I recently had a conversation with someone wanting to get into cruising and it seemed that his main goal had a lot to do with achieving a certain level of independence.
Sound familiar?
For me, the best way to achieve a reasonable amount of independence is to simplify and live within one’s means. Which, I’ll admit, becomes somewhat problematic in a society fueled by consumerism.
For instance, a great way to simplify your boat search is to reject any boats that are bigger than one can manage on your own. The reasoning being that if you have to have systems on your boat to assist in physical tasks you become dependent on those systems. Over the years I’ve seen far too many examples of various boat systems not working for any number of reasons to feel comfortable depending on things I can’t fix or do without.
A couple, some years back, anchored behind us during the night. In the morning they had some sort of electric problem and they were unable to launch their dinghy which used an electric winch. Luckily they had a handheld VHF and were able to get someone to give them a ride to customs so they could check in.
Once back on their boat they decided to go in to the marina but their anchor windlass would not work either so they wound up being marooned in the anchorage until someone could come and fix their electrical issues for them.
At the time, I promised myself that when I reach an age where I can’t launch my dinghy, pick up an anchor, or am unable to fix simple issues aboard my boat I’ll trade down to a smaller simpler boat where I can.
The scary part is that I now see lots of folks in their prime buying boats that are too big, with too heavy tackle, and systems they can’t repair because they think independence is gained by buying stuff. Sure, having an electric winch for your RIB with a big motor might seem like a good idea but it’s just another thing that you’re going to be dependent on and, as we all know, shit happens.
“A designer knows, he has achieved, perfection not when, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I cant imagine many people would want to do a “Baluchon”, but apart from the usual autopilot failure, he circumnavigated without problems. Though I expect for many, staying at home watching youtube and pottering in a shed might be preferable to a 13ft ocean going yacht.
I remember meeting my first American in Martinique, when i sailed in with a 26ft boat. He said I was an idiot and proved a point, and should get a bigger boat……..he was left speechless when i told him this “was” the bigger boat, as the last one was 18ft. I confess his air-conditioning and cold beer was nice, but he was also waiting for an engineer to fly in to “fix some stuff”. He was still there when i departed, under sail, 3 weeks later.
Simple can be less stress.