In the Western Mediterranean anchoring is forbidden in many former well known anchorages and cruisers are forced to use expensive moorings or marinas. This plague has spread to all popular cruising areas and the Caribbean is no exception. On Bonaire you are forced to use an expensive mooring as well as pay several different fees making a weeks diving in Bonaire very expensive and allthough diving is good , the marine nature reserve resembles a large aquarium.

When I sailed to Svalbard by the northpole in the eighties there were no other boats there,no tourists and only regulation that you carried a proper gun to protect yourself from polarbeers. Today the island group is infested with tourism both flying in and on cruiseships. Cruising on your private boat is forbidden though and regulations are plentiful (if you find a small piece of horn from the common raindeer and bring it you may be sentenced to prison).

Digitalization is also coming onboard our boats. Wether you like it or not, going online checking in when making landfall in new countries is becoming mandatory in the majority of the Caribbean where the system of "Sailclear" is spreading. It doesn´t mean queuing customs/immigration offices is avoided,just an added mandatory extra. That also means a working internet must be available onboard adding both hardware and software issues to any world cruiser of today with "mandatory clickboxes" becoming a part of daily life also at sea

Digitalization is obviously reaching every corner of human life. Now also part of life on an oceancrossing boat , to me this means restriction of freedom. Comparing cruising life in the eighties and today there are huge differences on behalf of freedom and that´s less than forty years ago . Where are we heading ?