Miscellaneous stuff that I feel needs to go into print.
I’ve had the experience of helping people get ready to go cruising, only to have them fail disastrously in a very short time. Cruising is not the same as a Disney ride where you sit in boat floating through a wonderland. Most other countries require that you have some training before using a boat. A quick review of boating fails on Youtube shows some of the results of the freedom that we have.
Don’t get me wrong – I think I should be allowed to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. In fact, I think I should be allowed to ride as fast as I want, as long as I don’t hurt anyone else (I used to consider speeding tickets a sort of tax that I paid for going fast; that is until I lost my license). I am proud to live in the USA where we have the freedoms so much of the rest of the world lacks. If you have never lived in another country, you do not have the perspective you need to see the world realistically.
Back to one of my pet peeves; Friends tried to leave Florida because they were out of time on paying Florida taxes on their purchase. After a year of working on the boat and 24 hours underway, they ended up on stuck a reef near the Florida Keys. With large waves bouncing the boat up and down on a hard surface, they were rescued by the Coast Guard and helicoptered to Marathon.
Another friend left for an around the world trip on the day she said she would, and 48 hours later was towed back, seasick to the point of throwing up blood with a failed engine, the first time she used the boat, and that ended her dream.
The moral: get to know the boat and your own abilities before making the big jump.