There has been a really entertaining discussion underway this week on the American Great Loop Cruisers’ Assocation Forum (AGLCA, http://www.greatloop.org/) about what makes for a really great cruising day. Anyone who has ever taken to the water can readily appreciate the messages below:

Finish this sentence.
You know its a good cruising day when…
.. a dock hand calls you “captain” for the first time.
.. the harbor hosts are awesome!
.. a marina’s wifi is so good you can watch Netflix.
.. you time your passage through a series of drawbridges and they are all open when you arrive.
.. your best cruising buddies are waiting for you dockside when you arrive at a marina.
.. you join a cruising flotilla that is more fun than what you planned to do by yourself.
.. friends on jet skis come out to meet you as you arrive.
.. the weather is better than the forecast.
.. a fellow boater tells a nervous dock hand to not worry because, “he knows how to handle his boat.”
.. the jerk that waked you terribly is pulled over by the water patrol.
.. you are heading to a free dock and its empty when you arrive.
.. the skipper of a passing boat radios you and tells you that your boat looks great!
.. there is just enough of a breeze to keep things cool and to keep the bugs away.
Darrel Grob

.. no one got hurt!
.. your best friend was by your all day side.
.. something you saw made you go, “Wow!”
.. everything worked, and nothing broke.
.. the Erie Canal was open.
.. the River System was at normal pool.
.. the Atlantic Basin was quiet.
.. the sun and the moon rose and set at their respective appointed times!
.. no one got hurt!
Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary

The yard bill is less than four figures.
Bru & Sandy Brubaker