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Old 23-09-2012, 00:39   #46
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Hi,
We are those wannabees. My wife, Sandy and I are progressing our plans. Four years of sailing courses, crewing for others and research have gone by and thanks to the advice and reading many posts on this site we have learnt a lot, and still have plenty more to find out. April this year we sold our Dutch Barge and bought a Moody 36. This year we have been learning to sail her, finding out what needs to be done while I am still earning a crust. We have, of course, spent a small fortune fixing things, replacing things that don't work properly or are not what we find easy to use. We have about 18 months left before we plan to sail away on our own adventure and I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions from all of you in that time and even after we've sailed. Our plans are a slow (10 year) circumnavigation going where the winds and currents take us, stopping for a while when we like where we are. Unfortunately not all of us wannabees can just drop everything take a wad of savings out of the bank and sail away. We cannot leave until summer 2014 due to work and pension (I'm a paramedic in the UK) but the plans are in place.
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Old 23-09-2012, 01:19   #47
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Joined Cruisersforum after getting slammed for posting an answer to an engine question on another forum. I have gotten a lot of info, most of it helpful from the posters here. Some wannabees, as we were previously, actually get out there and do it. Of the friends we made in the Caribbean who were already out cruising, of the 5 couples, only one couple besides us is still cruising with long term plans. One couple had plans to sell their business and keep cruising but went home when that didn't seem to be working out. Two other couples had originally planned limited timeframe cruises and that was what they achieved. Another couple cruised for over two years and had planned to continue but went home to take care of elderly parents when the relative who was doing that suddenly died. We've only been out just under a year. It has been a huge transition and doing it at the same time as a spouse who has just retired is not easy. We spent the better part of a year with our 19 year old son aboard and now that he is in college we both miss him. I would not have missed that year with him for anything and he is so much more mature than his contemporaries. We have been similarly impressed with the children out cruising. There is always a list of repairs, large and small (we call it the perma-list) but rarely a show stopper. We are on a no schedule circumnavigation but decided to detour to Portugal and the med. So we'll do an Atlantic circle first and then go. My advice, if you can afford it, is go now before life gets in the way. We got grief from all of our family except my 90 year old mother in law. Yes, we miss the grandkids. I don't miss my job and neither does my husband miss his. I miss other things but I would never get to do things like spend weeks exploring Lisbon if we weren't out cruising. For us cruising/sailing is not the end but the means to see the world.
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Old 23-09-2012, 01:25   #48
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Wannabees are ok. We all were one, or we all are one. We are either wannabee owners of a bigger/smaller/better boat, we wannabee in a different place, we wannabee richer or younger or in better health. If you actually are not a wannabee, then you are possibly stagnating.Let folks have their dreams, i was a cruiser, now i look after my old mother, we wannabee free of that to be honest, but in the meantime, we are wannabee cruisers. Daysails only, dreaming of horizon chasing

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Old 23-09-2012, 01:25   #49
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

My story was about 2 and a half years ago, i picked up a glossy yachting magazine and read an article called sea gypsies,i knew a bit about boats had been a passenger on a couple of yachts, worked on a fishing boat for a while, did not have the first idea of how to sail.

2 years later i left the dock, been out 6 months now, im still pretty crap at the sailing part, but getting better. I did 3 rya courses and read a whole lot!

I met so many people in marinas who said i was crazy to go with so little experience, but the boats still floating and ive managed to get to most of the places i wanted to go so far.

We've done about 5000nm in 6 months, possibly more than many of the boat owners in marinas will do in their lives, one day ill master trimming those sails to perfection, then maybe after that ill start working on that sextant thingy and those books that are there for working out the sightings.

I can see why many do leave and give up, maybe gloss over the hard parts in their mind and not prepared for the less desirable parts of this life.
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Old 23-09-2012, 01:48   #50
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

I am a full on Wannabee, I wanna be on my boat sailing to the Kimberlys, 6000 miles away.

I bought it sight unseen in Fiji, Then spent 6 weeks learning what all the gizmo's were and how to operate them, Including how to sail it,

I then sailed it Solo to Bundaberg in Qld, Immigration, then down the Tasman to Broughton Island, NSW,
where it got wrecked when it got washed up onto rocks while at anchor hiding from a severe storm.

The anchor posts that ensured from that were mind boggling, Some were pure crap,

any way,
The insurance company wrote my boat off and paid me out in full,

Bugger that, My boat has a life now, and a story to tell. And I didnt sail it from Fiji for nothing,

So I bought the wreck back from the insurance company, Trucked it to Yaringa on Western Port Bay Victoria,where it currently sits on the hard,

It will be totally repaired by the end of November, When the big holes in its bottom will be repaired and it will be up to Aussie standards,

Then early Next year, I will off to the Kimberlys in it,

I am an amateur, cant sail for ****, But then I have been told all my life that I couldnt do any thing,

And been called an Idiot, stupid, Moron Etc Etc Etc,
,
But I got off my clacker and have done just about everything there is too do,

Just to prove them all wrong, Its better to try and fail, than not do any thing at all,

I shut most people up that try to Naysay or condem what I do, By saying that if I ever crash my Motor cycle, My bike will be wrecked 3/4 up a gum tree, Hahahahahaha

I am a 64 year old Hoon and loving it, I dont care what people say, I just do it, And it pisses them off because I do it so well,

But I wannabe on my boat and sailing, Sitting here waiting is driving me nuts,

And when I finish sailing, I have just bought myself a 1989 36 foot, Foretravel Grand Villa diesel pusher from the USA
Which is currently getting converted to Aussie ADR's in CA, then shipped to OZ, Then I will travel round OZ in that,

Waiting for 70, So I can go skiing for free, Yep, Im a tite wad,


But I have learned a lot off the more knowledgeable people on here,

I just ignore the, think they know one's, Hahahahaha

Cheers,
Brian, I Wannabe sailing, Hahahahaha
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Old 23-09-2012, 01:52   #51
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailor_andy View Post
I will continue to read your insights and who knows, maybe one of these days I will be able to answer some questions asked on here instead of just saying "I was wondering that too". Thanks all. Just remember that silence is not always a sign that nobody is listening.
Looking forward to that .

Actually IMO folks simply saying "I was wondering that too" does have a benefit to others. With boats (as in other things) can be hard for some to admit ignorance, so for others having folk willing to stick head above the parapet is a benefit - me is not so shy .

It is always nice to hear of one that did get under wire ...even if only 1 in 100 of those who tried / thought about it. But always a fine line between "go for it" enthusiastic support and adding a touch of realism, without crapping all over someone's dreams......boat's ain't a magic solution to life's ills (they come with you!), even if for some they do provide a route to a solution.

but boats, as in life, is about the voyage and not the destination - we each get to work that out for ourselves, and if Plan B (or D) involves no boats or travels then so be it......ain't living yer life for the benefit of others, let alone the Internet People .

Obviously I am on the living vicariously end of the CF / cruising spectrum .....but that's life for yer. Besides, having grown up "simply messing around in boats" and have also travelled widely and for extended periods, I do also tend towards the heretical attitude of: "it's only a fuggin boat" ...........but plans are afoot .......just can't ever see my life revolving solely around a boat . "Your" dream is not my dream (and vice verce).
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Old 23-09-2012, 03:19   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jgbrown
Bought a much smaller boat than planned, on the good advice of many. On paper it was perfect, New engine, New sails, New head, New electrical. Supposedly the couple had been prepping to head south cruising when plans changed.
Paid a good price accordingly, and paid for a very costly survey(almost double the going rate) to get a known company to do it.

In the end it turned out the seller was either lying or clueless, the surveyor likewise.
Engine was 16 years old, sails a decade old, mast support beam delaminated, most tabbing broken, cheap plywood in place of a structural bulkhead. everything that had been touched by previous owners had been butchered from replacing all electrical with speaker wire right down to the cabinets and paint.
I ended up staying on land, working double full time jobs to try and keep afloat financially. Haven't had a single day off since April, a lot of days I'm at my first job at 8:30 am, at about 3 I leave to start my night shift.
If I have an evening or some daytime off I work on her.

So far this has pretty much soured me on the boat. Cost more than I'd spend to ride my motorbike around the world and I haven't yet raised a sail.

Maybe that makes me a wanna be. Mostly it just makes me a bit sad. Sure would have been nice to buy an honest boat and spend some time on the water.

I sneak aboard now, room on land gone, but with university and keeping both jobs I am just doing what I can to move forward a bit at a time.
Next owner of this boat will enjoy my labors, because I'm taking the time to do it right. The boat is getting an end to end refit, from all new marine wiring and blue seas panels to bedding hardware properly. Maybe I will too for a bit, but these days I don't know. Watching the thousands pour into fixing all the abuse has taken a lot of the fun out of it.

Perhaps I'll post more about sailing if I ever get there, I still hope I will, mostly I lurk the forums, and enjoy the sailing if others for now.
So sorry for your pain. The survey, was from a licensed member of a state certified marine survey company? You have a written survey that says it passed when it did not? That is actionable on several levels. That would not be a time to just pass it off like getting a bad window seat on a tour bus circling Graceland. Get a junkyard dog attorney that barks, snaps and salivates and go after all these people, including previous owners.

The first 32 I purchased was beyond rough and the only walk through, my wife did. That turned out to be only good enough to parts for a later purchase that I got a survey for. The first boat was so cheep I came out way ahead anyway, trailer alone was worth more than I payed for boat and trailer.

Again, sorry for your misfortune. Life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
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Old 23-09-2012, 03:23   #53
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Great Post, insight from a wanna be.

Having owned boats and sailed for 40yrs I decided to change boats and prepare the new to me boat for an Atlantic crossing. I,sold a perfectly good boat that I owned for 22 years. I maintained the boat in a cruise ready condition at all times. The first person who viewed it bought it.

A little history. Now I,am undertaking a complete refit of the new to me boat. Pitfall's that will deter Wannabees, even though I have had and maintained boats for a long time I still some day's check my sanity taking on such a task when you set out to do all the updates and deferred maintenance a short period of time bill's add up in a hurry.

One would think I,of all people should have seen the pitfall's. Take a Newbie if I didn't see these thing's a newbie will become overwhelmed. I believe too many new to sailing folks just look at the sizzle cocktail in had perfect wind etc.

I,have made 15 or so trips to the Bahamas over the years and can count on 3 or 4 fingers the times when I could actually sail. Throw in medical concerns all though healthy and in decent shape for 66 yrs of age had to have a back operation 10 day's ago. Wonder how many newbies have similar problems? Bboat work can be back breaking. Pun intended.

You experienced Blue Water Folk's know better than all that you have to be 100% committed. I believe that is the stumbling block for most Wanna Bees.

Just my 2 cent's
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Old 23-09-2012, 03:29   #54
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

great stories! thanks for posting, keep them coming.
i am sure it lends a lot of hope to those staring down that great tunnel of time.
it also adds a bit of realism to the forum,nothing like a good real life story
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Old 23-09-2012, 03:35   #55
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Some one post wannabes are not serious posters. They may be previously banned members, up all night teens doing what they do best, trolls, etc. there are one or two active threads here now that fit that bill. Don't have a clew why people would waste their time doing a troll post, but it happens all the time. When I see a post that has a virgin giggle to it, I look and see how many posts they have. One post is an indication someone is practicing their writing skills.
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Old 23-09-2012, 03:47   #56
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Agree with that entirely. I generally do not reply on these posts until the OP has at least said thanks to someone as a second post.

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Old 23-09-2012, 04:52   #57
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

When I joined CF I had already tried and failed on one circumnavigation.

The first time around I bought a boat and sailed around in the Med. for a year. The original plan had been to circumnavigate singlehandedly, but that failed, because I ran out of money and had to sell the boat. In short I was completely unprepared for what was needed. What was great about that year was that I learned how to sail and learned enough to know what I would need the next time around.

6 years later I tried again.

By the time I cast off the second time, I had spent a fair bit of time on CF doing research, being a complete noob. I started the thread that ultimately led me to the boat I bought. I then spent the next 2,5 years sailing from Norway to Australia.

The only reason that trip ended was because I once again ran out of money (I'm sensing a reoccurring theme). When I got back on land, I had one goal in mind: To go sailing again.

So since I sold the second boat, I've studied for two years and plan to work for another 2-3, before I go sailing again. The job I have now will allow me to return to work for a month or two to save up new cruising funds when necessary, so that I can avoid running out of money a third time. I also plan to save up more, up front before I cast off this time. That's the plan at least. I met my girlfriend when she crewed for me from Tahiti to Australia, so she's no stranger to sailing. Now I'm just praying that she feels as strongly about a new trip as I do... We are making the necessary, but tough decisions these days.

So now I'm an armchair cruiser until I can cast off again ... I'm lucky though, because my job keeps me at sea for 2 weeks every month, so while I'm not cruising, I'm still at sea.
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Old 23-09-2012, 04:57   #58
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

So what do you mean by a "wannabe'. Personally I find your use of the term offensive.

Much of the reason is because I still seem to get lumped with this tag just because I lived inland for a while after my diver and spear fisherman father passed away. The fact I have lived next the sea, surfing, fishing and diving for over the last 27 years doesn't for some even seem to count me in. It so sucks that some want to revel in the misery of others.

On the other hand, to be "real" should I drop all my morals, get an imitation shark tooth necklace and run around calling anyone I think just does not cut it a "wannabe"?
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Old 23-09-2012, 05:23   #59
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SurferShane View Post
So what do you mean by a "wannabe'. Personally I find your use of the term offensive.

Much of the reason is because I still seem to get lumped with this tag just because I lived inland for a while after my diver and spear fisherman father passed away. The fact I have lived next the sea, surfing, fishing and diving for over the last 27 years doesn't for some even seem to count me in. It so sucks that some want to revel in the misery of others.

On the other hand, to be "real" should I get an imitation shark tooth necklace and run around calling anyone I think just does not cut it a "wannabe"?
i allways tell my novice delivery crew when questioned about getting jobs in the superyacht industry, that after they have got their stcw95,to get a pair of raybands,some docksiders,a polo shirt preferably with a yacht logo on it,so they can look the part and walk the docks looking for jobs!
works every time.

in your case perhaps it is better to be seen as a wannabe than a hasbeen!
just kidding,

the aim of the thread was to provoke a reponse,and hopefully get some good stories,as others have pointed out we were all wannabees at some stage,turning our dreams into reality.

so all i can say to you is if it offends,i apologise,but in the mean time thanks for all the great follow up stories the members are posting

and to borrow a cliche........just do it!
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Old 23-09-2012, 05:37   #60
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Re: What happens to all the wannabees?

After three years I have yet to sail my boat. Motored around and lived aboard spring and summer last year, then on the hard for serious upgrades and buy some sails.

Been stuck here in the boatyard at Herrington Harbor in Deale Md for a year, the whole time telling family and friends "she'll be in the water any day now.". When planning this adventure I completely forgot that I wasn't in my twenties anymore and wasn't willing to work in 100 degree, boatyard heat all summer.

I only have a couple more things to do and then I'll put her in the water and learn to sail. No, really.

The plan: learn to sail in the Chesapeake Bay during fall and maybe winter, then head for Europe in Spring. Sounds reasonable to me and it's the dreaming and scheming that keeps me hard at work.
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