Community and Quality of Life—The Case of Ocean Cruising

The study of community has received increasing attention from researchers in recent years. This study examined community within the subculture of ocean cruising. Cruisers have made a conscious decision to lead a more satisfying and self-determined life on the ocean, often cutting all ties with the life they left back on land. Cruisers own their own boats, live aboard and are constantly on the move. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 cruisers in Florida and the Bahamas revealed that, within the subculture of ocean cruising, cruisers are able to successfully develop a very strong sense of community. Through the constant comparative method of grounded theory, several themes emerged that describe the cruising community. This study shows that cruisers create community through shared, yet separate experiences. The cruising community manifests itself through a tremendous amount of camaraderie and sharing and is often compared to family. Geographically, Georgetown (Bahamas) was found to be a special place for the cruising community, since it attracts large numbers of cruisers at certain times of the year. As a result, the cruising community manifests itself very differently there. In contrast to other areas it is very structured and organized. Georgetown is furthermore special in the sense that it is an example of how cruisers organize shared outreaches to help build the local communities they visit. The cruising community was found to be a major part of the cruising lifestyle and as such substantially adds to the quality of life and life satisfaction of cruisers.