Today we have a guest post from some readers that lived on a sailboat for 5 years, 2 years of which was full-time in Mexico. They have been so kind as to write about what life is like living in a floating house.

Cruiser's they don't just come on big ships

Since most foreign visitors to Manzanillo come in the winter, I assume just about everyone has seen sailboats and powerboats anchored off Las Hadas and off the west end of the Santiago Bay at Playa La Boquita.  In the summer those boats are not here, it is just a winter phenomenon.  The people on these boats are known as "cruisers" and are not to be confused with the people that visit Manzanillo on the large cruise ships that visit here.

Cruisers can be full-time on their boats, though the majority are part-time.  Both categories come south during the winter looking for warm weather and warm water.  In the summer they all take protection against hurricanes.  The part-timers put their boats in marinas in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, La Paz or San Carlos while they return home to work or visit family while they avoid the heat of summer and hurricanes.

The full-time cruisers take precautions also.  Some stay near marinas where they can take shelter, but many of the full-timer cruisers travel to the north part of the Sea of Cortez, near Bahia de Los Angeles, where the risk of hurricanes decreases.  Even so once or twice per season they must flock to a sheltered hurricane anchorage because of the threat of severe weather.

You may wonder, what do these people do with all of their free time?  Do they just sit on the decks and drink cocktails all day?  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The cruisers are living on a small floating city and they must keep everything functioning.  There are no electric, gas or water companies to call when you are afloat.  They must maintain; an electricity generating capacity and distribution system, water treatment and distribution system, sewage treatment and gas distribution.  Then there are all of those boat unique problems like dealing with corrosion on everything, keeping all of the water outside the boat, propulsion, their car which is a little launch called a dinghy and in the case of sailboats all of the sailing equipment.

In addition to all of these tasks they have errands to do when they arrive in a town; look for some part that has broken, buy groceries, buy fuel and also try to get some sightseeing in.  They are a fairly independent group that is accustomed to dealing with things on their own.  They can be seen walking with large brimmed hats wearing full backpacks and carrying bags of groceries, trying to get on a bus with all of this, or trying to stuff everything into a taxi.  When they return to their dinghys they have to try to get back to the boat without getting everything wet, which can be a challenge.  Completing one major task a day is an accomplishment, as many times the cruisers don't know much about the places they are visiting and must learn about things very quickly.

Just as the land based community finds cruising life interesting, the cruisers find land based life in Mexico interesting.  So if you are driving around and you see some of these folks looking overloaded, offer them a ride and hear some sea stories and regale them with life on dirt.

Hope you enjoyed reading that wonderful article. A huge thanks for sending that in! If you have a story or piece of advice you would like to share with everybody, please send it in and we will take a look! Write for Manzanillo Blog! You could be famous!

Related posts:

1. A lesson learned- Guest post by Beverly P.