46 Sea Magazine / april 2014

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If you’re a cruIsIng newbIe, we’ve got 28 reasons you should use a

group cruIse to get your feet wet.

  It doesn’t matter if you’re a longtime boater whose expe-rience is day trips or if you’re new to boating and are pre-paring for your first season. The idea of real cruising can be a little intimidating, and you might feel unsure of where to start.  One of the best ways to jump into the cruising lifestyle is to join a group. Group cruises don’t all look the same — they might be official owners’ rendezvous events, local grassroots harbor-hopping expeditions or more hardcore long-distance rallies — but they all have similar benefits.

Cruise Planning  New cruisers can start learning from their fellow boaters before they even leave the dock:1 Interpret weather forecasts and  tide  charts.  “On  a  group cruise,  you  have  the  ability  to 

just jump on the radio and ask, ‘What does this all mean for me?’” said Chris Murray, co-chair of the 2014 FUBAR Odyssey from San Diego to La Paz and a lifelong cruiser who currently owns a 52-foot Offshore Pilothouse Motoryacht named Westwind. “There’s huge comfort in being able to do that.”2  Prepare a meaningful list of tools, spare parts and safety  gear.  “So  many  people  think  they’re  prepared when they leave on a big cruise, and they’re not,” Murray said. “You’ll have the benefit of the organizers’ lists, and 

Chances are, if you’ve spent any time on a boat — or looking at them in a boating magazine — you’ve dreamed of cruising. The word itself conjures so many images: steaming mugs of morning coffee in a quiet anchorage, exploring 

remote beaches and islands, scouting for wildlife, dropping the hook for an afternoon of swimming and watersports, din-ing alfresco, the lapping waves rocking you to sleep at night.

are you In ? By Heather Steinberger

SeaMagazine.coM 47

we have free boat checks as well.” Larry Graf, an experienced bluewater cruiser and founder of  Snohomish,  Wash.-based  Aspen  Power Catamarans, said that Aspen’s group cruises fea-ture a tune-up day with two technicians from the company. “They take a look at everything and address any issues,” he said. “It’s a free service; you only have to pay for parts.”3  Get comfortable with navigation. Feeling overwhelmed about planning how you’re going to get from Point A to Point B? About reading charts? That’s normal. On a group cruise, the leaders make the game plan, and you’ll have plenty of coaching so you understand what you need to do. Best of all, for answers to any ques-tions, just pick up the radio.4   Plan  your  stops,  and  relax  a  little.  “We learned  that  we  didn’t  need  to  have  our  fuel and water  tanks  full all  the  time,” said Alita Rethmeyer of Manhattan Beach, Calif. She and her  husband,  Curt,  own  Cat-Alita,  a  28-foot Aspen C90 power catamaran. “You can run at three-quarters if you know you can fill up at the next stop.”5  Compare notes with other cruisers. “Each boat owner is smart in his or her own way,” Graf said. “You can compare notes on gadgets, storage, handy ways of doing things. Gear talk.”6  Develop a realistic provisioning strategy. With a detailed cruise itinerary that will specify ports with dine-out options vs. those where you’ll need to provide for yourself, you’ll learn to make careful shopping decisions. “I’ve seen people arrive in Desolation Sound and wonder where the restaurant is!” Graf said with a laugh. “They’ll have chips and dip for dinner. I’ve seen all sorts — cruisers who bring plenty of beer and just one package of hot dogs, while others are 

making epicurean delights.” Group cruises are excellent practice for determining what’s realis-tic for your family, based on where you’re going and for how long.7  Get familiar with new technology. If you’re new to boating, or if you’ve had older boats, you may be unfamiliar with some of your new vessel’s onboard technology. Fellow cruisers can help. “GPS, radar, bow and stern thrusters … you can walk through everything with other people and see how they do it,” Rethmeyer said. 8  Or get informal tech support for old technol-ogy. Often, group cruises involve boats and gad-gets whose manufacturers have long since gone out of business. Fellow boaters with similar gear will prove to be invaluable resources.9  Practice how to be effective as crew. At the dock, new cruising boaters can feel anxious about handling lines and jumping on and off the boat. “I was really nervous about being on the outside of the boat doing those things, because I’m kind of a klutz,” said Deb Bruels, who, along with her hus-band, Glen, owns an Aspen C90 named Chapter Two; they make their home in Washington’s San Juan Islands. “On the group cruises,” she said, “I learned all the tricks.” Skill with lines and fend-ers also will come in handy away from the dock, when it’s time for a social-hour raft-up.10   Stop panicking at the dock. Glen Bruels said his  fellow boaters have helped him feel much more at ease around the dock.  “I real-ized I didn’t have to fake my way through it,” he said, chuckling. “Before, I was always wor-ried about  looking bad. I’d  feel  like the East German  judge  gave  me  a  6.2!  But  with  the group cruises, everyone  is so warm, welcom-ing and helpful; they let you know that every-one has been through this.”

 Plan your stops and relax a little.

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While underWay  Once the group cruise begins, there is still a lot newbies can learn:11   Find the smoothest ride. As Graf noted, there is more to cruising than knowing how to drive your boat around, dock it and tie it up. Experienced cruisers will be able to maximize their boat’s performance in a range of conditions. “You need to find the right trim and the right speed,” he said. “Some people will get a 12-inch chop, panic and slow down. But if you have the boat trimmed right, you might find that the smoothest ride is actually faster.”12  Appreciate the method behind the madness. “You have access to the knowledge of more experienced boat-ers, who know the winds and seas,” said Rethmeyer, who advised following the established plan. If you want to devi-ate in any way, however, make sure to run it past the group leaders first. “One time, we decided to leave our cruising group and go another way that looked shorter,” she said. “There were no other boats, not even a ferry; we couldn’t understand why, because it was a clear, sunny day. Well, the seas were a washing machine. That was … oh my gosh. Our boat was almost upside down.”13  Learn to plan new routes and stay flexible. Leaders may seek a new route based on weather and sea condi-tions, either for safety reasons or simply to guarantee a better, smoother ride. “You have the benefit of this group knowledge,” Rethmeyer said. “And boaters are indepen-dent anyway, so decisions are never set in stone. You take 

 You have access to the knowledge of more experienced boaters.

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50 Sea Magazine / april 2014

part in group decision-making, and you quickly learn flexibility.”14 Discover how capable your boat and engine truly are. This is espe-cially true if you’re on an owners’ cruise where everyone has the same type of vessel, as group leaders and experi-enced participants will know exactly what the boats and engines can handle. Deb Bruels remembered a situation where the boats had to catch slack tide to be able to run some rapids. “I was so sure we were going to get washed up 

on the rocks, but then there was a voice on the radio, telling us we could do it,” she said. Her husband chimed in, “We had 4 or 5 knots of current, twists and turns, whirlpools in a narrow channel. It was like a Disneyland ride.”15  Try new stuff. “One thing about group cruises is that you’re commit-ted,” Glen Bruels said. “You’ve got to do it. There’s no option to say, no, I’ll just keep doing it this way. And that’s the best way to learn.”16   Avoid  the  hazards,  find  the rewards. “Usually the first and second boats are scouting boats,” Rethmeyer 

said. “They’ll radio with news of haz-ards like logs or crab pots … or with sightings  of  special  landmarks  and wildlife. Those guide boats are always there, helping you learn scouting, nav-igation — all these new things.”

OnbOard life  Newbies’ life aboard can be enhanced by soaking in veterans’ knowledge:17  Get better at anchoring. “This is a big one,” said Trevor Brice, another lifelong cruiser and the owner of North 

Pacific  Yachts  in  British  Columbia. “For new people, it takes time to get confident … and you’ll still wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if you’re dragging. On a group cruise, you’ll learn about the bottom types, how much scope to use and various anchoring scenarios, but you’ll also listen  to  the  weather  forecast  and figure out what that’s going to mean for you.” Thanks to the more experienced boaters in the group, you can learn to choose the best anchorage and to execute appropriate techniques, such as  the  Pacific  Northwest’s  famous 

stern-tie. 18   Give  and  receive  help.  “I  was always  anxious  about  anchoring,” Rethmeyer said.  “But on our group cruises, after one boat would be set, we’d go with the dinghies to set the others. We’d all talk on the radio, so everyone would know what to do.” 19 Engage in arcane anchor discus-sions. Boaters have strong opinions about which anchors they prefer, and on a group cruise, you’re likely to learn more than you ever wanted to know about different anchor types — all the pros and cons.20  Learn all the liveaboard tricks. Cooking aboard a boat is very differ-ent from cooking at home, and other cruisers can offer helpful advice. “One time, we had five or six boats anchored together, and I decided to cook din-ner,” Rethmeyer said. “I had a big pot of chicken soup on the stove, and all the windows steamed up. Someone came up and gently suggested that I open the hatches. It never occurred to me.” The same goes for managing everyday items down below. “Rogue waves can happen, and you can get hit by the wake from a passing freighter,” she said. “So you quickly learn the best way to stow things.”21  Become a generator expert. “We learned how and when to use our gen-erator to keep things charged,” Glen Bruels said. “A group cruise is a won-derful way to learn how to manage everyday life on a boat for extended periods of time.”22 … And a troubleshooting expert. When you’re living on your boat all 

 Make new friends and utilize them as resources.

In the end, if you’ve ever dreamed about cruising, this is your chance to try it out — to live the dream.

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day, every day, you have to be a quick study with routine maintenance and repairs, whether you’re dealing with your engine, your water-maker or even your marine toilet. “We’ve done a fair amount  of  toilet  repair,”  Graf  said. “And changing a water pump can be a  huge  event!  Everyone  helps  each other.”23   Try your hand at dinghy wran-gling. This involves more than tow-ing your dinghy and tying  it up to the boat at night. Some group cruises involve dinghy expeditions at favor-ite ports of call.  “We’ll  tie eight  to 10 dinghies  together, bring snacks and drinks, and then tour a harbor or go see a waterfall,” Graf said. Dan Oliver, owner of an Aspen C90 named Grace,  said such a dinghy crawl  led to his most amusing cruising adven-ture to date. “Larry organized us for a trip to Lake Unwin while we were anchored in Tenados Bay, Desolation Sound,” he recalled.  “We all drove our inf latables to the beach and car-ried six of them up the long, climb-

ing trail to the lake. We had to use a couple of them as a walkway across a  log  jam at  the mouth of  the  lake. We were quite a sight, being towed around this pristine, isolated lake by the lead inf latable, equipped with a Honda outboard!”24  Build your bucket list. Group cruises  provide  exposure  to  places you  might  never  have  thought  to add to your list of must-see destina-tions. Perhaps it simply seemed too daunting to get there. Murray said many FUBAR participants were con-cerned about cruising into unfamiliar Mexican ports; they felt more com-fortable in a group. Or, perhaps the destinations have never occurred to you. As Graf pointed out, the Pacific Northwest is overflowing with great spots you’ve likely never heard of.25  Discover new skills, and perhaps new cultural experiences. “A lot of our  participants  had  never  fished,” Murray said. “All of a sudden, we had all these people on the radio, and we had  to  talk  them  through  filleting, 

cooking, deciding when they should throw something back. In the end, we kept a lot of the fish in coolers, and the locals at Magdalena Bay did a fish fry for us. It was the best dinner of the whole trip.”26  Make new friends. “The camara-derie of the group is wonderful,” Glen Bruels said. “It’s amazing how quickly you bond. You have a whole new pack of friends.”27  Utilize new friends as resources. “We’ve  had  owners  on  our  cruises who’ve never had a boat before, and we’ve had a retired megayacht cap-tain.” Graf said. “You have access to a wide range of experience in the same cruise.” And as Glen Bruels said, you’re all in it together: “People help, teach, jump in and get stuff done.”28  Taste the cruising lifestyle. In the end, if you’ve ever dreamed about cruising, this is your chance to try it out — to live the dream, for a few days or perhaps a week or two — and see if it suits you and your family. You may find it surpasses even your dreams.

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