Age Of Cruisers

[unbusted67]

After my last visit to the marina for a good dose of boat envy I was a little surprised at the age of people sailing their boats in and out of the harbor. Exactly how old is the average cruiser?

[NoTies]

I don't really know but Sue & I were at a cruising association dinner this month and we were the yougest by at least 10 years. We're in our mid 40s so it felt pretty weird.

[sv_makai]

We are among the younger crowd relatively and while most of those we met were of retirement age, we did meet many very young under mid 30's into the 20's cruising while we were in the Caribe. I may be wrong but I feel the poll end up being skewed. Many of those we meet were on very tight budgets, few even had computers onboard and becuase many were are totally disconnected they will not be able to participate on this great site.

[Islandmike]

Both my wife and I will be 53 years old this year.

[harpoon5.2]

I am 22. However I can't really be called a cruiser yet since all I can do is sail a dingy around the resivoir on the weekends.

I deffinately feel like I am in the minority age group around here and the marinas in general.

I can;t wait until I am able to move down to the coast and get a real boat.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by sv_makai

We are among the younger crowd relatively and while most of those we met were of retirement age, we did meet many very young under mid 30's into the 20's cruising while we were in the Caribe. I may be wrong but I feel the poll end up being skewed. Many of those we meet were on very tight budgets, few even had computers onboard and becuase many were are totally disconnected they will not be able to participate on this great site.

I think this is a good point but I also think there are plenty of older cruisers who are on a tight budget as well.

[slomotion]

An informal survey conducted in Georgetown, Bahamas in the winter of 2005 found 59% of the cruisers there were between 56 and 65:

BoatUS.com Cruising Log

[Cool Change]

73 having a blast (Solo)

If ind it interesting that the overwhelming number who have voted are in their 40's, yet almost every perception from those same people is that the majority they have observed is in their 50's.

[Vasco]

Kai,

That's because those older than 40 realize that age is in the mind and this poll is meaningless. Age isn't too much of a factor when you're out cruising. What is a factor is whether you're cruising with children. The folks with kids hang together and then there's the rest of the cruisers.

Vasco, so you are saying, when you get that close to the end, you don't have time for trivial things like opinion poles
I agree you are only as old as you feel, but what I want to know is, how old do you need to feel before the retirement benefits kick in
Seriously though, I am curious if this pole is representitive of the cruising community as a whole, or just the segment that contributes to this site. If it is specific to this site, maybe it better indicates that people in their 40's are more likely to share information on the internet than those of other ages.
Just pondering aloud.

[Ex-Calif]

62% of all statistics are made up.

100% of all polls are flawed.

When confronted with data 33% of people will disagree with the data and tell you that the survey is wrong.

The above percentages are about 50% accurate.

[Boracay]

I don't want to be pedantic but this is really the Age of Pisces.

It has previously been incorrectly identified as the Age of Aquarius.

The Age of Cruisers doesn't seem to count for much these days.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Vasco

this poll is meaningless.

I thought this poll might offend some people, and I know that it is considered a little rude to ask people their age. All the same I am curious about at what point in people's lives are they able to adopt the cruising lifestyle. It seems that many are able to cruise simply because they are retired and have pensions they can live off of, others go a little more native. Anyway I am sorry if it seems nosy.

...Ohh and the guy that is 73 and sailing solo is my idol. Right on man.

[schoonerdog]

The link above shows only around 7% of cruisers younger than 40, and that makes sense. When we went to Georgetown, I was 36 and my wife was 29 and we were definitely the minority. Too many people get too much debt early, and most people now are much more willing part of the "corporate culture". Look at woodstock in the 70s and then in the 90s. In the 90s it was sponsored by car companies.