Anybody around in their late 20's, saving hard for their dreams ?

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by Bob Morane

Wait until I have sufficient funds to retire/cruise permanently to go ?
Hell no ! I'm out and I'm out soon.

I think you are definitely on the right track. In your 20's you already have more savings than I do in my 60's. Don't muck about. There are plenty of capable cruising boats in your size range for 40k or thereabouts. Sure, you could wait for retirement and not have to come back, but there are a lot of flaws in that approach. As you mention, the seas and the world are changing. Best to get out there now. Also, as they say, 'strike while the fire is hot'. Dreams change and can fade away. When I was in my 20's all of my sailing friends had plans to go cruising. Very few of them did and now that they are at retirement age they have lost the bug. Plus, as others have pointed out, life can get in the way. Marriage, kids, health problems....all can trip you up.
I look forward to seeing you out there soon!

[Don C L]

I don't argue with the need to go, but buying the boat is a small part of the expense. You'll need some kind of a long term cash flow to keep yourself and the boat alive. I have a good friend in Santa Barbara who started out as a diver cleaning hulls long ago and parlayed that into a very good business that affords him quite a bit now. It took years, yes, to do that, but perhaps starting some type of dive business could help out your goals. Just a thought.

[Bob Morane]

Originally Posted by Don C L

I don't argue with the need to go, but buying the boat is a small part of the expense. You'll need some kind of a long term cash flow to keep yourself and the boat alive. I have a good friend in Santa Barbara who started out as a diver cleaning hulls long ago and parlayed that into a very good business that affords him quite a bit now. It took years, yes, to do that, but perhaps starting some type of dive business could help out your goals. Just a thought.

It's definitely something that's at the back of my mind.
However, being on the frugal side of things, I'm hopeful my savings will allow me a couple years of exploration before having to figure out a more long term plan.
Being hands on and a professional diver might work in my favor, hopefully.
Worst case scenario, I go on and off, alternating a year of hard work with a year of sailing or something similar.

[Don C L]

I was just looking around and came across this boat in New York which is just an example of many of the kinds of boats that do show up (around these parts) that would be the kind I'd recommend. I have no idea what is typically available in your neighborhood, but if you were in New York I'd say this kind of boat and condition and deal is the kind I would suggest someone like you take a close look at. No need to spend 30 or 40K necessarily. I suspect you can find similar deals there where someone has upgraded and outfitted a good old strong seaworthy and simple design and then had to let her go for very little.
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56888
COASTER 30 (PEARSON) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

[SZ-EAUTO]

All above replies impressed me.

Hey Bob,I am late 20s',but I have never think about a cruising life in my future.Maybe the different culture,most of us just wanna save the money and buy a house.But it will be very difficult if we just consider saving the money because the house here is toooooo expensive.

It is so cool that you have a dream and this form users all like to take adventures.

Save the unnecessary money and thinking how to earn more when we are young maybe is a realistic solution .

[Sailorboy3]

Hey. 26 and boat obsessed.

I work on a ship (trainee engineer) and when I’m home, most of the time I live on a 23 foot motor sailer.

Love being on the water. Boating doesn’t have to be as expensive as you think. I was paying rent and now I pay about half by living on the boat! Not bad hey

[Subtandard]

In 1975 my girlfriend convinced me to go sailing. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat before. I had $5,000 to my name. Spent $4,000 on a 22-foot Westerly Cirrus in Chicago (in October) and we headed south down the Mississippi. We had no electronics and a 6-hp outboard motor. We had $300 cash left when we started. Got as far as New Orleans before we ran out of money and had to find jobs. Found jobs again in Gulfport FL, Key West, Boqueron, Puerto Rico, and Christainsted, St. Croix. We lived together on that 22-footer for 5 years before we earned enough to move up to a 36-footer.


After 9 years, we decided to have a family and sailed back to the States and swallowed the anchor. When our child reached 22 years old (2010), we sold everything we owned, which was considerable, bought a boat in Netherlands and started over. We are anchored outside the harbor in Savona, Italy as I write this.


Going sailing was the best financial decision of my life. My wife and I have been together now for 43 years. Don't wait until you have enough money - that day may never come. Cruising is (for us) a lifestyle, not something you do when you retire.

[blauohnewasser]

Hey there!
I myself am in my 30ies and have had a similar dream. Fortunatelly enough i am able to work (during stretches in the summer) remotely (i.e. home office on my boat). And it's not (only) about money. If you accept that you can get along with a small boat and without all those fancy things, then this dream of yours is not as far away as one might think!


Pretty sure you do know these youtubers, but they do just what you dream of - and were an inspiration to myself:


https://www.youtube.com/user/WhiteSpotPirates/

Nike has gotten a really cheap boat and gone through hell getting it ready (whatching her has helped me tremendously in coping with my own boat-problems: you are not alone


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXb...G3gOsSnNJPVlg/

Dan & Kika are just awesome and have basically refurbished their boat themeselves. great DIY and super videos. They are inspirational when it comes to understanding that travelling is about the path and not about getting places fast.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZd...jIzFnWsDQOv4ww

La Vagabonde videos are different, but also worth watching.


And there are many of others out there on youtube too (Atticus, Delios, ...) which i do not follow.


If you dream of it, don't get intimidated by price and people saying "can't be done". In fact, when i asked in a forum "i'd like to buy a boat, sail it for a summer and sell it. what would you recommend a total newbie? how much does a boat cost and where to buy?" i received only mocking.
Well, that's three years ago and i did buy a boat and sail it around half of Europe in the meantime. Of course, what i know now, i would have done a lot of things differently, and also maybe chosen another boat. BUT: that's a process called lerning and money cannot buy you that
If you're interested, here is the blog of my experience with most of the ups and downs:
mala moja – Sailing round Europe

[MondayNever]

Hey Bob,
My wife and I are early-mid 30s and went on our first extended cruise (~1 year) a few years ago. Back home now, grinding away and investing, relentlessly driving towards the next much bigger trip with the intention of never being forced to return because of finances. I understand the single mindedness that you describe and also how that can put a bit of a wedge between you and your peers. We've all got to live our lives how we see fit though, and every year that passes I'm less and less concerned with how anyone else is doing it, and likewise for them.



There are a lot of people within the cruising community that share a drive to gain the money and time to be free to sail, but the mechanics of how to actually achieve that are rarely discussed in detail. There is a large and super informative online community that is concerned with "financial independence" and the specifics of how to achieve it. No get rich quick schemes, just solid financial strategies with the goal of building income generating wealth. Everyone has a different end goal that they are chasing, but financial independence is the means. You'll find a huge amount of information and inspiration among them - lots of people that are similarly dedicated to frugality and saving with a purpose. I'd suggest starting with these resources and then branch out:


www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012...ly-retirement/


The temporary sacrifice is worth it. Keep going.

[OceanSeaSpray]

Bob,

I left "for good" before I was even 25, so I didn't have much of a budget to show. 30' boat, over 20-year old, everything dead simple, stripped down lifestyle. But it gave me the freedom and it really demonstrated to me the difference between needs and desires.
If I had had more budget, I would almost certainly have complicated things, because I didn't have the experience and wisdom.

Going ocean cruising is not that expensive if you do it right. It gets expensive if you try to replace capability with equipment and/or create yourself needs that don't actually exist. If you are a good sailor and a good navigator, you need very, very little on your boat and the little you have can be of top quality.

Your best guidance might come from quietly reading some of the early navigators, Harry Pidgeon, John Guzzwell and the like. The sea hasn't changed, it still works today. Go to sea, be good at it and always strive to get better.

It has been a while now and I built another boat since, but I never departed from that simplicity and stripped down approach.

[Peter_nzl]

Hi bob

Well I'm in my late 20s so I thought I might say something. I'm also obsessed!
Grew up in nz, sailing boats since I was 7 got my 1st Keeler at 18.
Fast forward a few years...
While I was living in Germany, I was very homesick for the sea! So I bought the 32' ketch Waka Irie online and flew home. I have been working on a complete rebuild on her 2 years now, and she is so close to being finished! I plan to live aboard, while replenishing the funds before heading offshore. But right now I run out of money haha. So project is on hold and I'm off to Aussie to work on my cuisine's boat, and sail it round Auz from Sydney to Perth! - I might not make much money over there but I couldn't pass up such an opportunity!

Anyway I just wanted to say your not alone out there being young and obsessed to go to sea

[Mirage35]

Since this thread still has legs, I'll come back with another anecdote, this time someone else's. A fellow probably in his late twenties who was skipper of a buddy boat accompanying us north from the Bahamas last spring. This is my memory of what I think he told me, so not precise, but you'll get the general drift.

He and his girlfriend had decided they were tired of Canadian winters and wanted to move someplace warm. They spent their vacations trying different places but hadn't found anything that convinced them they wanted to stay long term; they were getting discouraged when they came across some sailboats and starting talking with the owners.

Revelation: go someplace warm and when you're tired of it go someplace else.

From that came a plan. He is a mechanic of some sort and had experience with small power boats, so a bit of a foot in the door. They found an old boat that needed TLC; as I recall when I met them they were at the tail end of a five-year refit, done by them while working for a living. Meanwhile he found a job with a charter company to get experience on a range of boats and gain sailing experience - leading to delivery trips for example.

Contributing to the knowledge, his girlfriend was a travel agent, so knew her way around a lot of visa and other issues that can cause confusion for the rest of us.

In short, once they had their plan they worked at it harder than any wannabees I know (including myself at that age) ever did.

I haven't kept in touch; for all I know they are now on their dream boat, heading for the next place that strikes their fancy.

[countrybimm]

First mate of the Good Day Cooter here. The captian was a 25 year old concrete tester working in the Alberta Oilsands with a dream.I was 26 working as a construction labourer in Ontario.We managed to take a 1978 O'day 30' from florida to Trinidad and everywhere in between over five winters.We did it with no prior sailing experience.
Chase your dream its completely doable if you are willing to make the sacrafices it takes to get there.

Also,you will here people argue continously about what the most important things on a boat are.Its GPS,anchor, and autohelm.life gets miserable without those three if your going to pound miles on your boat.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by blauohnewasser

Hey there!
I myself am in my 30ies and have had a similar dream. Fortunatelly enough i am able to work (during stretches in the summer) remotely (i.e. home office on my boat). And it's not (only) about money. If you accept that you can get along with a small boat and without all those fancy things, then this dream of yours is not as far away as one might think!


Pretty sure you do know these youtubers, but they do just what you dream of - and were an inspiration to myself:


https://www.youtube.com/user/WhiteSpotPirates/

Nike has gotten a really cheap boat and gone through hell getting it ready (whatching her has helped me tremendously in coping with my own boat-problems: you are not alone


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXb...G3gOsSnNJPVlg/

Dan & Kika are just awesome and have basically refurbished their boat themeselves. great DIY and super videos. They are inspirational when it comes to understanding that travelling is about the path and not about getting places fast.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZd...jIzFnWsDQOv4ww

La Vagabonde videos are different, but also worth watching.


And there are many of others out there on youtube too (Atticus, Delios, ...) which i do not follow.


If you dream of it, don't get intimidated by price and people saying "can't be done". In fact, when i asked in a forum "i'd like to buy a boat, sail it for a summer and sell it. what would you recommend a total newbie? how much does a boat cost and where to buy?" i received only mocking.
Well, that's three years ago and i did buy a boat and sail it around half of Europe in the meantime. Of course, what i know now, i would have done a lot of things differently, and also maybe chosen another boat. BUT: that's a process called lerning and money cannot buy you that
If you're interested, here is the blog of my experience with most of the ups and downs:
mala moja – Sailing round Europe

Good ones, but even on La Vagabonde, Riley worked his butt off in the mines and offshore to buy the first boat. They would still be out there without the milion dollar youtube cat they have now.

[BillyGoat]

I’m not too much past my late 20’s but otherwise fit the category. My name is Bill, I’m 31, divorced, and have a brand new plan.

After my marriage ended I rediscovered my dream of sailing offshore and perhaps circumnavigation. I was left with over $50,000 in debt repayment and legal fees from the split and now have my head back above water plus about 20% of my $100,000 can min goal before I take the leap into boat ownership again and long term cruising for the first time.

My background is going to help me along the way as well. Although I’m earning/living as a long haul truck driver/driving instructor my first career was finishing my 4 year apprenticeship and working as a journeyman marine repair technician in southern Vancouver Island. Having spent 9 years building and repairing others vessels before developing a sensitivity to epoxy resin forcing me to pursue work in a healthier environment. I have the skills and am eager to put in some work on my own boat. My plan is to get a capable vessel in need of some love and updating. My theory is that if I spend 2-4 months on the right boat refitting and making it my own I’ll know most every inch of the boat and have faith in it knowing no corners were cut.

At my rate of recovery and saving I’m planing to hit or exceed my goal by 2021 and set sail before my 35th Birthday in August 2021. Its an ambitious plan with ample sacrifice, I typically spend 2-3 months on the road away from friends and family with a week or 2 off 3-4 times per year. I haven’t been scuba diving since I started trucking, I dove for 4 years in British Columbia logging over 250 dives but with time off being so limited and my gear needing recertification it remains stored with the rest of my belongings in a corner of my parents basement moved there when I split with my ex. I’ve been living in a highway truck on the road for more than 4 years now. Most people moving onto a sailboat have a hard time adjusting to small quarters... I can’t wait to have all that space. Lol.

I grew up sailing on Sproat Lake and was basically obsessed with boats my whole life. The dream of long term cruising and possibly circumnavigation started when I read Dove by Robin Lee Grahm. Among various other books I’m also a big YouTube sailing channel follower. Mainly S/V Delos, Sailing Uma, Project Atticus, Abandon Comfort, and Sailing La Vagabonde but not as much since they went to a multihull.

I’m interested to see how much interest there is amongst our generation as I’m hoping to have up to 3 or 4 other crew onboard and share my journey with friends new and old.