Long Range Cruising
Long range cruising has gotten complicated with all the boat selection debates, equipment lists, and route planning options flying around. As someone who has put thousands of nautical miles under the keel on multi-week passages, I learned everything there is to know about what it actually takes to go the distance. Today, I will share it all with you.
There’s a moment on every long passage — usually about 72 hours in — where the rhythm clicks. The watches feel natural, the boat’s sounds are familiar, and the horizon has become your whole world. Getting to that point, though, requires preparation that starts months or even years before you cast off. Long range cruising isn’t something you wing. It rewards planning and punishes complacency, sometimes harshly.
What Long Range Cruising Really Demands
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Prepare your vessel as if you won’t see a marine supply store for months — because you might not. Develop your seamanship through progressively longer trips, building skills and confidence in layers rather than jumping straight to an ocean crossing. Plan conservatively on timelines, budgets, and distances between provisioning stops. That’s what makes long range cruising endearing to us passagemakers — it strips away everything unnecessary and leaves you with the pure essentials of the sea, your boat, and your crew. There’s nothing else in boating quite like it.
