tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266108914902271629.post7477154986504853859..comments2023-09-25T08:48:48.104-07:00Comments on John Vigor's Blog: Why all the unhappiness?John Vigorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02215080385571534292noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266108914902271629.post-59492202207454115892016-08-27T02:56:18.786-07:002016-08-27T02:56:18.786-07:00An old Chinese proverb defines the three things yo...An old Chinese proverb defines the three things you need to make you happy. They are 1) something to do, 2) someone (or something) to love, 3) something to look forward to.<br /><br />Most people who go cruising on board a good boat would normally have all of these things, therefore they must, by definition, be happy. If, however, you are a lone sailor who hates his boat and has no destination in mind, you might not have many happy moments.Patrick Hayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05090255988359454330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266108914902271629.post-72711961282917456922016-08-25T05:05:36.399-07:002016-08-25T05:05:36.399-07:00I think another point may be made about having a s...I think another point may be made about having a shore based abode to return to. Selling all and jumping aboard a boat may seem like a great plan, but what if things fail to work out, or you get ill or injured? We are land creatures first. Not having a backup abode ashore seems to me no different than not having a backup bilge pump if the electric one bites the dust. If you are single like me, with no family nearby, this becomes even more critical. My own objective would be to have at least one to two years of rent money stashed in a "do not touch" account, or a late model mobile home back ashore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266108914902271629.post-19419880351420223452016-08-22T16:12:00.624-07:002016-08-22T16:12:00.624-07:00Pelagia, I believe that statistic came from the Pa...Pelagia, I believe that statistic came from the Pardeys, who have studied the matter in some detail. I agree that cruising for a couple of years and then coming back to live at home is "successful." It depends on whether you achieved your stated goal and whether, indeed you had a goal at all. Too many people set off without a set plan for exactly where they are going and when they should be there. The goal needn't be fancy. You don't have to sail around the world. Taking the temperature of the sea in mid-oceans for a university research group could be a goal. Collecting postage stamps from every country Joshua Slocum visited is another. If you don't have goals, or you don't plan for them and achieve them, you change from a serious cruiser to a wandering liveaboard, and the chances of your giving up sailing become greater. Rows break out with your partners, because you can't agree how long to stay in a certain place, or where to go next. If you have a goal, those decisions are made for you, and made well in advance, so everyone knows what to expect. I believe that the Pardeys regarded giving up sailing early on as the big sin, as the sign of an unsuccessful cruise, but it takes all kinds to make a cruising world and I don't know whether you'd call Bernard Moitessier unsuccessful in his early days just because he was a wanderer, a self-styled vagabond, with no set goals except to enjoy himself on the deep wide ocean. Liveaboards might not automatically be successful cruisers, but there's nothing to stop them enjoying themselves in other ways, I guess. John Vigorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02215080385571534292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266108914902271629.post-41973761410015082782016-08-22T09:57:09.513-07:002016-08-22T09:57:09.513-07:00Success rate of only 30-40%? How have you defined...Success rate of only 30-40%? How have you defined "success"? Only those who continue cruising? Going cruising for 1-2 years and returning home because you've figured out cruising (and living) back home is more enjoyable for you (as we did) is, in my mind, equally successful. SV Pelagiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14428198462359637369noreply@blogger.com