Sailing Is for Rich People

[speakeasy]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

kb79 is not average. He's obviously smart. Maybe a little naive, but give him a break, he's half most of our ages.

In about 8 years he has built a career that earns far more than most posters here. He could probably fall flat on his face a couple of times, and you know what?... I'd bet dollars to doughnuts he'd be back on his feet again in a few years. (Don't worry about SaltyMonkey's attacks... I suspect he's a fast typer and sometimes his brain struggles to keep up, but I'm sure he means well)

I've earned more, and less, accumulated a few assets (wealth to some), lost it, did it again... not a huge amount by any measure, but now, 3 decades later than you, we're about go cruising on a modest boat ($100k) with a modest income, but for as long as we choose. I've been lucky with good health but I'd be seriously pissed off if I wasn't.

You know what's ridiculous?
At 30 I was building a Roberts Mauritius 44... got to hull stage only. We were going to go cruising. Wife fell pregnant and everything changed. It's a hormone/instinct thing with some women I'm sure. She could not see beyond a house in the suburbs, white pickett fence deal, so that's what we did.

Boats have come and gone... wives have come and gone... money has come and gone...

My point/s?
1) go now... you and your wife are young and smart... you'll work it out
2) once you're cruising you can decide the next steps as you go.
3) no plans, or outcomes are set in concrete, and even the ones that seem to be, well, a few sticks of dynamite
4) your biggest assets are street smarts and coping with change... kinda like sailing
5) some of the best kids you'll ever meet are kids of cruising couples so don't close your minds to that possibility.
6) I like your Dad already...

What he said, all of it.

The hostility shown earlier in this thread, like that shown toward the Bumfuzzle's, is extremely distasteful.

kb79, pay no attention to it and have a great cruise. Let us know how it goes.

[zeehag]

there shouldnt be any argument about the trip being worth taking--IT IS WELL WORTH TAKING!!!! i am so glad i got to cruise the gulf o fmexico before bp---then during bp--ouch----is a treasure of a region. too bad the treasured part is being made dead---the seafoods and life that was in the sea was incredibly awesome---the people are different from the norm of usa cross sectional poplulation demographics lol....i loved it there--so much cohesiveness and comaraderie and beauty. so alive---every place we cruise under sail is awesome--each place has its beauties and its uniqueness-that is almost as much a part of the trip as is the sailing--we cannot forget that--lol---once that is forgotten ,, what is the purpose of the sail cruise? one is able to get to many destinations via cruise ship or airplane....is the destination the big deal?? no--is only a part of it---is the sailing the big deal?? no--only a part of it...to be able to EXPERIENCE the beauty nature has to offer--i still havent figgered out how that is done when there is aircond on board ..lol....cant hear the local noises and makes the entire situation different than i was looking for----for going into natures bedroom and playing with her toys, i dont see the importance of many of the nonsimple additions many have fallen into...encouraged by boat builders with a need to sell boats...add this for the comfort of your wife who doesnt wanna go cruising after all--make it more like home so she will want to join you.!! is all good for coastal cruising-maybe she will like it in these--they seem to bring many out who would not ordinarily go out, so could be that is a good thing--lol--just dont take up the entire anchorage--i may wanna go there , too..lol--dunno---harbor hopping is fun--meet new folks and have a good time ...is a good way to explore the usa --by boat---
a yacht is a boat with a helo pad and a helo on it--
is all about going out into the world and seeing and sailing--we all can get along--is a large sized small world..LOL...

dang another loooong post--oh well......

salty monkey keeps it going and active lol....

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by kb79

if i see any of you out there, i can't wait to let my bank buy you a beer! i like to think of it as my own personal economic stimulus package

Nicely put

You have a good point in that no one said the idea of heading off into the Wide Blue Yonder was mad The benefits of a self selecting audience You should have also mentioned your plans on The_Bankruptcy_Forum.com - probably would have been accused of being rich...............

But even though you are still set on your path of Cruising with the risk of complete financial destruction I think even the less encouraging remarks serve a purpose to you (and others) in giving an idea of where on the financial comfort curve your circumstances are. More likely to survive on a tight budget if you understand that's what it is and perhaps more likely to recognise when you are halfway into a financial hole so that to stop digging becomes an option.............rather than the bottom is a surprise.

All things considered though, could be worse. could've bought a catamaran and that really would have had potential to turn your financial world upside down

[anglooff]

Naughty David.....very naughty indeed

[MichaelC]

It is true that sailing is for rich people. I am probably the richest man I have ever known ... or are you talking about money? I don't have much of that. I have found that I don't need it, either. Raised two kids, both of whom are well off. I have a PhD which I used for a few years. Once made over a 100k in one year, but usually less than 30. Traveled all over the place, hiking sailing whatever. My life is a fantasy for most men. I have built 3 large sailboats [and lots of little ones], and this one will cost about 10k total [32' hard chined gaff rigged cutter]. Marshall Sahlins once pointed out that there are two ways to be wealthy. One is to have unlimited income, the other is to have limited wants. I chose the latter, so most of my life's minutes and days could be mine to do with as I choose. That, my friend, is true wealth.

[Sailor Vee]

<<<There are plenty of people here who have very little cash and went very far. Most built their own boats or fixed up old ones and scrapped for parts etc. Those in my mind are the real cruiser/sailors on this board.>>> What bull cocky. Does this kind of comment seem petty and condescending to anyone but me?

It is really all relative. The view is just as good from a sweat equity boat as a bristol swan. $1,000 a month will not cut it for two...there are simply too many fees, unexpected costs and trust me, you will want to grab a mooring ball for a shore break from time to time. I do get tired of self righteous comments about the "real cruisers do it this way or did it that way..." If you are out there living on a boat you sailed into a distant port I don't care if you rebuilt an old yanmar swapping your janitorial services for yard time or had the intelligence or good fortune to be successful at a career and bought a new Morris, you are a real cruiser. Sometimes those who are not successful feel the need to compensate by dissing those who are. Just get out on the water and don't worry about it. You have a boat that meets your needs and if you have the intelligence to make the kind of living you make, you will have the good sense to make cruising work for you. Get out there and enjoy the water.
From NE Harbor Acadia aboard S/V Frances Mae...

[SaltyMonkey]

Sailor Vee - just you MF because if you read it the way it was intended it was admiration for skills I may not be able to find in myself. Read it in context with the other posts including Mr Swain.

People who get out there from basically nothing and who have the resourcefulness to succeed I admire the most and I call the "real cruisers" and the ones to try and emulate to gain self sufficiency in oneself, unlike spoon fed parasite capitalist CEO's on catamaran's who aren't worth a dang to lick my gulf oiled boots.

[Stinky]

Since a lot of people here have mentioned student loans as a barrier to getting out there, it's worth mentioning that the whole picture for low-income/high-student-loan-debt people (like myself) has totally changed with the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Now you can consolidate all your federally guaranteed student loans (stafford, perkins, unsub stafford, PLUS, etc...) into a federal direct loan and pay it back on the basis of your income- your payments will be the LOWER of the actual payment due or 15% of the portion of your income that exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level. After 25 years of payments under that scheme, all debt remaining is forgiven...

If you have no income (because you are sailing), your payments are $0.00. If you sail for half the year and earn for half the year, so you only make, say, 40k, and you have a wife and kids (fpl for family of 4 is nearly 30k), you pay 0 or nearly 0...

[SaltyMonkey]

Thats a great clarification Stinky. I consolidated my loans and had to a couple of times defer payment due to job situations. I didn't know most of what you were saying.

[Stinky]

Lots of people don't know about it. I worked in an office next to another guy who started at the same time as me- he was making the same amount of $$$ as I (working for the state, so payroll is no secret) and had about 50k less in student loans than I, but he was paying about $900 per month to the loan company and I was paying 0, and, because we were working for the state, my loans would be forgiven in 10 years (the 25 year loan forgiveness is reduced to 10 if you are working for the gov't or for any non-profit)... He consolidated and signed up for IBR the next day...

Some good info here, more focused on the 10 year loan forgiveness for public-interest employees:
IBRinfo :: Help is here!

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by kb79

if i see any of you out there, i can't wait to let my bank buy you a beer! i like to think of it as my own personal economic stimulus package

See?? I told you he was smart

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by kb79

you know why i love you guys? ...
it's because while there's been some spirited debate about the wisdom with which i've gone about making this happen, but NO ONE has suggested that the trip's not worth taking..."

Hi, there, kb, this is from Ann,

Jim has steadfastly declined to become involved in this one, but both of us are interested. Possibly the reason people who are committed to mainstream life as practiced in the US freak out about people going cruising and staying with the lifestyle is that it is basically antithetical to their entire value system. Granted, there is tolerance for a "vacation on the water" or a 2 yr. sabbatical leave (many'd question it at your age), but when your choice for you is so different from their choices, the perceived "all of you are wrong" is threatening on the face of it.

Once one has accepted that one wants to opt out, and develop a new lifestyle, lots of doors can open. It's all interactive: you interact with your new cruising lifestyle, and you shape it and change it, and are changed yourselves. Exercise your creativity and flexibility and both of you will have a marvelous time.

re: 2nd question of your OP, yes, we, too, have known some [wonderful] young cruisers who completed 6-8 yr. circumnavigations, and ALL of them were really low budget folks, usually with vessels between 20 and 30 ft. in length. Most of them worked along the way and found that an interesting way to interact with foreign cultures.

Ann Cate, s/v Insatiable II, lying Manly, Qld

[Feral Cement]

KB --

If you and the misses work 6 extra months and save everything you can (lifestyle of a 30K/yr couple), you will have an extra $40K+ saved up. You could pay off some of that debt so that it's not hanging over you every day, cruise a little longer if you choose, and STILL have some re-entry dough.

It's your life, your money, and your dream - use them all wisely!

John

[SaltyMonkey]

Jim Cate/Ann: Please don't misread our reactions. We really DONT want them to come back at all but to keep going. We want them to stay out and not have those $ pressures hence leave without $$$$$$ owed. With that load though they will sometime have to deal with it, sadly - either back in states or someplace else or some sort of crash. Unfortunately, at this point I truly believe with that boat loan, staying another year isn't going to solve problems.

Feral Cement - did you take into account the high tax rate?

[Stillraining]

If they offer you a job after the takeover and you don't want it Ill take it..