Any Young Cruisers Setting Out Soon ?

[deckofficer]

This all is sounding very familiar as it was another thread. It was decided there that those same cruisers you hung with in Sea of Cortez and other places in the 1970's, when we all were in our late 20's~early 30's, are now the old farts we all are in our present day anchorages.

[Iain]

Youmeandthed,
I am 27 and my wife is 26. We are moving aboard our Niagara 35 this summer. We will be selling our house (hopefully soon) and leaving our careers. We plan to leave NC in the fall of 2012(or we may have to wait till 2013) and head south possibly on a course similar to yours. I look forward to following your progress. GOOD LUCK!

[Freerider]

Hey oh!

We're 28 and 25, cruised BC coast for a few years but now have the boat on the hard. Hopefully this refit won't take much longer , and we'll be out there for good soon. Next time out we're not coming back......

[Iain]

oh, and I hope you are planning on taking that surfboard(I saw the one in the pic). Bocas Del Toro?

[youmeandthed]

Surfboard's packed, we're definitely trying to decide between Bocas and San Blas, maybe both. I'm up for spending more time in Panama, it's a good way to stretch your budget compared to some of those windward islands. I'd rather drink cheap Panamanian Beer than fancy french champagne.

Oh and someone earlier commented on The World Tour Blog. To much faking a lifestyle, really professional though.

My way of having fun will be surfing, snorkelling, fishing, hiking, stuff that doesn't cost money; and the rest of the time working on the boat (hahaha).

[RobRCR]

You might be interesting in this blog (also on FB):
The Quest for Wind and Waves

He is in his 20's and is currently completely refitting a Downeaster.

[youmeandthed]

I've read his blog, but from my experience working on boats, it might take him a while before he is cruising. He's taking on a huge project, i'm super impressed by the work he's doing. Pretty cool stuff.

[Steveosjg629]

Hi.
It looks like you guys are having an amazing trip!
My girlfriend and I are moving on to our Pearson 365 this week. In may we leave for Cuba and Central America. I'm 23 and she just turned 33. I started this dream 5 years ago and have been building my life towards it ever since. I spent my 23rd birthday sailing into Dominican Republic from the Bahamas on my 4 month solo cruise last summer. We're heading down towards Panama. Maybe we can meet up on your way back north... We would love to meet some like minded people and even better our age. How has your trip been with your dog D? We have a 2 yr old Shar Pei we would love to take but just think it would be to difficult for everyone. We have a great home for him for when we get back. Pros? cons? Regrets?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Safe sails
Steven
s/v Salacia

[YoloSF]

I'm 24. I just pm'ed you. Sorry to revive an old thread, but I I had the same question... Anyone else under 30 out there? I have plans to circumnavigate starting in 2014, look forward to hearing from others who've left the "young professional" life for sailing for a bit!

[H Romberg]

I took off for a year at 40, and figured out I was in the wrong kind of boat for my style of cruising. Wish I'd taken off earlier because I could have done my course correction earlier.

Go now.

Gee. I wish we'd waited a few more years before untying the docklines.......said no one.....ever.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by H Romberg

I took off for a year at 40, and figured out I was in the wrong kind of boat for my style of cruising. Wish I'd taken off earlier because I could have done my course correction earlier.

Go now.

Gee. I wish we'd waited a few more years before untying the docklines.......said no one.....ever.

I've noticed that a lot of younger sailors spend too much on a "bluewater boat", and run out of money after about seven months. Better to get a more affordable boat and save the money for living expenses.

It's just difficult to purchase and outfit a boat with the resources typically available at that age.

But I admire their spirit.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by roverhi

We did SoPac when we were around 30. Lived in a VW Bus while building our W32.

OMG you are so old! Did you know Al Capone?

Originally Posted by roverhi

If you wait till you are in your forties to go, you better have made enough money to retire permanently before you leave. Trying to get a high salaried job as you go above 50 is really difficult unless you have some unique talent or qualifications.

That's my 2nd biggest fear about this whole sailing thing. My 1st biggest fear is me or my wife passing before we get to see the world together... #1 wins.

[Matt sachs]

So if an old guy (me) had a much younger mate (her) we should go crusing now? Is that what I'm getting from this thread? If so, I'm all for that!

[Mike OReilly]

I guess me and my spouse are too old to be young, and too young to be old. At 45 & 50 we're finally heading into our final year of landlubbership. Spring 2014 is our date, and we've been working towards it for at least five years now.

We'll be leaving with a solid, serious sea boat that will keep us safe through most (but not all) that the oceans can conjure. We'll have a small nest egg so we have some time (not a lot) to figure out how to make life afloat sustainable. And we're leaving with enough skills and experience to navigate most (but not all) the challenges that we'll face.

I hope we meet some of you youngins out there!

[H Romberg]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

I've noticed that a lot of younger sailors spend too much on a "bluewater boat", and run out of money after about seven months. Better to get a more affordable boat and save the money for living expenses.

It's just difficult to purchase and outfit a boat with the resources typically available at that age.

But I admire their spirit.

Yep. It's a trade-off like any other. Go now, go small, go with what you have on one hand, versus go later, and later, and later, and possibly not at all, but if you ever finally do it, maybe in a bit more luxury.

I saw more than one boat in the Bahamas last year that probably cost about what my dinghy did. They looked to be having even more fun than I was. I wish to hell I'd taken off a couple of years after I left the Army, back when I was in better shape, even if I'd have had to do it on the Shoestring (19' Wellcraft Starwind micro-cruiser).