Sailing and Camping

Living on a sailboat was something we did for 8 years. All in the Caribbean, Windward's, Leeward's, Trinidad and Venezuela. We had a ball.

But there is some sacrifice. Here are 7 things you will never see with this lifestyle:

1) Someone going ashore in a suit and tie...No exceptions, if you have messed up, you can borrow a suit from your island lawyer.
2) Talking on the cell phone while in the dinghy...You can't hear anything anyway and if you tried this you would be quickly ostracized by your fellow cruisers. The cell phone would take a bath.
3) A jet ski on a sailboat...there are some anchorages where these abominations are around, usually operated by a young drunk idiot trying to impress the bikini clad bunny holding on for dear life.
4) A blender on board...First off they really pull the juice, and folks forget that cruisers take very good care of their batteries. Besides you drink your rum neat anyway. Any mini parasol in a drink you would serve on your boat would mean blackballing of your boat.
5) Hair dryers or makeup...see amperage pull above, that covers the hair dryers. Makeup is also a taboo ...everyone else looks natural, so will you.
6) Footware of any type other than waterproof sandals...My cruising buds and us crashed a cruise ship beach party once in Mayreau, of the thousand folks ashore only the 4 of us had on sandals. It is all you wear and all you need. Thanks Carnival, especially the folks in cabin A406...just kidding.
7) A couple that argues...How much of your personal space do you think exists on a 40 foot boat with curved walls? If you have to argue stay home.

There you have it...living on a sailboat is fun and uncomplicated... the above has no place on board.

Did you know that how you start the bowline makes the difference as to whether this marine knots king stays put--or comes undone? Practice these five easy steps to tie this knot the right way every time!

Slide up to a pier or slip and you might need to pass a bowline around the piling fast. Take too long to tie the knot and you could end up leaning way over the side. Get the sequence for the bowline knot right, and you will tie it faster and smoother. Follow these five steps to success:

1. Use Enough Line

Coil the line and hold it in your non-dominant hand. Split the coil and hold at least six feet in your dominant hand. As soon as you are near the piling, drape the line in your dominant hand around the piling and pull it back toward you.

2. Make a Loop on Top

Extend the second and third fingers of your dominant hand. Place your extended fingers on the bottom of the standing part of the line (in your non-dominant hand). Keep just a bit of tension of the standing part for now.

3. Wrap 'n Roll

Wrap the standing part of the line around your extended fingers. Roll your dominant hand over toward the standing part so that your extended fingers point down. This creates a loop on top of the standing part.

4. Pass the Bitter End

Pull your fingers out of the loop. Hold the loop steady in your non-dominant hand. Thread the end under and up through the loop. Next, pass it beneath and around the standing part, and then up and back through the loop to form the bowline knot.

5. Remove the Slack

Pull the bitter end and the standing part in opposite directions to remove the slack. If you've done things right, you should have at least 4" to 6" of bitter end left over after you finish the knot. The bowline needs this extra line on the end in case you need to make adjustments later on.

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Use these five easy steps to tie the king of marine knots faster and easier than ever before. This powerful bowline knot will give you peace-of-mind that your small cruising boat will stay safe and secure in any type of marine weather.

Boating seems to be the most interesting and enjoying event for everyone in this world. So in order to experience the best boating, everyone should come out with the best boat that is strong enough to sail on any kind of weather condition and water. Boating is not such an easy entertaining event and it is not an event that anyone can take part, as it the most dangerous and risky event where everyone requires a good knowledge in boating. No one can just start boating with just a basic knowledge in boating. May be the basic knowledge will only be helpful to glide a boat in a small pool or lake but it is not enough for you to sail though different places via the sea or river as it is something like a phrase " Empty minded people make their own way to go round the world by walk".

Now, coming back to the boats and boating, there are many different boats using which you can have different boating experience. There are different light weighted boats and heavy weighed boats that should be picked up based on the destination and climatic condition. You need to choose the best boat those us capable to sail in any climatic condition. Then you need to fulfill certain requirement and papers if you have planned to sail a boat around the world. Next requirement is that you need to read through the map to know about the sailing routes to reach your destination.

Finally is fulfilling the safeguard measure like life jacket that is mandatory before starting the boating event because you may also lose your life while traveling through long distances via horrific weather conditions. Apart from all these requirements the most important and the first mandatory requirement is that you need to know swimming. Without that it is really hard and difficult for you to sail a boat. It is because swimming is known and said to be the first lifeguard security factor of all other means.

So once you fulfill all the above requirements and is eligible to have a boat ride then it is your day and your rule to enjoy boating. Boating being one of the most adventurous events for most of the swimmers, is likely to be an adventurous event for the people who watch it too. This is because there are different boating games and events for boating champions and also for boating lovers where the game includes many champions who are experts in reaching the destination within a minimum timeout. Many states have adopted these boating games and provide winning shields to those who come first in boating. There are many resorts and companies who sponsor the players for million dollars. So in this way boating can be described as a best entertaining game enjoyed by every players and viewers.

Coming to boats, you can easily classify these boats into three major categories. First is the un-powered or human-powered boat, the second is the motor boats and the third and the final is the sailing boats. The usual and common un-powered boats include the rafts and floats that are meant for one-way downstream travel. The other usual Human-powered boats include canoes, kayaks, gondolas and boats propelled by poles. The next are the motor boats which are propelled by mechanical means, such as engines. Finally the sailor boats that are specialized for sailors are boats that are propelled exclusively by means of sails. So with the various availability of boat categories people need to choose the best one that supports their boating.