modest retirement at 58. I am a working class man of humble means, but being of humble means my needs are not large.

I am fortunate that I do not need to sell my home to finance this dream. Very grateful to say the least.

What are your dreams? Big or small, affluent or modest, they are important here. Please share them.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2014, 11:40 PM   #2
Guru
 
MurrayM's Avatar
 
City: Kitimat, North Coast BC
Vessel Name: Badger
Vessel Model: 30' Sundowner Tug
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 5,946
I was semi-retired until the age of 32, and then it was time to settle down and get a real job. Because of those traveling, college, art school, hiking, and sea kayak expedition days, we don't have a lot of 'stuff'...or a large boat. Luckily for us, our boat suits our current and future cruising dreams perfectly.

We intend to explore as much of Canada's west coast as possible. I'm a large format B&W photographer, and my wife is quickly learning how to photograph wildlife with her digital camera. The plan is to anchor Badger, then explore up creeks, rivers, and scoot around to the exposed beaches on the outer coast with a yet to be purchased, gnarly, bad-assed dinghy.

Once we get a big enough body of work assembled, more miles under the keel, and a better understanding of ourselves and our coast, we'll be ready...to do what, we aren't sure...but the answer will come with time.

Dare to Dream
__________________
"The most interesting path between two points is not a straight line" MurrayM
MurrayM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 01:16 AM   #3
Guru
 
BandB's Avatar
 
City: Fort Lauderdale. Florida, USA
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 21,449
North America from Alaska around and up the East Coast then down the St. Lawrence to Montreal.

The Great Loop.

The Great Lakes.

The Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.

Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Crossing the Atlantic.

The Mediterranean.

Northern Europe.

Hawaii

The Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos.

The West Coast of Central and South America to Argentina.

Then I hope one day Piracy is reduced to allow us to feel comfortable on the East Coast of South American, the Suez and Australia and New Zealand. If not at least charter in Australia and New Zealand.

Sounds like a lot but then we have a lifetime.
BandB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 01:31 AM   #4
Guru
 
City: Hotel, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 8,323
North American lake and river systems. Our Owens will be capable once we build the trailer. After that the coasts will probably finish off our plans. Trailering will allow us supreme choice in quickly moving the boat between areas not normally accessible to larger boats.

We verified last week that Lake Havasu is far more pleasant in February than many other places. Kind of solidified our resolve to go forward with our plans.
__________________
Craig

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they've been fooled - Mark Twain
CPseudonym is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 04:47 AM   #5
TF Site Team
 
Pack Mule's Avatar
 
City: Paris,TN
Vessel Name: Slo-Poke
Vessel Model: Jorgensen custom 44
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,749
We live in a small town about 20 minutes from where thee boat is on the TN. River. I would like to semi retire in about 5 years keep the house a do some cruising. The plan is to cruise down the Tenn Tom to AL/Fla coast in the fall and then cruise back in the spring every other year are so and do some shorter trips in between .
Pack Mule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 05:06 AM   #6
FF
Guru
 
FF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 22,553
All cruising should be UNEVENTFUL!
FF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 05:08 AM   #7
Guru
 
timjet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,920
Our cruising dreams; something I've given a lot of thought to, but realize reality may make some adjustments or offer some opportunities.

I retire in Sep 2015. We'll wait until the following February and head from our home in Tampa to the East Coast of FL. From there perhaps the Abacos, admiral wants to do that again. Then up the coast to Jacksonville and the St. Johns river. From there to the Chesapeake Bay. That should take us to the fall where we'll pull out and wait out the winter back home. The next year perhaps continuing north to Marine or the Hudson river to Lake Champlain.

Don't know, just depends on how the first part goes.
__________________
Tim
Tampa Bay
Carver 355 ACMY Twin Cummins Diesels Sold
timjet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 06:54 AM   #8
Guru
 
N4712's Avatar
 
City: South FL
Vessel Name: Oliver
Vessel Model: Nordhavn 47 Hull# 12
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 3,607
French Polynesia.
Circumnavigation.
__________________
Thanks, Oliver
M/V Oliver
Nordhavn 47 Hull #12
N4712 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 07:09 AM   #9
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,870
Our dreams change with age and circumstances. When I was younger, I had no dreams of owning a boat, much less cruising in one for days or weeks at a time.

My dreams are not much by some standards but we have taken a one month cruise, several shorter cruises and we're planning a two month cruise. Some folks cruise just to say they did it, they've been here, there, etc. I think I can find enough cruising within several hundred miles of home to keep me and my wife happy.
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 08:35 AM   #10
Guru
 
Moonstruck's Avatar
 
City: Hailing Port: Charleston, SC
Vessel Name: Moonstruck
Vessel Model: Sabre 42 Hardtop Express
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 8,276
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesK View Post
Our dreams change with age and circumstances. When I was younger, I had no dreams of owning a boat, much less cruising in one for days or weeks at a time.

My dreams are not much by some standards but we have taken a one month cruise, several shorter cruises and we're planning a two month cruise. Some folks cruise just to say they did it, they've been here, there, etc. I think I can find enough cruising within several hundred miles of home to keep me and my wife happy.
How true. Even with our moving the boat for stays up and down the East Coast, we find that there are places we like to visit again and again.

This includes anchorages and mooring fields. We love the mooring fields at St Augustine, Annapolis, and Vero Beach. Some anchorages are San Domingo Creek at St Michaels, coves off the Wye River East, Cape Lookout NC, and marinas, moorings, and anchorages around Key West. On the West Coast of FL Cayo Costa and Ding Darling are our favorite anchorages. Ft. Myers Beach mooring field is great, and Boca Grande is our favorite harbor. We have several favorite anchorages in the Bahamas. In fact too many to list.

All that I have mentioned are within easy coastal cruising range. With all the interesting Ports on the Eastern seaboard it can truly provide a lifetime of satisfying cruising.
__________________
Don on Moonstruck
Sabre 42 Hardtop Express
When cruising life is simpler, but on a grander scale (author unknown)
https://moonstruckblog.wordpress.com/
Moonstruck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 09:05 AM   #11
Guru
 
kolive's Avatar
 
City: Cowiche, WA
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 662
We love in the PNW and our goals are to explore as much of the Coast of B.C. and Alaska as time allows. This will involve kids, grand kids and friends sharing various legs of the journey.
__________________
Keith Olive
1974 Grand Banks 36-427
Vashon Island, WA
kolive is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 12:36 PM   #12
GFC
Guru
 
City: Tri Cities, WA
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 4,406
Our long distance (to me) cruising idea is to head down the Columbia, around the coast of WA, through the Straits of Juan de Fuca then spend several months exploring Puget Sound (north and south), the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and maybe up to the Broughtons. I doubt we'd go any further north than that, but I've always said "Never say Never" so I'll leave that open.

We're looking at next year for that and we'll likely leave here in May, spend some time in Portland and the lower Columbia, then head around the coast the first part of June. Our return time is open but we're looking at September. October can be pretty nasty on the coast so we would probably be tucked safely back in the Columbia by then.
__________________
Mike and Tina
1981 Boston Whaler 13'
GFC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 12:44 PM   #13
Veteran Member
 
Francois's Avatar
 
City: San Antonio, Boat is located in Corpus Christi
Vessel Name: Bluebonnet
Vessel Model: Chris Craft Constellation 500
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 80
We plan to "home" school the kids while doing the Great Loop. I'm ready to leave now, but my wife wants to wait until the kids are out of elementary (so another 4 years).
The cruise plan is leaving from Texas, spend first summer in the Chesapeake area, then loop around from NY to NY (the "DownEast Loo") passing by Quebec and Nova Scotia. And if the family still has some "trill" for cruising, we would like to spend a winter in the Bahamas...

Hope all of your dreams come true !
Francois is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 01:53 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Boydski's Avatar
 
City: Olympia, WA
Vessel Name: Sea Eagle
Vessel Model: Nordhavn 47
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 201
Wreck diving in the Aleutian Islands is our long term goal, but I have a lot of territory to explore North of Vancouver Island before I get up there.
__________________
Scott (Boydski) Boyd
Yes Please, Grand Banks Eastbay
Sea Eagle, Nordhavn 47 (sold)
Boydski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 02:52 PM   #15
Veteran Member
 
snakeriveridaho's Avatar
 
City: Buhl, Idaho
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 43
Cruise up to Alaska and back, out of the Puget Sound.
snakeriveridaho is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 02:54 PM   #16
Guru
 
Alaskan Sea-Duction's Avatar
 
City: Inside Passage Summer/Columbia River Winter
Vessel Name: Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Model: 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8,050
KS, I am with you. I retire in less than 2 years and in 2016 i will start that dream by returning home to Alaska and the inside passage. Head south for the river to the lower Columbia River or farther south when we feel like it. More than ever I want to return to PWS....
Alaskan Sea-Duction is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 03:14 PM   #17
Guru
 
AusCan's Avatar
 
City: Adelaide
Vessel Name: Kokanee
Vessel Model: Cuddles 30 Pilot House Motor Sailer
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,218
My next big trip is to the Sir Joseph Banks group of islands, which is near Port Lincoln, South Australia. It involves a bit of blue water travel, but is manageable with my present boat with a bit of preparation and a spare two weeks.

The other trip on the agenda is a Murray river cruise. The Murray is the third longest navigable river in the world (after the Nile & the Amazon). The only concern is entering the mouth of the river, which usually has a 6-8 foot swell which makes it challenging. Here's a video of a boat entering the mouth on a good day.

After that - I dream of circumnavigating Australia. This requires retirement, a different boat, and a desire to go. I've got one out of 3.
AusCan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 03:25 PM   #18
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,267
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskan Sea-Duction View Post
KS, I am with you. I retire in less than 2 years and in 2016 i will start that dream by returning home to Alaska and the inside passage. Head south for the river to the lower Columbia River or farther south when we feel like it. More than ever I want to return to PWS....
Well...

I'm digging out the shrimp pots in the next few weeks.

Nothing like fresh caught Alaska shrimp on the barbi

__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 07:10 PM   #19
chc
Senior Member
 
chc's Avatar
 
City: PA
Vessel Name: Scooter
Vessel Model: 1984 Californian 34 LRC
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 358
We'd like to repeat our ICW trip to FL; this time going up the west coast . In the mean time, we're still considering going to New England for a month or so. While officially retired, I'm finding that continued working meets some sort of perverted need in my system to feel that I'm being productive. Altho' weird, it brings in diesel money.
__________________
Scooter
1984 Californian 34 LRC
www.scootersvoyage.blogspot.com
chc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2014, 07:25 PM   #20
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
My cruising dream is to follow a drug runner headed north that's chucking duffle bags of cash overboard so the federales don't catch him and I'm right behind him with a fishing net scooping up enough to buy whatever I want....

Now THAT's scenery on the ICW in my dreams....
psneeld is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:49 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012