• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • My Account
  • Cart

Sailing Britican

Helping you to become a sailing cruiser!

TwitterYoutubeFacebookLinkedinPinterestInstagram
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Make Money Being A Cruiser
    • Checklists For Sailors Guide
    • Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers
    • VHF Radio Checklists & Templates
    • Sailing Experiences on Britican
    • Our Etsy T-shirt Store
  • Life Aboard
    • Life With COVID-19
    • Hurricane Season
    • Galley
      • Recipes
    • Getting Started
    • Making An Income
    • Kids On A Boat
    • Marina Life
    • Racing Your Home
    • The Boating Lifestyle
  • How To
    • Buying A Boat
    • CopperCoat
    • Electrical Systems
    • Kit
    • Maintenance
    • Major Upgrades
    • Organization & Cleaning
    • Passage Planning
    • Safety
    • Sailing, Maneuvering & Mooring
  • Destinations
    • Atlantic Crossing
    • Bahamas
    • Bermuda
    • Caribbean Sailing
    • Charleston
    • Florida
    • Mediterranean
  • Our Journey
  • Sailing Experience
  • More…
    • Our Story – From The Beginning
    • Freebies
    • The Crew
    • The Yacht
    • Best Sailing Quotes
    • Sailing Q & A
    • Disclaimer
    • Contacting Us
    • Terms & conditions
    • Disclaimer
    • Imprint
    • Privacy Statement (CA)
    • Cookie Policy (CA)

How To Fit In As A New Cruiser

July 10, 2018 3 Comments

Share368
Tweet2
Pin1K
Buffer
Reddit
Share
Pocket
2K Shares

A huge amount of time and effort has to go into getting a boat, planning the finances, and preparing to set sail. But there’s also the issue of fitting in as a new cruiser within the cruiser community. Are there rules?  How about things that happen that are different from land life? Are there do’s and do not’s to being a cruiser?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

Let me get right down to it…here’s just a sprinkling of the things you’ll want to know about fitting in as a new cruiser.

A New Cruiser At Sea

Always wave to people you pass no matter if they’re on a monohaul, catamaran, or even a motor boater. It’s just a nice thing to do!

Know the rules of the road. Understand who has right away but always assume the other boater doesn’t know the rules, or worse, isn’t at the helm of the boat!

Give other boats a wide berth. If you see a boat that’s on a possible collision course with you, make a large correction so they can easily see that you see them (and know that, indeed, you are at the helm!).

A New Cruiser While Anchoring

When anchoring it’s fine to yell over to another boat and ask where his/her anchor is and how much scope has been let out. This will provide you with valuable information on where you can drop your anchor; especially in busy anchorages.

Once you anchor and the boat has settled, yell over to your closest neighbor (if you have one) and ask if they’re happy with your anchoring spot. Just say, ‘are you okay with our distance?’ Even if you know the distance is fine it’s just a common courtesy. It also instantly connects you with your neighbor.

A New Cruiser While At Anchor Or On A Mooring Ball

When invited to another boat for sundowners (drinks at dusk), always bring your own drinks. Always. It’s best to have a little soft travel cooler so you can bring your drinks, glasses and a wine and bottle opener. Bring your empties home with you.

And a sure fire way to get invited again is to also bring a snack to share. Snacks include chips and dip, popcorn, crackers and cheese, veggies and dip and nuts, pretzels or other easy to open and eat snack. If possible, also bring the bowl or dish to serve your snacks but remember to take the bowl home with you.

For Pot Luck dinners don’t experiment with something new – save that for your partner or family. Bring a tried and tested dish. Bring utensils with the dish to serve. And a good tip is to write the name of your boat on the bowl, plate, utensils so that in the event you forget to take them with you, the host can return them. Also, avoid making things with nuts or any high allergy item (especially when kids are around).



A New Cruiser At Beach BBQ’s Or Pot Lucks

Bring your own drinks in addition to a dish or dishes to pass. And you may need to bring your own meat. Many cruiser beach BBQ’s are set up where one boat will set up the fire pit but all the cruisers come with their own meat to BBQ and only the sides and salads are offered to share. Also, bring your own plates, bowls, utensils, napkins and garbage bag.

To be a hit at the BBQ or beach Pot Luck, also bring a Bluetooth speaker or music player. You can also bring beach towels, chairs, insect repellant and sunscreen. If you’d like a full list of things to bring when you go to shore, grab a copy of my best selling guide, Checklists for Sailors.

Always consider the amount of food available in addition to the amount of people attending and don’t be a hog (not that I’ve ever seen any cruise go crazy on the food consumption).

A New Cruiser With Kids

The key thing with kids is to get them out and playing! When there are only a few kid boats in an anchorage, some or all of the parents will tend to arrange times to meet at the beach, go for a hike, head out on an excursion or go for a snorkeling trip. Make sure you do your fair share of organizing and volunteering. But also realize it’s okay to take a break.

Do not consistently drop your kids off for other cruisers to look after.

But don’t volunteer to watch the kids all the time either – it’s important for you to have a balance. Furthermore, if you have young toddlers I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to leave it up to others to supervise unless a very explicit arrangement has been made.

Don’t allow children to leave out other children. If there’s only three kid boats and one is inviting the other kids over to watch a movie, it’s common curtesy to invite both boats. If you don’t want that many children on your boat, just don’t do a movie. Do something on shore. If there are loads of kid boats and you want to organize something between a few boats, make use of the VHF DSC direct calling system. By doing so the whole anchorage will most likely not hear your plans.

A New Cruiser In General

Don’t gossip. Don’t say bad things about other cruisers. There are enough cruisers around that you can hang out with those you resonate with and the others will just melt into the background. Cruisers, by nature, are very similar so most of the people you meet will be just like you. That being said, no one wants to get rolled into a negative conversation about other people.

The whole reason we’re cruisers is to escape the office politics and rumor mill. Instead, talk about the weather, the latest sailing app you’ve test out or ask how to fix whatever it is that recently broke on your boat!

If you see someone struggling, don’t wait around.

Get in your dinghy and go help. Recently a boat near us had their head sail unfurl, in a wind storm, while on a mooring ball. It took four people, my husband included, twenty minutes to drop the sail. As soon as my husband saw the boat struggling, he swam over, got on board and helped out.

If you’re in a dinghy and a boat is struggling to get a mooring ball, go over and lift the painter up for them. If you see a boat coming in under tow, offer to run over in your dinghy and help out. Always be on the lookout for ways you can help the community. Not only will it be repaid to you but it’s a great way to meet new cruisers. Make sure to tweet this article to your friends!

Here are some interesting tips on how to fit in as a newbie cruiser.Click To Tweet

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In…

  • 8 Steps To Anchoring in a Storm
  • Picking Up A Mooring Ball
  • 40 Reasons Why Living On A Sailboat Rocks

New Cruiser

Share368
Tweet2
Pin1K
Buffer
Reddit
Share
Pocket
2K Shares

Tags: cruiser, Cruising, cruising community, fitting in, newbies, rules, tips Categories: Life Aboard

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. zarih.sundberg says

    July 10, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    The only thing I object to, which I find is typical of sailboat owners, is the division. Sail or motor is not relevant. We share the love for the sea, we just choose different ways of doing it. One is not better than the other. And during my years as a motor boat owner, I have found that sailboats don’t raise their hands in a hello. And they often decline help from us with motors. At least here in Sweden. Be nice, help your fellow sailor regardless of boat.

    Reply
    • Kim Brown says

      July 16, 2018 at 12:20 pm

      I totally agree with you Zarih. We’ve always helped motor boats and they’ve helped us so perhaps things are different where we’ve been. Of course we joke with our motor boat friends calling them ‘stink pots’ but then they joke with us about how long it takes us to get nowhere. Hehehehehe. A friend not so long ago told me that monohull boats didn’t wave at her now that she has a catamaran. I think that if you wave at anyone most times the other boat waves back (regardless of what kind of boat they’re on). Thank you for commenting 😉 Kim

      Reply
      • El says

        July 24, 2018 at 8:43 am

        Maybe the people on the sailing boat are waving but the motorboat does not see it because the sailing boat heels 30 degrees in the wave of the motorboat. Thats at least so here around Malta on a weekend.

        Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel

Recipe Rating




sidebar

Blog Sidebar

Watch This First

https://youtu.be/llCA4EskjpA

Best Selling Ebooks

Checklists For Sailors

VHF Radio Checklists For Sailors

Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers

A Sailing Cruiser's Guide To Making Money

Britican Experience

Sailboat Liveaboard Sailing Experiences

Free Guides

50 Suggested Checklists

10 Steps To Buying A Sailboat

10 Steps To Buying A Sailboat

Electrical System Audit

Boat Safety Checklist

Support Us On Patreon

Become a Patron!

Recent Comments

  • Kim Brown on Quickest & Easiest Man Overboard Procedure
  • Gerhard Mayerhofer on Quickest & Easiest Man Overboard Procedure
  • Kim Brown on Sailing Cruisers – Stocking the Boat?
  • Wim on Sailing Cruisers – Stocking the Boat?
  • Bruce Avellanet on Sailing Cruisers – Stocking the Boat?

This Might Be Of Interest…

Recent Posts

  • A Seasickness Solution For Sailors That Works June 28, 2022
  • Sailing Cruisers – Stocking the Boat? June 14, 2022
  • Open Ocean Sailing Passage June 7, 2022
  • Boat Safety 101 May 3, 2022
  • Life on our Sailboat – A Family Member Visits April 26, 2022

Top Rated Products

  • A Sailing Cruiser's Guide To Making Money A Sailing Cruisers Guide To Making Money - Digital
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $27.97
  • Checklists For Sailors Checklists for Sailors - Digital
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $27.97
  • Confident Sailing Cruiser Collection Confident Sailing Cruiser Collection - All Digital Guides
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $150.00 $97.00
  • VHF Radio Checklists and Templates for Sailors VHF Radio Checklists For Sailors
    Rated 4.80 out of 5
    $19.97
  • Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers - Digital
    Rated 4.80 out of 5
    $27.97

Have You Read My Book?

Changing Lifestyles Book Thumb "Changing Lifestyles - Trading in the Rat Race for a Sail Around The World" (Click the picture for more information)

Nautical Gift Store

Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Pinterest

Footer

Contact Us

We help people to take the exciting leap from living on land to becoming full time live-aboard sailors. If you would like to get in touch or having any questions, here are our details.
WhatsApp: +44 787 940 1425 Email: info@SailingBritican.com

Payment Information

We accept PayPal and all major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB Diners Club, credit and debit cards. Transactions are performed via a SSL server to ensure your privacy.

Credit-Cards

Check Us Out On Social Media

TwitterYoutubeFacebookLinkedinPinterestInstagram

Site Developed by Gary Fox

Sailing Britican, All Rights Reserved

Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}