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There are often two different camps when it comes to cruising. Very much like driving across the USA, some are about the destination; they just want to get there quickly and start enjoying the place. The romantics say trips are about the journey and all the intrinsic awards that come with travel: time to reflect and communing with nature.
When the Caribbean 1500 fleet sets off from Hampton Roads on Monday, many of the participants will know which camp they’re in sometime next weekend. “There are definitely a little bit of both types in this fleet,” said Race Director Andrew Bishop after a dinner with the group heading to the Bahamas after the start. “This trip is definitely about the places you go. We select these spots for their beauty and what they offer and everyone looks forward to getting there.”
On the bus ride back from dinner, Judy Long and Stephen Sellinger from the Gulf Star 41 Bentana didn’t quite know where they fit in. “There are people who we see in the Abacos who power all the way there, plug in and just go from bar to bar,” said Sellinger, “and they’re cruisers! What are we? I guess we’re adventure sailors.”
Bishop has seen many combinations of the journey versus destination type in more than 20 years of cruising rally support work. “There have been people who just don’t like the sailing part,” he said with a chuckle. “And that’s interesting in an around-the-world cruise.” But he added that there was a gentleman who sailed a 30-odd footer in the first World ARC, and he could have done without the stopovers. “For him it was about his circumnavigation and completing that under sail.”
As the sailors sit through communication and safety seminars this weekend, sharing experiences and learning from the expert World Cruising Club staff, it’s hard to believe anyone here is just in it for the destination. Discussions over dinner last night were all about great experiences on blue water.
So even though Bahamas Class leader Johnny Powell started Friday’s seminar off with, “When you arrive in Green Turtle Cay, there will be three nights of live music so we’re well set up,” this group is likely to enjoy both the journey and the destination.
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