Comments on: The Heart of a Cruiser https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/ Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:51:32 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Gerald Trumpp https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-158162 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:51:32 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-158162 Well, same situation here … I’m only 62, but it caught me four years ago after a stressful life as engineer and master data officer of a big automotive company in Germany. Cardioversion, ablation and betablocker were my ‘friends’ for the next two years – until pre-retirement. Unfortunately bronchial asthma joined, so my plans for rowing down the Danube with my Northeaster Dory after retirement were gone. I also was a quite sporty guy, although my will power was normally greater than my physical abilities … I lerned the hard way to accept my limitations. Fortunately, I joined the local sailing club and learned to sail on dinghys. There is always a new way, if the old ones are blocked.

]]> By: Kenneth Jeffreys https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-108983 Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:50:43 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-108983 In reply to alex zimmerman.

I think an article about the CAMAS MOON would be worthwhile- although maybe not the kind of writing you had in mind. It looks to be a very practical and capable cruising boat and I’m impressed that you built that solo in 2 years. You did a beautiful job on her and I think many would be interested in her layout and construction.

]]> By: alex zimmerman https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-101619 Thu, 11 Jan 2024 00:53:52 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-101619 In reply to murray walker.

Murray,
Apologies for the late reply – visitors and the holiday season claimed all my attention.
Very sorry to hear about the brain injuries, but it seems to me that being leery of finding yourself in a situation that you can’t safely find your way out of is just prudence!
I hope to read some of your writing and thoughts about boating, in this venue or another. Keep us posted!

]]> By: murray walker https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-98906 Sat, 23 Dec 2023 19:28:33 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-98906 Alex, I loved your frank and beautifully written article and have great sympathy for the limitations your heart issues have placed upon your adventuring. I have never been the athlete that you clearly were in your younger days and my heart is fine but, at 71, I have suffered two traumatic brain injuries and find that I have lost confidence in my decision making. I enjoy puttering around the BC coast in my home-built, 14-foot, power dory but am always leery about finding myself in a situation that I can’t safely find my way out of. Like you, I am learning that writing about boating adventures is a often safer bet than actually participating in them; I’m looking forward to reading your book! I wish you many more safe boating adventures.

]]> By: alex zimmerman https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-98266 Sat, 16 Dec 2023 19:31:58 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-98266 In reply to Bill Gifford.

I hear you Bill. I’m really glad to hear that the ablation is working for you, mostly. The last significant backpacking hike I went on was 3 years ago, when the pill-in-a-pocket was still working for me. I entertain hopes of being able to do that again post-ablation, albeit likely with reduced daily distances. There are some magnificent places you really can only reach on your own two feet with a pack on your back.
It sounds like the cause of your afib might very well the same as what I suspect mine is – “exercise-induced afib” A doctor friend sent me this study that talks about the state of knowledge on it as of 5 years ago. It’s worth a read.

]]> By: Bill Gifford https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-98028 Thu, 14 Dec 2023 01:33:54 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-98028 Alex, your article really resonated with me. I’ve struggled with AFIB for several years, even as I completed two R2AKs in my Montgomery 17, two Seventy48s and 1700 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. At 74 years old, I had an ablation this summer, followed a couple of months later by a cardioversion, but I still need to take a Beta blocker to stop recurrences. The Beta blocker forces me to move much slower, but I managed to hike nine days in the Himalayas this fall with no flutter or AFIB. I know I’m done with endurance boating, which really disappoints me. I’m just struggling with whether I have enough left to hike a few hundred more miles on the PCT, at a reduced pace. The slowing down is deeply disappointing, and I didn’t really see it coming. Thanks for such an excellent article.

]]> By: alex zimmerman https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-97464 Tue, 05 Dec 2023 19:58:43 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-97464 Paul, you’re just a young pup from my perspective! Lots of years to develop and grow your skills, confidence and experience.
Pleased that my scar tissue is of use to someone else!
Stay safe out there.

]]> By: alex zimmerman https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-97463 Tue, 05 Dec 2023 19:55:03 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-97463 In reply to James McPherson.

Glad to help, James. Have fun on your boatbuilding adventures! None of us were skilled when we started. The learning journey is as rewarding as the cruising, I find.
As for finding out that all that marathoning we did might not actually have been good for us – who knew?

]]> By: Paul West https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-97405 Tue, 05 Dec 2023 03:15:41 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-97405 Alex, I appreciate your body of work around small boats. Your article on foils a few years ago is something I have gone back to several times as the best digest on the topic I find that FIRE-DRAKE comes as close to my ideal sail-and-oar cruiser as any boat I could imagine. The way you express your creativity, intellect, and awareness through boats has given me considerable enjoyment.
I am a 63-year-old male at the beginning of my dinghy cruising adventures. You have given me the benefit of your experience which I am sure will improve my self-care on the water.
Best wishes,
Paul

]]> By: James McPherson https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-heart-of-a-cruiser/#comment-97374 Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:33:28 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=169464#comment-97374 Alex,
I enjoyed and learned a great deal from your article. I will now look forward to reading Becoming Coastal. I am an Afib sufferer, ex-marathoner, and sailor of production fiberglass sailboats. Also, as a new discoverer of building and sailing wooden boats, I find your story inspiring. I hope to develop the skills to build and sail my boat on similar cruises.
Thank you,
James

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