Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Sounds to me like you needed an onion on your belt, it was the style at the time dontcha know.

Fantastic reference!!!

If anyone needs to keep busy after retirement and worries cruising won’t keep you busy enough, there IS another alternative. Just build a boat! Occupies literally all your time. Free time got you down? No problem! Just build a boat! Ha ha

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It sounds like you didn't know how to handle the stress you say you were under at your desk job.

You have to learn ways to deal with the stress.

You are lucky though that all you have to support is yourself whereas many of us support family in need.

The nice thing though is that sometimes those of us still working get lucky and have jobs in areas where some cruisers long to be so it all evens out, and we get to sleep in an apartment or home rather than on a boat.

I would say just be careful with early retirement if you are used to being really busy and having lots of challenges to deal with on a daily basis.

I also think to stop your working life too early could possibly put a damper on your later years when you really are retired simply because you have gotten to a certain age where you can no longer perform as you once could.

This could be the age where you can better handle the slower, simpler lifestyle of cruising....

Sounds to me like he handled the stress quite well. He realized what he was doing was not worth the stress, so he stopped! He transitioned to something he loves and is truly enjoying it!
Why would you learn ways to deal with harsh negatives if you are not getting any meaningful positives!!!
That is a statement, not a question to you Tom. I already know your answer.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by chris mac

Sounds to me like he handled the stress quite well. He realized what he was doing was not worth the stress, so he stopped! He transitioned to something he loves and is truly enjoying it!
Why would you learn ways to deal with harsh negatives if you are not getting any meaningful positives!!!
That is a statement, not a question to you Tom. I already know your answer.

I doubt you know my answer.

There would be several answers depending on my mood at the time.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by theDangerz

Instead of filling the 4 prescriptions the doctor handed me when he told me on was on my way to dying from a massive heart attack... I went home and committed to the wife that I was all-in for her crazy plan of leaving it all behind to chase our happiness.

Well, I'm certainly glad you didn't have a massive heart attack.

But just in case there are others in that situation that cannot or do not want to go cruising there are other things that can help like exercise and sunlight. Plus being stuck on a boat for days on end isn't good for some, but you can hide out there from the world if it's too stressful for you.

You don't need a boat to learn to relax.

I sort of wished I had learned to be a mountain climber/alpinist.

That is one sport where there is only one thing on your mind. You need total concentration and all else is forgotten for the time being and many times you are getting lots of sunlight.

This is a great stress reliever for some.

Chess is another sport/game that requires total concentration and can ease your stress

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It sounds like you didn't know how to handle the stress you say you were under at your desk job.

You have to learn ways to deal with the stress.

You are lucky though that all you have to support is yourself whereas many of us support family in need.

The nice thing though is that sometimes those of us still working get lucky and have jobs in areas where some cruisers long to be so it all evens out, and we get to sleep in an apartment or home rather than on a boat.

I would say just be careful with early retirement if you are used to being really busy and having lots of challenges to deal with on a daily basis.

I also think to stop your working life too early could possibly put a damper on your later years when you really are retired simply because you have gotten to a certain age where you can no longer perform as you once could.

This could be the age where you can better handle the slower, simpler lifestyle of cruising....

Why work if you can retire , there is no advantage to working other then it’s a means of generating income , in fact ideally you could generate income without work that would be great

Note by work I mean being paid to appear busy.

Since retiring I think I need to go back working to get some spare time back

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by ol1970

Thanks for all of your great responses! I get that the financial aspect puts us in a very fortunate position (mostly from a decade of 80-100 hour work weeks through my 20's and early 30's building a business, that part was hard and stressful). I actually "retired" from that gig 6 years ago and now have a consulting business in the same industry that takes up about 20 hours a week with a great revenue stream. One of the options we are contemplating is just going cruising for 3 month stints. I keep the business churning along remotely for about that period of time, much longer and it would be problematic.



We currently sail about 4-6 weeks a year and vacation another month or so beyond that, no issue with not taking time to do fun stuff. We absolutely love the water and being on board going places we've never been, and the excitement of having to just figure stuff out in new locations. The thing that we (probably mostly me) think about is that no time is guaranteed and the intensity of the experience is amazing when we are on our adventures...I wonder that even though things are so cushy and great now, we may not have the chance later from a health perspective even though we are in great shape now.



First world problems I understand, but I see a lot of people out there in really nice boats that must be in similar situations. That is why I'm really interested in the social aspect and wondering if people miss the challenge/professional interaction of a job.



(I attached a pic from our last anchorage in October...so many beautiful places to go see!)

There’s a beautiful place in that picture , oh wait ...

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by thomm225

The nice thing though is that sometimes those of us still working get lucky and have jobs in areas where some cruisers long to be so it all evens out, and we get to sleep in an apartment or home rather than on a boat.

There is something quite backwards in this sentence.

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Well, I'm certainly glad you didn't have a massive heart attack.

But just in case there are others in that situation that cannot or do not want to go cruising there are other things that can help like exercise and sunlight. Plus being stuck on a boat for days on end isn't good for some, but you can hide out there from the world if it's too stressful for you.

You don't need a boat to learn to relax.

You're right, of course there are many ways to reduce stress... but we aren't all on here talking about our desire to play chess or go rock/mountain climbing (though I do enjoy both).

You may have taken a wrong turn at the login, but in case you hadn't noticed the other dozen times I've tried to point it out to you, this is a CRUISERS forum... by nature it's not filled with people who hate the idea of cruising or who think living on a boat is somehow related to "feeling stuck" or are looking for the numerous way to relax without needing a boat.

Those reading and writing on this thread (minus you) are trying to discuss how most of us feel/felt stuck living life on land and going to work every day, and are or have been dreaming of or working toward the freedom of being "stuck on a boat"... because while you can't seem to come to terms with it, you're on a cruisers forum where most of us DO WANT exactly that!!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Why work if you can retire , there is no advantage to working other then it’s a means of generating income , in fact ideally you could generate income without work that would be great

Note by work I mean being paid to appear busy.

Since retiring I think I need to go back working to get some spare time back

Sometimes work allows you to learn things you wouldn't if anchored out on a boat someplace.

Today I walked out of my office and checked on the two cruising boats anchored in the small bay there.

They hadn't moved since a few days before but their dinghies were tied up behind their boats. One of them was a boat about the size of mine and the other was a larger ketch.

I'm not sure how they are passing all the time.

Afterward, I went for a long walk then a workout in the weight room in our building.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by dougweibel

There is something quite backwards in this sentence.

Nothing backwards.

i got transferred to Florida after already being a beach cat racer in Tennessee. Basically I was transferred to beach cat racing heaven

I went to visit the area in 1995 and happened to stumble upon the yearly 100 mile beach cat race out of Ft Walton Beach

When my son and I competed in it 2 years later there were 82 beach cats on the starting line ay 0700 from 16' to 27' we were in 8th place after 55 miles but then fell back since we didn't have a spinnaker. I had never heard of beach cats with spinnakers at the time.

We were on my Nacra 6.0 and the winds were very light the first 55 miles which is what you usually have racing on TVA lakes in Tennessee so it was perfect for us

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by theDangerz

You're right, of course there are many ways to reduce stress... but we aren't all on here talking about our desire to play chess or go rock/mountain climbing (though I do enjoy both).

You may have taken a wrong turn at the login, but in case you hadn't noticed the other dozen times I've tried to point it out to you, this is a CRUISERS forum... by nature it's not filled with people who hate the idea of cruising or who think living on a boat is somehow related to "feeling stuck" or are looking for the numerous way to relax without needing a boat.

Those reading and writing on this thread (minus you) are trying to discuss how most of us feel/felt stuck living life on land and going to work every day, and are or have been dreaming of or working toward the freedom of being "stuck on a boat"... because while you can't seem to come to terms with it, you're on a cruisers forum where most of us DO WANT exactly that!!

Get a grip.

You've only been doing this for 2 years! (boating/sailing)

And btw, I enjoy my cruises especially sailing in the early am with the left over wind from the night before.

It's so very nice to have the tide and a SW Wind of about 14-18 knots when you are headed home from 35 miles out and home is SE.....

Or a 30 knots wind as long as you can go DDW! but unfortunately this time it was wind against tide which made things.....interesting.

This video is after it laid down a bit and the whistling through the rigging was not as loud. Fun stuff as long as the boat holdes together!

Even though I had the wrong sail up and too much of it I only have one set of reef points on my main. I'm just lucky I decided to put that one reef in before I left Kiptopeke because the boat was pushing a lot of water with the bow pointing way up a lot of the time since it was being forced hard into a waves due to that sail and the wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXfjcCuiPk

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Sometimes work allows you to learn things you wouldn't if anchored out on a boat someplace.

Today I walked out of my office and checked on the two cruising boats anchored in the small bay there.

They hadn't moved since a few days before but their dinghies were tied up behind their boats. One of them was a boat about the size of mine and the other was a larger ketch.

I'm not sure how they are passing all the time.

Afterward, I went for a long walk then a workout in the weight room in our building.

I think you dont actually get what living on a boat is about and why people like it

Ive spent days and days at anchor

we get up , have a swim , then a few boat tasks ( there are always boat tasks ) , then a dinghy spin , then its lunch that takes 2 hours ( we are europeans after all ) , then a tidy, wife usually has a snooze, I do a few more boat tasks, then afternoon swim , the its a 5-6pm cocktail hour then dinner prep , thats a another slow meal , then a chat as we watch the stars , followed by bed.

On the really exciting days , we dinghy ashore for an hour on two

we can while away weeks doing nothing !!!

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I think you dont actually get what living on a boat is about and why people like it

Ive spent days and days at anchor

we get up , have a swim , then a few boat tasks ( there are always boat tasks ) , then a dinghy spin , then its lunch that takes 2 hours ( we are europeans after all ) , then a tidy, wife usually has a snooze, I do a few more boat tasks, then afternoon swim , the its a 5-6pm cocktail hour then dinner prep , thats a another slow meal , then a chat as we watch the stars , followed by bed.

On the really exciting days , we dinghy ashore for an hour on two

we can while away weeks doing nothing !!!

Are you sure you didn’t miss out ‘snoozing with your wife’ after lunch? A very satisfying form of recreational activity.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I think you dont actually get what living on a boat is about and why people like it

Ive spent days and days at anchor

we get up , have a swim , then a few boat tasks ( there are always boat tasks ) , then a dinghy spin , then its lunch that takes 2 hours ( we are europeans after all ) , then a tidy, wife usually has a snooze, I do a few more boat tasks, then afternoon swim , the its a 5-6pm cocktail hour then dinner prep , thats a another slow meal , then a chat as we watch the stars , followed by bed.

On the really exciting days , we dinghy ashore for an hour on two

we can while away weeks doing nothing !!!

Nice, I'm glad you enjoy it, but as I have mentioned before that slow of a day/lifestyle for me would be tough to handle.

I'm thinking though when I retire at 69 or 70 years old (if I'm lucky enough to stay healthy that long) it might be just about right to relax on my boat like that

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Are you sure you didn’t miss out ‘snoozing with your wife’ after lunch? A very satisfying form of recreational activity.

I tend to like my partners awake for that sort of thing, dont you !