Cruisers that gave it up?

[CharlieCobra]

That's probably why I'm out sailing in whatever weather there is, especially storms. Some folks think I'm nuts but I figure there's method to my madness.

[Alan Wheeler]

I know of one couple that gave up due to age. One that gave up due to spouses death and the boat was in the others estate and had to be sold. One couple that was scared off by the ruff sea. Not sure if it was a storm, but wife vowed never to step foot on a boat again.
As for us, a slightly different tack.
Our maiden trip was hell. Wrong place, wrong weather bloody scary. Took three months to gain the courage to take the boat back out of the berth. But I persevered and finally did and glad I did.
Struggled with PO's stuff ups for 3 years. Solved one problem only to have another raise it's ugly head. Persevered and glad I did.
Had several nearly catastrophic problems caused by me. Persevered, glad I did.
Got into a horrible storm, never want to do that ever again. Scared stiff of getting back out there in it. Persevered. Glad I did. Now ruff sea is actually quite fun, because I have gone through something I may never(hopefully) go through again and realise the boat can handle it with ease.
Struggled for a few years at being able to afford to even keep the boat. Persevered and really really glad we did. It has been a hard road, but we have got through the tunnel and are out in the light. Maybe slightly overcast, but it's still light.
So what am I trying to say? well if your passion is to go boating, what ever boat you have, stick by the passion and don't make any instant decisions due to a bad situation. Think through clearly so as the decision does not become a regret later on.

[avazquez]

Strange as it seems we enjoy being with friends and family so the longest cruising will and has been only a month at a time so far. Also, we don't have any desires of sailing around the world or even sailing away from the BVI's, Culebra, Vieques and Puerto Rico. I think we were born IN OUR DREAM, since we are locals and enjoy the local scene. I don't know, maybe this changes as we get more confident. For now, we just admire the crusing lifestyle and those who have the courage to do it, but have no real desire of doing it full time.

[Trim50]

It was my wife's idea to circumnavigate...I will remember to tell her that when the time comes ;-)

[imagine2frolic]

First time I left broke. I was thrown across the salon and my head was split open. I was later thrown off the boat, and yanked back on by my harness. Compressed the spine that time, all while single-handing from S.F.Ca. to Cabo. Met the ex in Cabo, and off we went to P.V. We had 24 hours of bad weather, and that was it for her.

Current wife had 2 day sails in S.F., and then we flew to St. Maarten to move aboard Imagine. After 2 years I bought her a house here in Fl. I was getting the feeling she needed some time on land. We did another 2 years in the Bahamas, but she was becoming attatched to the house.

I went back to work, and have been miserable since. I am into my second year of a 3 year plan that will need to be stretched to 5 years....OH THE MISERY! I will sell this business like I sold the last one. Only this time I am leaving for the South Pacific, and headed for the Philippines. By then social security will kick in if there is any at all. If not I will live off what I have, and gunkhole the Phils until I die, and I will go alone if need be.

The first time was lack of money, but I had a great time. It made me so focused, and I went from being a vagabond to a wee bit successful. For the first time in my life I had a goal. I knew what I wanted, and I wanted to sail places.

The second time was to make someone else happy, and that just ain't working out so well for me.

The next time I will sail until I am tired of it. Then move on to what ever is next!

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by David M

I.

A boat is a huge expense (I almost called it an investment. Not!). To buy a boat and then decide this is not something you wish to do, and then to turn around and sell it can be a huge loss...possibly a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, considering the difference between new and used boats.

Part of the reason I have not bought a boat.
.
.
.
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Yet!

[CharlieCobra]

Considering I paid twenty bucks plus another $700 in back moorage, I'm way ahead as far as Oh Joy is concerned.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

For us, a lot of it was just a too small boat and too little money. After 7 years the glamour had worn off. I know that many people get upset if you rattle the cages that hold their dreams and suggest that cruising isn't all perfectly safe and perfectly picturesque anchorages. My post may be a little depressing. Everything gets old after a while. Most people will tell you 'go now, don't wait, live your dream'. We did that, left when I was 25 on a 30' sailboat living hand to mouth. If we had $3000 that was a full cruising kitty and we took off until we were back down under $500 and started looking for work wherever we were at.
Like working as a dive instructor or dive boat Captain, for the first few months it's great, you're "living the dream", out on the water diving everyday, tan, healthy, happy. Then after a while you have to really work to pretend to be excited about seeing another barracuda or parrotfish. Eventually you are just filling tanks and herding cattle on and off the boat, and then it's time to move on.
For years we loved living on the little boat and didn't mind not having refrigeration,onboard shower,electronic gadgets, or any of the usual boat toys, because even if we had the money there was no room to put the stuff on the boat along with the rest of our worldly posessions. At one point we went 3 full years without ever touching a dock. From West Palm all the way to Puerto Rico. That's a lot of lugging Jerry cans. Eventually we started to feel like we weren't exploring, we were just going to another identical island in the same old little boat with no money in our pocket. We decided that for us to enjoy it anymore, we needed to be more comfortable.
We quit cruising, but we always planned to go back to it. We spent the next 7 years living in the woods working and saving, and now we just bought another boat. This time around we are planning more of a part time cruise routine, rather than the openended 'sail off into the sunset' type of cruise.
I don't regret anything about our time aboard or having gone the way we did. But I've learned that having a fixed income is a Huge asset to open ended cruising, and worth a few extra years of work. And having a boat that's comfortable and big enough to store all your crap is Very important. However, those two opinions seem to flow against the normal tide of advice.

Very good post. Although we were on a larger boat, we struggled financially (and are back in the deep doo doo again, but with a better footing) with the last boat. We haven't been able to just cut ties and cruise because we simply can't afford it - literally - because we have a boat payment and have since we moved into a boat together.

One thing we did realize - it is better to live on a boat and work on land than to live on land and work on land. Man, do we hate land... ha ha We just don't fit in. Not very social, have no family ties to worry about, no friends, just each other and we like it that way.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Why did they give it up. Do you know/have you heard.......specifically?

Storm scare?
Money?
Illness?
Break up?
Loss of vessel?
Boredom?
Death?

How about injury and spooked from it.

This couple quit for of a combination of reasons. Before we get started, let me say I like their site and even though they aren’t cruising anymore, there is stuff there for those who would like to and they write well.

We began our sixties as full-time working stiffs. We cleared the hump of life and watched retirement approach; with it, the grave came inching into view. Time was flying. In 2000 we screwed up our courage, covered our eyes, and leapt into the cruising life. We disposed of our belongings and moved into Callipygia, a Tayana 37' cutter-rigged sailboat. In 2004, after cruising to eighteen countries, we swallowed the hook and took up RV'ing.

What they didn’t say on the front page is why. Here it is:

… Pat tying something down below lost balance and landed on the back of her head against the wooden strip behind the cabin cushions. Copious bleeding. Got out first aid reference and read through head injury. No concussion or other ill effects. Staunched the bleeding, and lay down. Gave herself a goood headache--the price of forgetting "one hand for the boat..."

From this:

Learned en route that the two of us are not ready to cross the ocean--without Ralph this trip would have been very difficult. Realized that while Pat has experience and knowledge to deal with pretty much anything, in a seaway she doesn't have the strength or stamina. Also, that Bill doesn't have experience or knowledge to do other than routine deck work in other than benign conditions. Concluded we'd be overwhelmed with seriously bad weather or major equipment failure. Somewhere along the way we decided that we'd rather be land cruising, enjoying most of the things we like about cruising, and abandoning all the many things we don't like. Sailboat cruising has slowly become more and more of a struggle. The discomfort, cost, and inconvenience have become more and more onerous. Look forward greatly to hiking, canoing, and seeing more of our dear ones.

But really, what can you say? Everyone has their own reasons and you can't really fault or even question them. Just learn from them what you can and try to teach it to others if they are willing to listen.

Good question though.

[David M]

There is some really good stuff here. Thanks

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

One thing we did realize - it is better to live on a boat and work on land than to live on land and work on land

However, if you have to, I think it's OK to live on land and work on your boat.

But wouldn't it be nice to live on your boat and not work?

[Fishspearit]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

But wouldn't it be nice to live on your boat and not work?

yea, I think they call that "cruising".

[imagine2frolic]

I always found that living on the boat. There is no avoiding the work. There's always something to do. It's h3ll to get behind in the upkeep.

[MarkJ]

We are just starting the cruising caper having just bought a boat and waiting for our registration to slip the cess pit of St Martin ( )

Nicolle doesnt have much experience, but I've lapped the world almost and raced since I was a kiddly-wink. So after a few weeks of sitting around anchorages with other cruisers I can just tell you what we are looking at:

A bunch of older folks (rich) on big boats, and, a small bunch of younger folks (no money) in tiny boatletts.

Nicolle is always amazed: "How do those old people do that?" And thats a lot of things from jumping over the side into the dinghy without a swim platform to sweating up sails and grinding (winches!).
I do agree our swim platform is worth its weight in rocking horse poop. And she is getting used to Capt Bligh getting the sails up expeditiously.

Nic is just a kid at 25 and you can roll her in the dirt, leave her on watch till 4am (its only Disco closing time anyway) and feed her crap food out of a box/tin/pack full of chemical additives and only let her shower every couple of days... and she still looks perfectly alive, pretty, enthusiastic, and full of wide eyed amazement at any bit of sea life. Sort of like a tired Labrador pup falling at you feet, tongue hanging out begging for more.

However for those young people doing it on no money, on a small boat, lugging water jerries and never getting a shower, always worrying about what happens if they rip a sail or what a 40 foot wave looks like in a 30 foot boat,
or
An old couple whose sciatica meets their lumbago on every sail adjustment, whose electronically climate controlled watermaking degree-needed-to-turn-the-tap-on big boat with big sails and big galley to clean and multiple heads and multiple smelly corners and the full knowledge of a storm ripping a sail they have no chance in hell pulling down themselves,
then

all and each should be 'allowed' to start and stop their dream at their own volition, in their own time, and who should care if they blow a few bucks flogging the boat at the end.

Someone in a previous post said 7 years. 7 years!? That a life time! That’s long enough to not have to justify ‘quitting’.

Our ‘mission’ is for a 10 to 15 year cruise: one fast lap of the worldy, and then a slower one or 2 (but never becoming stuck in one spot for more than a month or so). Then after that its go buy a farm and have a pair of every animal with floppy ears, big brown eyes, and cuddly soft fur. By then if lumbago has struck I’ll just hire a farm hand. A milk maid sounds nice.

I must say I am lucky financially to have a plan to bring it to fruition. Not extravagantly into a big boat, but nor a small one.

But I reserve the right to start and/or stop each and every part of my life as I see fit and not ever use the thought ‘quitting’.


Mark
PS Any old bugger reading this post wanting to swap their big new boat with one more conveniently sized please apply here!

[Vasco]

We started cruising in 1990. Took a sabbatical and were out the whole year. Never worked again. We are still cruising but only do it six months a year. You might call us part-time cruisers. That way we can stay in touch with our kids and grandkids. We still have a home and my wife loves redecorating. Six months ashore, sailing only on weekends and we're ready to go when fall comes around. Living on a boat continuously for years is a difficult life unless you have absolutely no reason to do otherwise. Doing it six months a year makes it a lot more enjoyable. We cruise to beat the Canadian winters and spending the winter in a condo in Florida or Costa Rica would bore us to death. Having both traveled extensively in our earlier years there is no yearning to see new lands and cultures. We have been sailing for the last seven years with two boats from Michigan, they are both quitting after this season and selling their boats. One says the boat upkeep is getting too expensive the other couple doesn't seem to have a reason. There are a million reasons why folks quit. Most don't say why. A good friend bought a brand new 42 foot boat, cruised two seasons and sold it at a big loss. Their stated reason "wanted to do something different" which by the way they have not done. They've gone back to their old lifestyle. I think we'll quit when I can no longer lift a five gallon jug of water aboard.