So…since we can do anything we want here, today’s How Not To Sail Minute is a book recommendation.
And that book is Bumfuzzle, by Patrick Schulte. Patrick and his wife Ali decide they’re tired of living in chilly Chicago and decide they should buy a used catamaran and circumnavigate the globe in it.
One thing that sets them apart is that they actually do it.
But another thing that sets them apart is that they’re really not into the whole cruisers scene.
In more than one passage, Patrick expresses frustration that older cruisers seem, inevitably, to want to tell him and Ali that they’re “rushing it,” in effect one never-ending humble brag. (“Oh, you youngsters are taking it so fast! We are taking a decade for our cruise.”)
When somebody says they’ve been cruising for twelve years, does it really count if they spend every winter back at their land home in the U.S.? Shouldn’t that statement come with a qualification? Like maybe, “We’ve been cruising off and on for twelve years.”
He also rejects what he sees as the practice of constantly giving advice to other cruisers as to what to see, what to do, and what not to do in any given cruising destination…whereas he and Ali prefer to wing it and discover stuff on their own.
We don’t want to be told where everything is and what is worth doing and what is not. Part of the fun of a new destination is finding diesel, groceries, and whatever else we need.
In short…Patrick and Ali might be whatcha call “anti-cruisers.” It’s not that they don’t like people…it’s just that they don’t like following the herd. And they don’t particularly want the herd following them, either.
(Why indeed, is it, that when you anchor at a pristine and solitary beach with no one for miles, someone will inevitably pull in and anchor right next to you?)
Anyway, I found it immensely enjoyable, and highly recommend it. But what do you expect from a guy who was gonna name my boat… Do Not Disturb…?
See Bumfuzzle my other recommended sailing and cruising books at Top 7 Books For Sailors.
…and read about Patrick and Ali’s circumnavigation and other adventures here… (The Bumfuzzle part is at the end…since, um, it was the beginning. Got it?)
