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During those days, we heard about places like George Town, Norman’s Cay and Luperon but couldn’t envision them. They all seemed so exotic and distant. And as our friends regaled us with stories, I tried to gain a mental image – what was it like being out there? What did it look like being far offshore? What did it feel like to be there?

Over the years we were finally able to experience the incredible thrill of seeing new countries from the deck of our boat. The feeling of being out there is incredibly powerful and beyond description. Falling asleep in a cozy berth while at anchor off a distant island is matched only by waking up in that berth and knowing the day is yours. The instant connections and camaraderie that makes fellow cruisers friends is wondrous. The warmth of the people along the way exceeds even the warmth of the tropical sun.

Upon returning from a cruise through the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic we created a feature length video, entitled Being Out There, to share a glimpse of what it is like. Popular recording artist and full-time cruiser Eileen Quinn lends her talent to the video through songs that underscore the beauty and the challenges of cruising.

Being Out There isn't a "how-to" video, per se. We created the video to show what it is like actually being out there. We wanted to show what the people are like, what everyday life is like-- basically, what an incredible experience cruising is.

We have compiled hundreds of hours of video from people who are out there. We also have numerous interviews with cruisers from Florida to the Bahamas. Some of the clips are rough, hand-held, at sea imagery. We weren't interested in trying to dazzle anyone with a plasticized, artificial beauty. The reality itself is beautiful. This isn’t an overproduced travel channel piece – it is a real-life glimpse of cruising.

Combined with all of that is information on how people were able to cut free the dock lines, and how they handled things such as weather and other unplanned events. Being Out There is a realistic - and exciting - view of what it is like for most people who cruise. There are no million dollar yachts but rather more modest boats - from Hunters to Tayanas - that are out there making dreams come true for those who sail them.

Being Out There is for anyone planning to cruise or just dreaming about it. For those who have cruised in the past, we hope the video will bring back fond memories - and fire the spark to help you get out there again. Cruising is indeed magical.

Mitch and Michelle pose at their booth at the SSCA GAM in Melbourne, FL.

About the authors: Mitch and Michelle Traphagen have lived aboard since 1994 and are Commodores in the Seven Seas Cruising Association. They currently sail "Hetty B," a 34-foot Catalac catamaran, out of Tampa Bay.

Editor’s Note: I met Michelle and Mitch up in Melbourne, at the SSCA Annual Gathering. They were in a neighboring booth, and had two TV screens running their new cruising DVD. On one of my walks around the vendor area, a scene caught my eye: a bunch of kids sitting under an Australian pine on Volleyball Beach in George Town, Bahamas. I watched for a few minutes, and saw scenes of anchorages that I recognized. I didn’t recognize them by landmark or building—what I recognized were differences of contrast in the water, small rock formations ashore, awkward trees. That was my beach. Those were my anchorages.

The kids were being interviewed about what it’s like to live aboard and cruise. Even though they were sitting on Volleyball Beach more than ten years after me, their answers were the same: too much family closeness, not enough space, they miss their friends, but yes, it’s still a wonderful experience and they wouldn’t trade it for anything. I wondered what they’d be saying about it once it was over.

Why should I feel possessive of the experience? After all, everyone experiences the same things in a different way. I’ve known people who tried cruising and hated it. I’ve seen marriages and relationships break up because one person loved it and the other couldn’t handle close quarters and rough seas. Every person is different, and every adventure is different.

In a way, cruising has gone from being a reality for me to being a dream. For one thing, there are fewer people doing it on a long-term basis than there used to be when I was living aboard with my parents. Maybe I’m wrong about this, and they’ve all sailed to places far away (I’ve heard that ports in the South Pacific are far more cruiser-friendly than ports in the U.S. these days.) While there are fewer doing it long-term, I think there are more who are just out for a year. The world is different and the economy is different. Anyway, Being Out There certainly did bring back memories. I can’t wait for the day that I’ll be able to do it again.

Being Out There is a realistic film about cruising. My only criticism was that there was very little talk or footage of places other than George Town. But that’s reality for a lot of people: George Town makes the strongest impression, so why shouldn’t it be featured the most? After all, folks like me prefer to keep the other places a secret.