We quit! We're going sailing.

[MondayNever]

Hi all,
My wife and I are about to join the ranks of young cruisers. We recently bought a boat in Tortola and are heading down there in October to begin our adventures. We gave to resignation notice to our employers in San Francisco, so there's no turning back now. Our only definite plan as of now is to get down as far south as Grenada this winter and then figure out where we want to head next.

I've gained a ton of useful information from CF over the past few years, but haven't posted. I'm sure I'll have a lot of technical questions once we get down to the boat and start finding problems. Would also love to meet up with other folks that are out and about in the islands this winter. Thanks for providing such a great resource!

Will & Cat

[CrustyChief]

Good for you! Don't be surprised if it lasts longer. Best of luck.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Will and Cat and Welcome Aboard CF!

I took a few minutes to look at your blog and enjoyed reading about how you two met.

Very nice story. Bon Voyage!
__________

While you may have been visiting CF for a while here are a few things I think can help anyone, and may be missed.

WIKI
Take a look at the Cruising WIKI that is found via the tab up on the top menu bar of the forum. It has a LOT of information in it you might find fun, interesting, or helpful.
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Looking for Quick Answers?

This is the best and fastest method I have found to the answers I seek here.
Since you are relatively new to the forum, here is my favorite friendly forum search tip: Look at the green menu bar on the forum pages for the drop down "Search" menu. Click on that to drop down a list of search functions. From that drop down menu select the GOOGLE CUSTOM search feature (the second box down) and then enter several different descriptive terms for your topic of interest. That will do a Custom google search of ONLY this site and it is likely to find answers to your questions or results for you. Note: this is VERY different from using the regular forum search box or field (which I never use because of poor search results). Also note, this is NOT found if you use the CF app. It IS found if you use a web browser such as Safari, etc.

Note: The ordinary "search" field on this forum has yielded less helpful results for me when I perform searches. That is why I prefer and suggest the use of the alternative "Google Custom Search" instead. I see a very clear difference and find the Google Custom Search much easier for scanning (with my eyes) threads for relevant comments and info. YMMV

[JPA Cate]

Welcome Aboard, Will & Cat.

Have "too much" fun!


Ann

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Congrats to you and your wife and good luck in your journey.

[Sandero]

I read a few entries in your blog. Go for it... Unfortunately too many people wait until they are a bit too old for the adventure... Not that you can't cruise as a senior.... but it's a helluva lot more fun in mid life!

Circumstances in my own life allowed me to leave my work as a sole proprietor architect and give all my possessions away and get into Shiva which I had been working on, sailing and learning how to be a sailor for about 6 years. I was 43 went I headed for the Caribbean. I don't know that I would do the same now... 25 years later... I am a better sailor, mechanic and so on... but truth be told, my sight is much worse, my hearing went from perfect to poor, and I've lost a lot of my strength and muscle tone and stamina. I certainly wouldn't go single handed.

You're going at the right age from the looks of you guys. And you'll have a super collection of experiences.... meet some very interesting people from all over the place and realize how little you need and how much you have on that boat of yours.

fair winds and following seas... and send us some pics!

Jef

[MondayNever]

Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone! We've been continually surprised how positive everyone has been about our plans, from friends, to employers, to folks online. Really nice to have this fairly unconventional decision met without negativity.

Jef - thanks for sharing your story. A lot of the rationale for cruising now is just impatience - I don't want to wait to do something that I'm so excited about. But there's also a consciousness that a lot could happen between now and retirement that could prevent us from voyaging. A quick survey of family members and older friends with cancer suggests that there's no time like the present, even if we are burning up a big chunk of savings!

[Sandero]

One of the reasons I went in mid life was that my father died before he could retire and do stuff... Why postpone what can be done MUCH better when you are fit?

I was able to resume my career and still have the boat and do coastal cruising... and these days with connectivity I can practice FROM my boat! which I couldn't when I took off pre broad band and so on.

You guys should not even give this decision a second thought... I know you haven't. It was the right decision and without the commitments of raising children and caring for aging parents and paying a mortgage and being a slave to house maintenance...

Cruising is not terribly costly compared to living in SF or NYC... and you don't need much... no shoes! hahaha

[gamayun]

Hey, are you two in the estuary? I think we met a little while ago while I had my boat there. Congrats on your plan!!! This is really exciting. Can't wait to hear more

[MondayNever]

Originally Posted by Sandero

One of the reasons I went in mid life was that my father died before he could retire and do stuff... Why postpone what can be done MUCH better when you are fit?

I was able to resume my career and still have the boat and do coastal cruising... and these days with connectivity I can practice FROM my boat! which I couldn't when I took off pre broad band and so on.

You guys should not even give this decision a second thought... I know you haven't. It was the right decision and without the commitments of raising children and caring for aging parents and paying a mortgage and being a slave to house maintenance...

Cruising is not terribly costly compared to living in SF or NYC... and you don't need much... no shoes! hahaha

Our spending will probably be cut to a third of what it has been here, even with expensive boat maintenance. We joke about being taxed $100 every time we leave the house in San Francisco.

[MondayNever]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Hey, are you two in the estuary? I think we met a little while ago while I had my boat there. Congrats on your plan!!! This is really exciting. Can't wait to hear more

Hi! I'm not sure if we're who you're thinking of - we've only sailed down the estuary a couple of times. We don't have a boat here in the Bay, but we were members of Tradewinds Sailing in Richmond. That gave us access to a bunch of boats that we sailed regularly. If we met, maybe that's how? Either way, thank for the kind words!

[Livia]

Congrats!!