What happens to all the wannabees?

[Kimo_Kai]

Still Wana. Have actual Bees (honey) in Hawaii. Still appreciate all of you old salts and your Mana'o.

[BOBSWAY]

Originally Posted by atoll

i would love to hear from some of the posters that join the forum with great plans,use our knowledge,tell us how they are going to do it,then nothing....

here is a recent one that never amounted to much:

SeeWorld TV with Jon Charron | An 8 Month Sailing Adventure Across The South Pacific – LA To Australia Through The French Polynesians

I think I may be the latest!
We shall see.

[bigben]

Hi. A other Wanna Bee...
Just i cant do it right now. Coz i have to handle my two boys(14 and 16) alone until they are independed.
And we r living in the middle of Europe. So no Ocean... But every Holidays we Travel with our Camper to the Ocean.
Time comes...
A other thing its to finance a Lifeabourd life..
I talk and read to different Guys. And spezial alot of American loan there Boat.. Somehow strange.. the boat its not them. It owns a Bank or Someone. why loan???
Loan its Credit. And u pay alot of interest rate.

[Kettlewell]

Wow! This thread is a time capsule. I went back and reread my own comments from 2012 and they still hold up, but there is a new twist more than a decade later. I just don't see many people not retired on the water. I will add to my earlier comments to start now, or sooner, if you want to do some long-distance cruising. Being currently at an age where I feel right in the midst of the cruising demographic--recently retired--I don't run into many who just started sailing in their 60s. There is too much to learn, and you don't have the same physical skills you used to. Some manage to overcome these inherent problems, but not many. So to add to what I wrote back in 2012, be sure to learn how to do it before you're too old to learn how to do it.

Most of the folks who make it work take baby steps. They say to themselves that cruising looks like it might be interesting, but they realize that the first thing to do is get familiar with sailing, being around boats, what is involved. So, they purchase a small daysailer, or maybe a small older boat with a cabin and try it out, get used to things, begin to work their way up.

[jjernigan1972]

I don't know if I ever fit into this category. But I was a member before I left to go sail around the world in October 2019. I returned to the Chesapeake June 2023, having completed a single handed circumnavigation in my 1972 Alberg 30 "Lora". Lora was powered by a 6hp outboard when I left, and 4hp for the second half of the trip. I carried 8 gallons a fuel. I stopped in the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, French Polynesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Coco's Keeling, Madagascar (they kicked me out), South Africa, St Helena, USVI, and Bermuda.

For those considering going cruising, DO IT! I'm back working to fill the cruising kitty so I can do it again.

[mvweebles]

"Most of the folks who make it work take baby steps. They say to themselves that cruising looks like it might be interesting, but they realize that the first thing to do is get familiar with sailing, being around boats, what is involved."

The advice to aspiring cruising newbies is always along these lines - start small, learn to sail, etc. But I am pretty sure poor mechanical skills and lack of money sideline aspiring cruisers long before lack of sailing skills do.

Put another way, given the choice, I'd put my money on the novice sailor who is debt-free with a strong thread of McGyver DNA long before the accomplished sailor with a mortgage and limited mechanical skills.

[Kettlewell]

But I am pretty sure poor mechanical skills and lack of money sideline aspiring cruisers long before lack of sailing skills do.

Agreed, but part of what you learn by starting small and old is how to fix stuff on a boat and what skills are required. Much easier to learn on a old 30-footer than a brand new 45-footer with all the modern stuff. And, one reason people have a "lack of money" is because they think they need to spend $400K and up to go cruising, and then if you have a boat that is new and complicated you can spend a lot of money very quickly paying other people to repair it.

[sailorboy1]

I think there are lots more people "out there" than 7 years ago. Earlier this year in the Bahamas there were a lot more boats than I had seen in the past. And the age group is getting younger as more work from the boat. 7 years ago my wife and I were the "kids" in the group at 56/55.

I kind of think there is probably a difference between wannabees and dreamers

[Kettlewell]

I think there are lots more people "out there" than 7 years ago. Earlier this year in the Bahamas there were a lot more boats than I had seen in the past. And the age group is getting younger as more work from the boat. 7 years ago my wife and I were the "kids" in the group at 56/55.

It's very different in New England. Lots of people just selling or giving away their cruising boats, some switching to power, and the anchorages are just empty a lot of the time. In June and September we were the only boat anchored in Cuttyhunk pond. A couple of years ago I was the only boat anchored overnight in Tarpaulin Cove for July 4th, and it was perfect weather. I suppose maybe different cruising grounds have different demographics, but when we were down in the Caribbean in the early 2000s we were the young folks in our 50s.

It's not specifically cruisers, but sailing participation in general has been on the decline for a long time: https://www.statista.com/statistics/...us-since-2006/

[mvweebles]

I am writing from Mazatlan. We spent about a week in La Paz before coming here. I can tell you La Paz and Cabo are chock-full with multi-year waiting lists despite some pretty high prices ($25/ft/mo).

We came down with the Baja Ha Ha fleet which had 120-boats in it, more than they've had for several years. Having met dozens of cruisers recently, my sense is there are a lot of people who retired a bit early in their late 50's/early 60's, bought a boat, and headed into the ocean. Perhaps part of the "Great Resignation" crowd who, surprisingly, saw their net worth shoot-up during Covid. Many had chartered a bunch, owned prior sailboats, and while not hard-core sailors, were doing just fine. Marine repair pricing is a bit breathtaking even this deep in Mexico (twice what I saw in Ensenada), but does not seem to phase the cruisers I am seeing.

[Kettlewell]

We came down with the Baja Ha Ha fleet which had 120-boats in it, more than they've had for several years.

That might be the last Baja Ha Ha apparently. There were 164 boats on the 2013 roster.

For a combination of reasons, it’s very possible that this 29th edition will be the last of this unique rally. So if you want to be part of Ha-Ha history, be sure to sign up by September 10.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

That might be the last Baja Ha Ha apparently.

Nope - there will be a 30th Ha Ha next year.

The reason the organizers strongly considered cancelling was the Mexican govt started requiring the boats to check-in to Mexico in Santa Maria vs waiting for arrival in Cabo. Santa Maria is a tiny town and there was simply no reasonable way to check-in 500 people. But the organizers did some digging around and, in true Mexico fashion, found someone who had an idea. Bottom line is the local dive shop pre-received documentation from all participants. Aduana still needed to stamp passports so they came to Profligate, the organizer's 60-foot Catamaran at anchor in Santa Maria, and checked-in everyone very quickly and efficiently - it took a few hours. Worked better than checking into Cabo!!!!

So the Ha Ha continues. We are generally not 'joiners' but really glad we were part of the BHH fleet. Forced us to put a date-certain in the calendar to take off. First 10-feet of a cruise seem to be the hardest part....

[Kettlewell]

Nope - there will be a 30th Ha Ha next year.

Good to hear! Another observation I have made is attending and working at boat shows regularly since about 1979. Any cruiser who has done so will note the vast shrinkage of both cruising-size sailboats and cruising equipment vendors at all of our major shows here in the USA, at least on the East Coast. In fact, the builders are just gone too.

[mvweebles]

I was a full-time delivery skipper for about 5-years starting in late 1990s - exclusively power, mostly new high-end trawlers such as Nordhavn. I returned to Corporate America and was entirely out of boats until 5-years ago. Changes I've detected are that new boats used to be commissioned when they arrived in the US. Now, they tend to arrive fully-equipped. A couple years ago, I tried to sell a Groco Model K head and was stunned it attracted zero interest. I took it to Minney's (well known used boat dealer in Newport Beach CA) and they didn't want it, even for free. Folks want brand-new out-of-box and would rather a plastic Jabsco for $400 than a 3-inch Bronze head.

My sense is there are plenty of new boats being sold more or less turnkey. Cruisers and buyers have changed a bunch in my 20-year hiatus. I haven't been to a boat show in years so cannot speak to Kettlewell's observation, but there definitely seem to be a lot of new boats being sold. No surprise, Cats are very popular. My only explanation is that once the kids are gone and the nest egg is big enough (augmented by the uneven impact of Covid years), many folks can easily finance a $1m boat and tend to do so with all the bells and whistles included.

I don't see shrinkage in size or quantity. Much the opposite.

[fox9988]

Wannabe here. Being. Started dreaming 6 years ago. Got divorced. Found a girlfriend. Retired at 48 in June.
Now 2 months into an indefinite cruise. Loving it so far (mostly lol). It’s windy and raining at the moment. Anchored in Key West. I’m watching her sleep. She’s amazing. Beautiful. It would be tough and not much fun without her. She’s a work horse with a woman’s insight.
We’ll go until it isn’t fun anymore. Caribbean this winter. Nova Scotia next summer. May upgrade boats and do the Pacific after that.
Sell the boat and fly home when we get tired of it. Probably buy an RV. Living life, not just existing. I’ll not die from ulcers or bedsores.