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CalmSeasQuest · 14-02-2017, 15:09

This thread has been thought provoking. I'm off to Miami for Striclty Sail....Something tells me I'm going to write a very large deposit check.

TKDSailor · 14-02-2017, 15:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottorious

So I think I'm approaching a point where I can take a few years off and enjoy some sailing. I'm 32 with a Cal 34 with nobody dependant on me. My struggle is that I absolutely love my job and while it is a blessing, it's also a trap. I'll be comfortable my whole life if I stay but obviously many of us have a longing for what's just over the horizon. So my question to those who have gone before me is this. When you came back and got back into normal life did you next employer think what you accomplished was interesting or worrisome that you might bail again? Did you meet people while "out there" that later became your employer? Did you learn a skill or how to create something where you just became your own boss? If I knew I could come back to my job (class A water treatment plant operator) I could leave a lot sooner but since that seems unlikely (I am about to approach my boss with a 2 to 3 year notice) I would need to save a bit extra for reintegration. Any hints, tips, tricks or stories would be appreciated. Thanks!

Dude- you're 32 with a 34' boat and a sense of adventure. Just friken' go! There will never be a better time. You can learn a skill if you ever are tired of sailing, and you will have plenty of time to do so. You will also learn another skill while sailing, which is sailing! With enough sea time, you can acquire your captain's license and use that to your advantage, doing deliveries and charters.

When I was 36, I took a 10 month leave of absence from my job to sail. I met someone (an older gentleman) in Martha's Vineyard, MA on the beach that told me I was stupid, using some of my best earning years to fritter away sailing; we had a heated argument about it. Everyone has their own opinion; he worked all his life at a job that I doubt he enjoyed. I though he was a jerk, and that is still my opinion. My wife and I have sailed up and down the coast 4 times, up the Hudson River, across Lake Ontario, to Block Island, Isle of Shoals, and many other places. In all fairness, I did have the skill of being a Mechanical Engineer, but obviously my resume is terrible from all our traveling... my wife and I never had trouble finding jobs, and have had a great time. We intend to cruise up to New England again this summer (we live in St Pete, Florida), and have just celebrated 33 years of marriage today. Life is short; make the best of it. Do you know of anyone that has said "gee, I wished I'd worked more" on their deathbed? I'll probably be trolled for this post; to each his own.

thomm225 · 14-02-2017, 16:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

This thread has been thought provoking. I'm off to Miami for Striclty Sail....Something tells me I'm going to write a very large deposit check.

Nice.

You might first want to go down and watch the cruisers.

It's a very slow lifestyle for one that is used to working.

If you have a definite plan then your dream could work. As in I'm sailing here, then there and I plan on doing this .....

buzzstar · 14-02-2017, 17:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by weavis

She didnt appreciate Valentines day lunch as Im saving for a new Catamaran whilst I have a job....

Then the Valentine was undeserved. Just my opinion.

Sea Dreaming · 14-02-2017, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by weavis

She didnt appreciate Valentines day lunch as Im saving for a new Catamaran whilst I have a job....

what? She wanted RED candles? Sounds like she might demand mayonnaise next. Run while you can!

Terry107 · 15-02-2017, 10:02

May take on this is quite simple. Your young and fit go now. I like a lot of people worked all my life 22 armed forces 26years Pharmaceutical industry.
Sailed all my life short trips nothing major. I now want to set off and cruise long term issues some minor health issues but not too bad. If I had my time again I would have done it when I was young. There will always be work available whatever stage in your life. Go Go and enjoy your life.

robert sailor · 15-02-2017, 10:40

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachts men who play with their boats at sea, "cruising " it is called. Quote from Sterling Hayden.

The first time we left to go cruising I kept this quote as my mantra because financially it was quite risky to leave in my late 30's. It only lasted a little over 18 months but it was the best experience of my life and I've never looked back. Cruising now is rather routine because financially we don't have any problems but neither do we have the excitement of taking a big risk. This is the 3rd time we have gotten out of Dodge but nothing will compare to the first time.

robert sailor · 15-02-2017, 10:41

Make that the 4th time, lol, picked the wrong number.

laika · 15-02-2017, 10:50

Echoing pretty much 100% what Brownoarsman said.

33. Just moved back to MN to establish a home base after hopping around the last 6 years. Love being back. Loved being out there. Still own the boat. Zero regrets..if it's something you really want then make it happen. Home and stability will be there when you want that too. Depends 100% on your attitude. If your excited about life and have a twinkle in your eye than you'll reintegrate beautifully.

My ambitions have always been too much of a moving target--the only sure way to learn about what I want and dont want in life is by doing it. Not much of a long term planner.

As was said, everyone works cruising into their lives differently to make it fit. It doesn't matter what kind of cruiser you are. But if you go, make every effort to meet the locals. Especially local fishermen. They'll steer you right.

**JPA Cate** · 15-02-2017, 14:16

Jim had taken his family cruising in Canada in his Catalina 22 trailer sailer, long before he met me. He and I were both divorced when we met, him, with a daughter in college, me with kids not yet ready to leave the nest. We met crewing on a mutual friend's boat.

Our process for leaving to go cruising took quite a long time, we met in '79 and did not leave until '86, the first time. We sailed weekends, and summer vacations, and then, by the time we were a "couple", we took a long vacation together (I had to take time off without pay), and sailed his 30 footer to Hawaii and return to SF. The purpose of that voyage was to determine if we liked ocean passages, because Jim had the dream of sailing his own boat to French Polynesia.

After that voyage, he bought the boat which was to become our first "Insatiable", a PJ 36. We eventually lived aboard and cruised her for 18 yrs.

For me, it was all a process. First, I started sailing, then he and I sailed together, and then he took a sabbatical, and I quit my job, and we left for a year, to find that our financial ducks required more lining up. We returned from Fr. Polynesia to the States, and worked for another year, and I sold my house for the cruising kitty. We got married after we came back to the States, as well. We have been cruising now for about 30 years. We do not plan to re-enter the job market, but if something happened that wiped out our savings, well, I've seen old women in jobs, and I would rather work than not, if I were in need.

What is hard to imagine when you're first contemplating cruising is that eventually you will either move on to something else that draws you to it, or cruise until you can't any more. There is incredible freedom in this life style. It does come at a cost, though, and one of them is less intimacy with family and other loved ones. If someone is 32 and has no dependents, if he wants a life partner, perhaps he'd meet her [or him] cruising.....

What doesn't often work too well is the wait until 65 and then start cruising: it's a really big ask of a partner who has never sailed, who knows the fallibility of her partner, to give up everything she has worked for to go sailing. It is no big surprise that there are a number of "water soluble" romances, marriages that fail following an uncomfortable passage...but maybe the marriages were not so strong, any more, hard to know from a distance.

Mike picked up on the acceptable risk issue from the "do go cruising" perspective; and A64 is very interesting here, because his greater risk came from staying in his job, which had changed to become intolerable. And now, he is on the path to freedom. The choice of leaving the society that nurtured you is in some ways anti-social, and is not well received by the ones who do not do it. They seem to think it is a "phase" you're going through, rather than the choice of a different path through life. It's a little like the first time you go off the high dive, you don't know in advance if you'll do a belly flop or a gorgeous swan dive, or something else altogether! But all the guys who've gone off the high dive, they're waiting to welcome you, only you don't know that yet.

Ann

PS. Sorry this is so long. I wish I had Boatie's gift for succinct.

A.

Mike OReilly · 15-02-2017, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

...PS. Sorry this is so long. I wish I had Boatie's gift for succinct.

Love it Ann. I wouldn’t cut a word! A real story from a real life; and one that has (IS) being lived.

m2244 · 06-03-2017, 18:44

What the hell do you people do??!

I'm 46 this month and dreaming about being able to take some time off for sailing in about 8 years - if I'm lucky.

Sigh. Good luck.

KetoNomad · 06-03-2017, 19:08

My 2 cents is:

Go now (or soon); everything involves risk. You could mothball your dreams and get laid off anyway, you could work your butt off and your investments could lose value and you'll be too broke to retire when you are old. You could have all the money and time after retirement but be unable to sail due to medical issues. Who knows? The only certainty in life is death and I think you'll be pretty regretful if you didn't follow your dreams. Ultimately, however, the answer to your question can only come from you. You may disagree with my philosophy or I may not be considering something significant (not knowing you well). So sit down and think it out carefully.

Probably best to get some experience and maybe try bareboat chartering or crewing during a few vacations. You may not enjoy cruising at all.

Whatever you do I wish you happiness