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| Magothy River Anchorage, MD |
Deciding to go cruising is a long process. Most people who decide
to go cruising don't know anyone else doing it personally and have
never been out cruising with friends, so the picture of what cruising
actually
is is pretty
indistinct. This was certainly true for us as was evidenced by the
fact that we never even thought about the ICW in our planning. We
thought about long ocean passages, we thought about weather, we
thought about equipment as related to passages and weather, but the
idea that we would motor down the ICW some 1000 miles just never even
entered our minds.
One of the biggest things we've
learned about cruising in general this past year is that it's
important to think about what kind of cruiser you want to be, and to
be honest with yourself about whether you have the abilities and
characteristics to
be
that kind of cruiser. It will impact the way you prepare to cruise, the things you purchase, the things you bring from your land life, and your expectations. We've said often on this blog in recent months
that we always pictured ourselves as blue water cruisers, taking long
passages and rarely sitting for long periods of time. This reasoning
came as a result of our long passages around New England and with
John Kretschmer in the Bahamas, passages where there was adequate
crew to ease the load of passage making. The reality of it was that
we suffered more from sea sickness than we thought we would, and sail
changes at night in bad weather were more stressful than we were
comfortable with. We simply didn't enjoy it when we were short
handed.
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| Broad Creek Anchorage, NC |
I never really began to think
about what kind of cruiser I wanted to be until our friend Kacey came
to visit for two weeks. He wanted to spend a prolonged time out
“doing it” and toward the end when we had some long, ranging
talks about his experiences he said he had decided he was more a
liveaboard than a cruiser. It really got me on this train of thought
and with every passing month, and with every additional experience,
our “kind of cruiser” is being better defined.
So what does this have to do with
the title of this blog post? Because for the last month we've been
parked at a dock in a marina. It's a nice marina with great reviews
on Active Captain, beautiful landscaping, a view of some incredible
yachts, good dock mates, and all the conveniences of home. So why do
I hate it? Because
Kintala
can't swing into the wind and the sun doesn't do its ripple
reflection thing on the ceiling in the morning, the water is
disgusting, there's no dolphins and I've gotten hurt not once, but
twice getting on and off the boat at high tide. One kind of cruiser I
definitely
don't want
to be is a marina rat.
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| Pungo River Anchorage NC |
This is not to say that being a
marina rat isn't a good thing. For some people. There are a half
dozen people here who live full time in the marina, most of them on
trawlers of some sort, although a few are on sailboats. If being a
liveaboard is your thing then a marina is the place to be. A
continuing flow of ice and clean clothes and long showers is not to
be taken lightly, and we've been in a few really exceptional ones
like
Oak Harbor and
Barefoot. But would I trade it for a mooring? In
a heartbeat.
We've spent a good bit of time on
the Vero Beach mooring field, and it's called Velcro Beach for a good
reason. Great protection, excellent dinghy dock and
lounge/shower/laundry facilities, free bus service, and a beautiful
beach. The best beach, though was at Treasure Cay, Abacos. The
moorings there are reasonable at $20 a day, and the facilities are
great. St. Augustine was one of those places where the mooring field
sucked because it's so exposed and the dinghy ride to the dock is
long and wet, but the town made up for it with rich history
everywhere. More recently we spent quite a bit of time in Coconut
Grove at the Dinner Key Mooring Facility. As far as moorings go, the
actual mooring field sucks like St. Augustine because it's so
exposed. The exposure does give you a fantastic skyline view of
downtown Miami and oncoming thunderstorms, fresh air and a nearly
constant breeze abound, and the mosquitoes are few if you're out far
enough. The reason we would go back there, though, is the staff.
Patrick and his staff are without any doubt the most talented
customer service division we've seen on a mooring field anywhere.
They are helpful, polite, prompt, knowledgeable, and make you feel
like you're the only reason they're there. And yet...
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| From the dock at Oriental, NC |
We would still rather anchor out
when given the choice. We are almost always happier when we are
cozied up in a cove somewhere either by ourselves or with a couple
other boats. It's best if the water is clear, the bottom sandy, and
the weather warm, but we've equally enjoyed some cold, gray, stormy
anchorages with cups of coffee and warm sweatshirts. We've anchored
up rivers in Maryland, in inlets in South Carolina, in bays in North
Carolina, along long stretches of beach in the Abacos, in a tiny cove
in Egg Island, Eleuthra, in Middle River, FL, and right smack dab in
the middle of Nassau. Each one has had its own flavor, each one
serves to meet a mood.
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| Camp LeJeune Anchorage |
After a year of thinking about
this all, here's my Pros and Cons list for each. What kind of cruiser
are you?
Marinas
| Pros |
Cons |
| Air conditioning in hot climates, heat in cold. |
Noise: other boats, road and city traffic, neighbors |
| Easy access to groceries, trash, water, electricity, laundry,
and sometimes (if you're very lucky) wifi |
Wifi rarely works |
| You get to meet more people |
You have to put up with people that you may not care for |
| Easier to work on the boat |
Harder to go sailing since you're established in one place |
| Ice Cream Access: 10 |
Wakes from passing power boaters |
|
You spend WAY more money because everything is so accessible |
| No need for a dinghy dock |
Hard to get on and off the boat when docks are not floating.
Easy to get hurt. |
| No running the generator. |
Power at the dock is low quality and we've had two shore power
cords burn in 7 years. |
|
Services vary wildy for the same money. The best marina we
ever stayed in cost 1/3 of our current dock. |
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| Charleston, SC anchorage |
Moorings
| Pros |
Cons |
| More stable ride since the boat always swings into the wind |
Sometimes exposed |
| Good ventilation since the boat swings into the wind |
Sometimes relatively expensive. Quality is inconsistent |
| Less worry about dragging in high winds |
You need to know the quality of the mooring |
| Relatively accessible to services like groceries, banks,
laundry, etc., depending on the mooring |
You spend more money than anchoring |
| You can run the generator but... |
Some people don't want to hear it |
| Most mooring fields have cruiser nets to facilitate getting to
meet people |
For some reason jet skis feel it is their personal duty to run
high speed through mooring fields. Honestly. Every one we've been
in. |
| Dinghy dock available |
|
| Ice Cream Access: 8 |
|
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| South Beach Miami Anchorage |
Anchorages
| Pros |
Cons |
| Freedom. You rarely have anyone telling you what to do,
anchoring well is a challenge and builds skill |
You're totally responsible for your safety |
| You pick the view |
Services vary depending on where you pick |
| Free |
Sometimes harder to meet people |
| Ventilation is good since the boat always swings into the wind |
Sometimes people can anchor too close or be obnoxious |
| Did I mention free? |
Ice Cream Access: Dependent on location, but usually around a
4 |
| 4G cell internet available in most populated areas, even in
the Bahamas. We were rarely without it |
Wifi is rarely available without an extender, and even with
one most wifi is password protected now |
| Privacy is excellent |
Dinghy docks are hard to come by and usually cost |
| You can run the generator whenever you feel like it |
|
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| No-Name Harbor, FL |
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| Hatchet Bay, Eleuthra Anchorage |
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| Dinner Key Mooring Facility, FL |
