Yeah, I know no one want to have anything to do with politics and my new T-shirt pretty much sums up my current view of things…
The problem is that if you ignore politics you’re going to find that they will come around and bite you in the ass. For example, all of a sudden, the word-of-mouth on cruising in Florida is that it’s becoming a NO GO destination. Sadly, not a big surprise as there has been a lot of anti-boat rhetoric from those in office concerning cruisers and liveaboards. The whole go with the flow and ignore unhappy situations has just made the situation worse. Where you can or cannot anchor, making dinghy access impossible, and forcing cruisers to jump through bureaucratic hoops is politics personified.
I’ve been cruising and living aboard for most of the last five decades and every country I’ve visited has politics that affect cruisers. Throw in the fact that your country’s or your personal politics can make you a less than wanted visitor in a lot of places. No matter what you think of politics it’s all a part of the cruising lifestyle. Whether it’s how you deal with customs and immigration or the cost of diesel at the gas dock is, part and parcel, politics in the real world.
Just sayin’.
On another tack, something you might want to check out…