Any Young Cruisers Setting Out Soon ?

[blackswan]

To those above who are young in body and heart who are taking (or about to take) that joyous leap into the unknown, go now.

My wife and I started in 2000 at the age 29 (which I know is getting on a bit). We bought a small 4 tonner for not much money, fixed her up over the years and made it up as we went along. Cruised from country to country, learnt about each other and had a bloody scary and wonderful time.

Regrets: That we didn't get further off the beaten track earlier and that we probably both let work limit our cruising, geographically.
Still managed to do it for thirteen years from Holland to Borneo (although work often stopped us for 3-6 months a year).

Lessons learnt: You never know how resourceful you can be until you need to be.*
Example 1: I never thought I could get work anywhere until I tried and it was only after peddling my skills through several countries, that this truth sunk in.
Example 2: My wife had never sailed before. For her to go from being scared, to crossing oceans (on what most consumer's would call a "weekend" yacht) to now sailing our vessel single handed blows me away.

Go for it guys, don't get bogged down in the details and never listen to the dockside naysayers, they usually know not of what they speak..

[patr1707]

Hey guys, Im 25 and own my own boat, getting it ready for the summer on the east coast. Plan on sailing from North Carolina to Nantucket for the summer in the end of May. Then down to the Caribbean for the winter. Always down to meet new people and explore new places. Plans are always up for change!

[zeehag]

i have seen and met many youthful--under 30 --folks out here cruising for surfing sprots..they are not using heavy displacement cruisers, but whatever cool boat is cheap--i have seen em in ericson 27, catalina 30, pearson trident 26, pearson 31/32....many under 35 ft boats--islander, others.....
so, if you are young in body and mined, isnt gonna be you alone against all the codgers and phartes in life--you will have peers.....

[jared1048]

we will be leaving in Aug 2014 to Mexico and beyond. Trying to travel down with the Coho hobo boats to meet up with the Baja haha fleet. Gone for 6 months to a year or however long the money lasts.

we've cruised desolation sound and loved it. Beautiful area.

have you thought about going with the Coho hoho guys? Cohohoho.com

[solarpoweredbot]

@H. Romberg: Right On! Yours is the Best advice available to young cruisers (in my opinion). I cruised for five years on my very simple, very basic Flicka 20'. I NEVER had big boat envy! I had simplicity, I had independence - they had stuff. I saw one guy cruising the Bahamas on a jet ski, and a couple on a Hobie cat, o.k. that may be a bit too bare bones, but good to keep your mind on what is really necessary.

My best summary for getting your mind into what you really need is: go backpack camping for two weeks in the wilderness - this is what you NEED. Now imagine a dry, soft, bug free bunk instead of a tent and a two burner stove, and fresh fish and lobster at your door step, and fresh sea weed salad, and palm hearts. Remember this always: wherever you go, people eat mostly basic nutrition packed food, you can buy it. Simple and cheap.

What boat? There are tons of the best old (CCA) cruising boats available for little or no money - the '60's and '70's full keel (24'-30'), well built Fiberglas boats that have storeage charges against them and they are sold for whatever the yard can get - I've seen them go for $500. I could list 10-20 great boats well under $10,000

Stuff? My list of what you need is short:
1. Two oversized anchors with chain. Also nylon rode. Long discussion for later.
2. A hank on Genny, jib, and storm jib.
3. Slab reefing (2-3) main
4. 2 burner stove
5. Hand held GPS ($70)
6. Paper charts
7. Rowing dinghy
8. VHF
9. Wind chicken
10. Sun shower
11. Diesel engine
12. 1-2 solar panels

My list stuff you REALLY don't need:
1a. Refrigeration
1. Roller furling
2. Computer
3. Elect charts
4. Windlass (small boat, manageable anchors, youth)
5. Wind gauges - mast head stuff
6. Pressure water
7. Generator
8. SSB
9. Sat phone
10. TV
11. Most anything else in sailing catalogs

d

[jared1048]

"Most anything else in sailing catalogs"

LOL!

BTW. I'm 30 and the girlfriend is 28. Cant wait to cut the dock lines!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by solarpoweredbot

Stuff? My list of what you need is short:
1. ...
9. Wind chicken

d

Wind Chicken??? WTF is a wind chicken? Been cruising for 27 years and never had or heard of one...

Jim

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Wind Chicken??? WTF is a wind chicken? Been cruising for 27 years and never had or heard of one...

Jim

LOL I think it might be a windex but with a chicken silhouette on top of it. Dirt dwellers use them on their hobby farms. You have been at sea too long, Jim. Go and check out the dirt sometime!

[solarpoweredbot]

Hee Hee - Jim Cate: Yes Jimbo is right - it is the windex, but I have no idea when I started calling it a 'wind chicken' but the term has been with me since the 60's in the Gulf of Tonkin when I sailed with a Navy buddy on his Cheoy Lee (oops we might of been trippin').

[laika]

29 and on the east coast, US. Bought the boat a year or so ago after a few years of shoestring cruising with a couple buddies up and down the eastern seaboard. Solo this time (with trusty dog) and on my own boat. No 30-year mortgage required. That said, about to spend a chunk of time in NC refitting.

I'm also surprised by the lack of young folks out there (esp women! cmon!). However, I think the work paradigm is slowly changing for many, especially for us youngens. The increasing ability to work remotely has the potential to bring a new generation back to the cruising life. (Not sure if that will happen, but it could). I do website stuff and can work wherever there's an internet connection. The only tradeoff is that I'm occasionally shackled to a computer.

Re: windvanes...I bought a Norvane. Looked really hard at the hydrovane, but couldn't afford one. The norvane is relatively new on the scene, made in CA to quality standards with good reviews, and half the price of a hydrovane or monitor.

[seandepagnier]

We had a party in bay of islands a few months ago. As it turned out everyone in the anchorage was under 35 and there were about 20 people from 7 boats. Over half were under 30. I was still youngest (I started cruising when I was 23)

[Bregts]

We are 27 and 31 and will be leaving for a multiple year cruise in two months. Yes the boat is small compared to today standards and we could have waited and saved more money for a bigger boat, a watermaker or more gadgets but since it's much easier to sit in the dock and prepare then to actually cut the docklines and leave I'm glad we pulled the trigger now. Two more months.... can't wait.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by solarpoweredbot

Stuff? My list of what you need is short:
1. Two oversized anchors with chain. Also nylon rode. Long discussion for later.

All chain is preferred since nylon cuts on things.

4. 2 burner stove

I never had one of these and wouldn't want one.

11. Diesel engine

coming from solar boat guy.. what is wrong with you? Electric motor or sculling oar is nice (I have both) but it's ok to only have sail power too.

My list stuff you REALLY don't need:
2. Computer

Bring the computer.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

Bring the computer.

Although I have always viewed boats as an escape from communications / people (am not a mobile phone junky for starters), but nonetheless for an extended cruise I would nowadays rate a computer as very very useful, even if not really essential..........I would draw the line at needing 24/7 internet access, but nonetheless being able to plug into the internet means being able to plug into unparrelled knowledge (and not just via CF!) - and that can be damned useful when needed. Of course don't need own computer to acheive that, but nice .....especially if browser history extends beyond boats .

Choices, choices, choices .

[elhix]

We're both surfer-sailors (in that order) in our thirties - we would have been in our twenties if we hadn't built the damn boat ourselves. So far nearly all the boaties we've met have been retired but we've met some great people and made good friends. That said they're mostly coming at the life afloat from a very different direction, often with much more 'stuff' and a m.o. that reminds me of caravaners (following established routes, looking for others to hang out with). This is probably a reflection of where we've sailed so far - the Med - as much as anything. I'm looking forward to meeting some other watery dirtbags when we head west.