What I Learned on My First Cruise

Shoals and currents and inlets on the chart can seem quite daunting on your first passage
(Plodding in Paradise) 

It doesn't matter how much - or how little - experience you had before you set out, there was something, or many somethings, that you didn't expect.  The lessons our bloggers learned on their first trip were in some cases about nautical technique, and in other cases philosophical.

___________________________________________
Topic coordinator: Jaye, Life Afloat Archives


After a trip with his family from NY to the Bahamas, Chris (s/v Pelican - Following a Dream) fit himself back into the work world to discover the parallels between cruising and business:

• Parallels

Four years later, Tasha and Ryan (Turf to Surf) took the same route.  She reflected on their growing independence:

• On the ICW and Becoming Less "Civilized"

Tammy (Plodding In Paradise) was reminded to slow down and look around:

• Get There When I Get There

Debbie recounted for Women and Cruising the many things she learned about cruising, and about the cruising community, on her

• First Solo Trip to the Bahamas

Thunderstorms were major players for Carl and Carly and their children (s/v Prili) in their

• First Sailing Adventure

In this brand-new blog, the Mckissick family (Sailing Autumn's Wind) learned the importance of

• Keeping a Watchful Eye

Ean (More Joy Everywhere) discovered that you can learn as you go: 

• There's an App for That

And not really a "cruise," but Fred and  Mary (Gimme Shelter) found there were lessons to be learned even on a trip as modest as: 

• Our First Night Anchored Out

The first cruise for Terry (Sea Raven Sailing) included headwinds and seasickness, but also whales and dolphins as they went

• Out the Gate and Turn Left!

The memory of lessons Mom taught her while growing up still applied for Carolyn (The Boat Galley) on her first night passage:

• What I Needed to Know...

Topic coordinator Jaye (Life Afloat Archives) found many life lessons from their first long trip, and advises:

• Sail the Wind You Have; and, she points out, you can even get:
• Life Lessons Learned from the Weather Report

Two new posts on this topic from a MoFi contributor:

Matt and Jessica's (Matt and Jessica's Sailing Page) first year cruising included three months on the hard after an unfortunate incident at an inlet.  Jessica sums it all up

• What I've Learned My First Year In
• If I Knew Then What I Know Now

An impressive 9238 nautical miles traveled in their first year gave Brett and Stacey (S/V Bella Vita) a lot of material for their

• Musings After One Year Out  - Part I -- Personal Growth

Kim and Jereme (Laho Wind) recount their maiden voyage:

• Sporty Sailing + Lessons Learned

Cam and Dani (Latitude Adjustment) summarize

• 10 Things We've Learned in 100 Days at Sea

Hi, blogger! Do you have a blog post on your first cruise or trip that you'd like to share? Please post your link with a brief description in the comment section below and we'll add it to this list.

Already have a link on this page? Feel free to link back here so that your readers can find other posts on this topic. We have low-tech and high-tech instructions:

Low-tech instructions: Copy and paste this text onto to the bottom of your blog post:

Visit The Monkey's Fist to find other posts on this topic:
http://themonkeysfist.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-i-learned-on-my-first-cruise.html

High-tech instructions: Copy the code below and paste it into the html at the bottom of your post to give your readers a link back to this page.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <p style="text-align: center;"> Click on the monkey's fist to read others bloggers on this topic.</p> <a href="http://themonkeysfist.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-i-learned-on-my-first-cruise.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroov5YVOOi_h85YVKd0MFJGgqIV3NneuSwfJwKnrm_vV_478vPwHdTeznf5kVkrP-XwhL9_CLHk_GJY_4CP_Fk3wbUJs-tv0GDYIJfJco__NlZxvfudEV9ltJOA7BFZvVHHgtaOxK09sx/s1600/monkeyfist_badge_art.jpg" border="0" alt="The Monkey's Fist" /></a> <p> </div> </p> <p>