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chiefcoxswain · 07-04-2015, 14:20

Loved this thread, joined the Navy at 16 and spent 21 years in her Majesties service, got out and done some cruising, now at 69 live on a large salt water lake with ocean access, best of both worlds, slowing down but still living the dream.

Charlie · 07-04-2015, 14:48

I cruised OPB right after college and then planned on cruising my own boat. 20 years later I have the boat but the wife is turned into an ex and the kids are not interested. But we sailed the boat from Canada to La Paz and back to SF. When I finished the Bash I had to rush back to land based life and I had a real bad attitude. A friend finally pointed it out -- I had fallen into the lifestyle. I had to some how get out of it. It took a concerted effort. The last four summers I cruised the Med and I am much better prepared for re entry just by having an attitude change. I still don't like it but I don't take it out on my friends and family.

**atoll** · 07-04-2015, 16:01

well in my case I guess you just build another boat!

we plan on downsizing from our 63 footer that has been our home for the last 15 years to a 37 ft catamaran that I am currently fitting out for our 3rd circumnavigation.

SkiprJohn · 07-04-2015, 18:16

A Hasbeen.

It sounds derogatary but I have to admit it.

All sailors age differently. I'm to the point that I need to let go my boat projects and concentrate on health and maybe some canoeing here and there.

I am so lucky to have done some cruising and lived aboard for a time. I saw a lot of the world but didn't see it all. It was never enough and I was always looking forward to another adventure and now know there won't be that kind of adventure again but it'll be a different kind.

I still keep my eye out for boats on craigslist and the other sites but it's like seeing a beautiful woman. It's nice to look and imagine but know that nothing will ever come of it.

msponer · 07-04-2015, 21:54

Three summers ago we RV'd around America, and visited old sailing friends from the Pacific and Indian oceans who have also returned to landlubbery.

What struck me is that all of these people approach life on their own terms. They know themselves. They have the confidence and initiative to ignore the well trodden path.

I wonder about “what’s next” for us, but don’t worry about it. Sailing far has forced me to grow as a person-- I know I will make a situation that I like.

socaldmax · 07-04-2015, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I was born on the New England coast and playing in the ocean and bays forever. Thirty years ago I moved aboard my first sailboat, sold/traded up to a bigger one, then built the one I have now, and have been living on for about 25 or 6 years. It has been a great deal of fun and I have loved it.

About to turn 68, the schooner is up for sale, but I will not stop cruising. Instead of a boat, I will be buying a good diesel pickup, a motorcycle, and a 30 foot cargo trailer, which I will quickly convert to a travel trailer/toy hauler. Is time to cruise higher altitudes. With a camera and tripod, a GPS and my website, I will be traveling America and Canada, taking pictures, meeting people, and stargazing.

I have no desire to attend gatherings and jostle with the crowds of those who need to do so, but to find the out of the way places, to be alone in peaceful anchorages.

Age and a reduction in physical activity results in a disagreeable loss of strength and stamina, so some minor exercise equipment and a bicycle are also on the menu. I have zero intention of withering away in a rocking chair or in front of a TV.

Just a polite piece of advice, if I may...

it's better and cheaper just to buy a toyhauler than to try to convert a box or travel trailer into one. I've seen well over 1,000 toyhaulers (I own a 25' tag and a 40' 5ver myself) and some of the newer ones are as luxurious as some of the higher end motorhomes. They are extremely well insulated, with a separate garage area with 2 electric bunks you even have plenty of room and beds if the kids decide to visit. Some even have 2 bathrooms!

socaldmax · 07-04-2015, 22:30

I kind of did things the opposite way, but at 45 my entire dept. got laid off. I should have gone right back to work for another co. because I had reached a new height in earnings, but I had plenty of savings, so I decided to go offroading full time. I felt this was best, because driving a 2500 lb offroad car at 115 mph is not something you want to do at 70 or 75 yrs old, no matter how plush the 3" suspension seats are or how well tuned the dual rate coilovers and 5 tube bypass shocks and 20" of wheel travel are, it can still be a rough ride and I wanted to do it while I could still physically stand it. Now I just turned 55 and the current plan is to learn everything I can in advance now (to augment my electronics/navigation background which is only a small part of the entire sailing picture) and sell everything and buy a catamaran large enough for 2 to live on full time, I think 45' should do it.

At that point, I'll be 60/61, I'll cruise for 2 yrs or so in the Caribbean to get some experience, then if I/we feel up to it, perhaps a cruise of the S. Pacific for a few years, where ever the wind and cruising guides takes us. Perhaps after 5-10 yrs of that, depending on my health and how strong my desire to find deserted atolls still is, I'll cruise back, sell the boat and settle down.

Or just anchor in FL and piss off some entitled rich homeowner.

**boatman61** · 07-04-2015, 23:55

Well.. I was well on the way to 'Has Been'.. contenting myself with a few thousands of miles a year on others boats visting the Med, Caribe and S. Pacific all the way to Tassie.. but.. it was starting to wear thin kinda.. always in a rush.. like the old Beatles song.. 'You say Hello.. and I say Goodbye...'
Then the Bluebird of Happiness dumped this big ole steel Van de Stadt on my head this year and as I bang and bruise my way through the prep to get her from Malta to my base in Portugal the thoughts are drifting back towards those 'Lazy, Hazy Days of Sunshine..' once more.. drifting along with no paricular place to go..
As the saying goes 'The Art of Travel is.. never stick to the Plan..'
Will still do deliveries now and then.. just be more selective..

monte · 08-04-2015, 05:46

Wow all of these stories and experiences are amazing..thanks!

nautical62 · 08-04-2015, 07:02

I sold my cruising sailboat this past year, and don't plan to buy another. I had 20 years of new challenges, new places and wonderful cruising companions. I once dreamed of crossing oceans or maybe even circumnavigating.

Last year when I solo sailed my boat from the Caribbean back to the U.S. I realized that was it for me. A partial disability, other health issues and changing experiences, have a way of changing dreams.

There is a difference however between changing dreams and ceasing to have dreams. While I loved cursing, there are also other rewarding, fulfilling adventures out there to be had. I imagine I'll continue to charter every once in a while and it would't surprise me if I end up with some sort of a powerboat in retirement, but I'm also fine if that doesn't happen. I'm looking forward to a month of travel and hiking off trail this summer.

zeehag · 08-04-2015, 07:02

many become expats in a central american country or in wherevereville they were last seen to be cruising.

rwidman · 08-04-2015, 07:57

The couple that sold me my boat may be typical cruisers. For many years they cruised on a sailboat. Then as they aged, they bought the trawler that is now mine. Eight years and 2800 engine hours later, they sold the trawler and the last I knew, their plan was to buy a motor home and cruise inland.

They do own a land based home though. They cruised for several months at a time, then returned home.

exMaggieDrum · 08-04-2015, 08:21

We are "born again" but not in a religious sense. We bought the next boat last year after no boat for 6 years. We had glorious years sailing to Mexico and over to New Zealand after putting five years of blood, sweat, and money in to the previous boat to get ready. Sold her to a couple who are going all the way around now. No regrets at all about any of it. We loved being cruisers. We loved sailing in to new ports, meeting new friends, meeting the challenges of the seas. Self reliant. Proud.

Deciding to sell and come back wasn't easy. Lots of doubts but I was tired of putting in thousands of $$ every year in maintenance, doing most all work myself. And a couple of passages wore me out. Money was always a concern.

So what did we do? We moved back to the same great boating place we started from before. We never ever considered coming back as being failure. Our goals were paced: we set new ones in steps. Sailing around the world was always possible but not expected. We consider every thing we did as the biggest success of our lives. No shame in coming back. We aren't the type to set a goal of going all the way around and being crushed by "failing" to do it. Cliche (imagine an accent): it's the journey not the destination. True that - for us.

But - we didn't sell every boat related thing we had. Maybe we would need those offshore foulies go out with our boating friends here. No sense in selling the my line splicing tools - right? Really thought we were done with cruising, but......

We found that our new friends here are mostly people with sailboats. Some have gone offshore some only to Alaska. But they understand what we did and why we did it and shared some of the passion we had/have. One of the things that surprised us the most was how much some people didn't even remotely understand anything of what we did. Not just didn't understand, just didn't even care. Some actually look at you like you had a disease that, thankfully, you cured. Didn't know any of the places we went and didn't care. So it wasn't hard to not include them in the circle of people whose opinion mattered to us. But other sailors, even local water sailors, appreciated the challenges we faced and overcame. No condemnation there.

So back to work. I didn't last very long before "retiring". Lost any passion I might have ever had for "work". The Admiral is working and hating it but we need the income right now. And we are tired of spending on the house and mowing the lawn. (Sound familiar?) My family connections are limited and the Admiral's family is thousands of miles away with no grandkids we have to see all the time. So family is not the issue it is for some.

Our biggest mistake was not spending all of my life savings so enough was left to go out and buy a new offshore boat. Now I can go back to happily spending $$ of dollars a year (again) on maintenance and repair and upgrades. It is easier to do it here with a house on shore and a car, etc. I like doing it. Although the years seem to be catching up with me and it gets harder to stand up straight after working in a lockers on my knees for hours. What sucks though is having to spend $$ on both house and cars and a boat. Something has to go.

The Admiral is chomping at the bit to just shut down the job and go again but insurance is now more of an issue as medical issues creep up on the aging carcasses. And it remains to be seen how we would handle/enjoy days of sail handling cranking in sheets and reefing sails. We remember being more healthy while cruising. The question is whether that was because we were cruising or because we were younger. Both! So the new question is how much healthier we will be on the boat full time than we are now which will counter the insurance issue. Medicare will help in the US and overseas medical care is so much cheaper (mostly).

But the bug is there and we are trying to make sure absolutely no money is left in the bank before we check out next time. The goal is to run out just before we end up in the graveyard (but not too far in advance of that event). It would be so much easier if we were totally set financially but we are not so this is a serious issue. But we'd rather spend our time on the water out and about (even part time) than sit in the living room with the idiot box droning on about some "important" news.

If something happens and we never cut the dock lines and go, after $$ and hours spent on making a new boat "ready", it will still be a success. I enjoy messing around with boats. I can't spend the money when I am in the ground any way. I'd rather put in a new radar than put in a new lawn. We have small goals - sail locally (beautiful cruising grounds all around Anacortes!!), go up the Inside Passage to BC, go to Alaska and back, circumnavigate Vancouver Island again, may be go to Mexico again, and on and on.

All good as far as we go. No failure if we don't. We feel for anyone who is driven to set paper goals who will be destroyed emotionally if they don't achieve them. It's OK to set challenges for yourself but some people get out of control and don't smell the roses along the way. Bragging rights shouldn't be the goal - in our book.

oldragbaggers · 08-04-2015, 11:05

exMaggieDrug, love your attitude and outlook, one that we share in many respects. We have a lot of things on our wish list, but we often tell each other that even if we just make it from Baltimore to Sarasota and then spend the rest of our sailing days in the Bay, Gulf, and Keys we'd still consider it a success.