Planning to Live the Dream!

[fozrunner]

I’ve been lurking on here for a while, taking advantage of the amazing knowledge base of the cruisers forum to plan out my dream after I retire. The original plan was to retire in Brisbane, Aus and buy a powerboat cruiser and boat around the Moreton bay area and trailer the boat up and down the east coast. I was in Oz this summer and visited a couple of boat brokers just to have a look and introduce my wife to the plan. She was not all that keen, but let me do some dreaming. At the last broker the guy asked if we had sailed and talked about how it isn’t that difficult and there are plenty of opportunities to learn. He was a fountain of knowledge and had some great stories and we ended up listening to him for almost two hours. That got me thinking. Upon returning home I spoke to a colleague who does bare boat cruises and is planning on buying a yacht when he retires. It got me thinking some more.
I then started to do some research and stumbled upon the forum. I’ve read some great stories and I’m living vicariously through the forum posts. One night my wife asked what I was doing so intently on the computer and I told her I was looking up different used yacht prices and comparing specifications. I then said it might be a good idea to buy a boat in the Mediterranean, spend six months there, then sail to the Caribbean by way of the Canary Islands to St. Lucia, then through the canal, cruise the west Mexican coast and then head to the Marquesas and eventually get to Australia and cruise the Whitsundays. She thought that was a great idea. What? Agreeing with one of my plans, that never happens! I then showed her some boats and she was even keener. Wow, I’m on to something here!
My plan as it stands is to do a competent crew/day skipper course late this coming summer and then a few charters over the next couple of years. I had planned to work another five years but I don’t know if I’ll last that long! Even though I’m from land locked Canada I’ve always been drawn to the sea. I spent five yrs in Aus, doing lots of scuba diving and going on a few trips to the outer reefs. The only things I’ve really sailed are a few laser’s and hobie cats, but I’m technically minded and I think I’ll take to sailing fairly well. I’ve got openCPN and I’ve started to plot some routes and dream!
So I’ll continue lurking, reading posts and hopefully one day I’ll add a boat and a boat’s name to my bio. I’m tending towards considering a 40-45 ft monohull, mostly because I’ve never been on a cat cruiser. Perhaps when I get to charter I should try a few different things.

[boatman61]

Hi Fozrunner... Welcome to CF.
Definitely went the right way talking the Med etc to the Missus.. much more glamorous than pottering up and down the same coast with a trailer... good luck with the 'Dream..'

[shorebird]

Sounds like a great plan! There are a lot of cruisers on this site who say they never regretted leaving the work life behind, and setting sail for a middle-age-slash-retirement dream. You sound like one of the dreamers who actually considers the need for training and experience before heading out. Good luck to you.

[BandB]

Your plan sounds quite good. Taking courses and learning. Chartering. I might add to that engaging an experienced captain for the initial sails on your new boat to train you better in it's operation and give some hands on training.

I would toss one thing out and that's read as many stories as possible so that you both understand the greatness but also the negatives.

[fozrunner]

Originally Posted by BandB

Your plan sounds quite good. Taking courses and learning. Chartering. I might add to that engaging an experienced captain for the initial sails on your new boat to train you better in it's operation and give some hands on training.

I would toss one thing out and that's read as many stories as possible so that you both understand the greatness but also the negatives.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Yes indeed, I'm downplaying the negativities at the moment to the spouse, but I do realize they are there. The stories I've found, both positive and negative, have been amazing. We've done a bit of camping, and although we own a trailer RV we are pretty comfortable with roughing it and going backcountry. So I think camping on the sea in relatively cramped conditions wont be an issue. We're not prone to seasickness so that should help. As far as tough sailing goes, well, how do you prepare for that? I can't see looking for a gale to get the experience in handling it, but if one comes along it would be useful to know you could handle it.

Settling all the other issues around our lives in the next few years will be a real challenge!

[Sheetbender]

Stay inshore for a few years to get your feet wet, so to speak. Learn the mechanicals of your boat. Carry tools and spares. When you are a thousand miles from any where and it hits the fan, you are the one and only. Not only will your life depend on your skills and tools but your significant other's life will too. If you typically rely on other people to fix things for you, you have no business being out of sight of land. Blue water sailors are a special breed, they rely on no one but themselves. Good luck in your adventure. Hope to see you out there.

[fozrunner]

Originally Posted by Sheetbender

Stay inshore for a few years to get your feet wet, so to speak. Learn the mechanicals of your boat. Carry tools and spares. When you are a thousand miles from any where and it hits the fan, you are the one and only. Not only will your life depend on your skills and tools but your significant other's life will too. If you typically rely on other people to fix things for you, you have no business being out of sight of land. Blue water sailors are a special breed, they rely on no one but themselves. Good luck in your adventure. Hope to see you out there.

G'Day Sheetbender. No I'm the type of guy who, even though I could afford it or it would be easier, I tend to do things myself. I have too many tools, so parting with some will be a problem, adding more useful ones won't be! Knowing what's dead weight on a boat and what really could be useful will take some time. Getting to know whatever boat I get will be half the fun, taking things apart and putting them back together is something I quite enjoy. Hopefully the sailing part won't be too intimidating. I reckon when I'm retired we can pick the weather windows, sail when we want to, lay up when necessary, and make some intelligent decisions. But I'm sure others have said as much and found themselves in difficulty, or not. Sometimes you never know what's going to come your way. Best be prepared as possible, but not fret so much that it paralyses you!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.