41 Year Old and Seeking a New Life in Sailing

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Gelfling

+1. And I think " the dream withers and dies" because " don't worry about tomorrow, for today has enough worries of its own" applies even more so in sailing! I can think of no better sport/lifestyle to keep oneself in the present than sailing/cruising. It is almost as if the above `disabilities` would be beneficial to a sailing lifestyle.....to a certain degree and obviously not for soloing purposes.

Here in the EU some countries have skippers who take on crews of kids from 16 to 21... young 1st or 2nd offenders for drug offenses, alcohol abuse for 3mth periods and keep them under strict supervision but also a strong trust your team member coz he trusts you with your life emphasis.. the 1st few weeks they say are tough but the re-offend rate is extremely low and these inner city kids learn there IS another way of life.. its fun to be clean..
I've run into these guys in N. Spain, Majorca/Ibiza, Greece... usually they've been the Scandinavian countries..
You can SEA the change in their Mentality and Perceptions...

[Gelfling]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Here in the EU some countries have skippers who take on crews of kids from 16 to 21... young 1st or 2nd offenders for drug offenses, alcohol abuse for 3mth periods and keep them under strict supervision but also a strong trust your team member coz he trusts you with your life emphasis.. the 1st few weeks they say are tough but the re-offend rate is extremely low and these inner city kids learn there IS another way of life.. its fun to be clean..
I've run into these guys in N. Spain, Majorca/Ibiza, Greece... usually they've been the Scandinavian countries..
You can SEA the change in their Mentality and Perceptions...

That does sound like a much more effective form of rehabilitation than the `prison system`. Are these court mandated? My teenage years (until 17 y/o) I lived in Germany and it wasn't until I got back to US that I noticed `troubled youth' so I find this interesting.

Sorry about the thread drift.

[boatman61]

Don't know exactly how it works.. think they're given a choice... bit like a certain famous Brit regiment of the past...
Join or Jail... then the State pays the skipper per youth.. this was back in the 90's when I was 'doing the Med'.. not been back much since then as a cruiser so have not hung out in the 'Of the beaten track' places for a while..
If its still going I don't know.. but did think it was a great idea..
It was.. or something similar.. in the UK but the fuss raised by the Media about addicts and felons being sent of on 'Cruising Holidays in exotic places at the taxpayers expense... Who says Crime Does Not Pay'... feeding frenzy pretty much nipped it in the bud..

[thomm225]

Here's another good story that involves another one of those tiny Contessa 26 world cruising boats:

News from Bika - Contessa 26 Association

And another: (notice the outboard for those not wanting to spend $8,000 on a new diesel and the install for your good ole boat)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuFK-uzwjRU

[Carolina Blue]

Thanks everyone for contributing to this forum. I, first of all, learned to appreciate the community amongst sailors and aspiring sailors that this site (www.cruisersforum.com) provides.
Secondly, I have learned to pace myself. While the dream of the adventure makes me feel like I can jump out there in a 50' Cruiser on a rumbline to clear, blue and tropic; you guys have taught me that there be shoals along the way. I'd better slow down a bit and good seaman knows when to set his drogue.
My dream has been tempered and good sense restored. Here is my current plan (LOL, I always have to laugh when I come up with a plan because life has a way of doing what the hell it wants regardless of my plans):

(1) I have bought the book "Chapman: Piloting and Seamanship 66th edition" it has helped with some of the language I just threw at you guys.
(2) I will sign up for the ASA 101 course down on the coast
(3) Thats it!

I won't make any decisions until after that and I will first see if I really enjoy the sailors life. I will continue to contribute to this forum with questions and as new things arise. I will listen to your suggestions. I will keep the kids involved as much as possible and do what I can for my marriage (a discussion for a different site)

My adventure began with this, my first, post and I have no idea where it may take me. I may wander back to terra firma never to be heard of again or a may sail into the beautiful horizons with some of you fine folk. Only time will tell where this adventure may end.

Thanks ALL

[Teknav]

Hi CB! Check for local seamanship classes offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the US Power Squadron; very low cost schooling/book knowledge taught by Old Salts. Good luck!

Mauritz

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hi CB! Check for local seamanship classes offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the US Power Squadron; very low cost schooling/book knowledge taught by Old Salts. Good luck!

Mauritz

are you saying in addition to the ASA course line? or opposed to the ASA's? (btw I just started a new thread on ASA courses in my area)

[Teknav]

Hi CB! ASA classes are fine; no need then for what I suggested in the earlier thread.

Mauritz

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

Thanks everyone for contributing to this forum. I, first of all, learned to appreciate the community amongst sailors and aspiring sailors that this site (www.cruisersforum.com) provides.
Secondly, I have learned to pace myself. While the dream of the adventure makes me feel like I can jump out there in a 50' Cruiser on a rumbline to clear, blue and tropic; you guys have taught me that there be shoals along the way. I'd better slow down a bit and good seaman knows when to set his drogue.
My dream has been tempered and good sense restored. Here is my current plan (LOL, I always have to laugh when I come up with a plan because life has a way of doing what the hell it wants regardless of my plans):

(1) I have bought the book "Chapman: Piloting and Seamanship 66th edition" it has helped with some of the language I just threw at you guys.
(2) I will sign up for the ASA 101 course down on the coast
(3) Thats it!

I won't make any decisions until after that and I will first see if I really enjoy the sailors life. I will continue to contribute to this forum with questions and as new things arise. I will listen to your suggestions. I will keep the kids involved as much as possible and do what I can for my marriage (a discussion for a different site)

My adventure began with this, my first, post and I have no idea where it may take me. I may wander back to terra firma never to be heard of again or a may sail into the beautiful horizons with some of you fine folk. Only time will tell where this adventure may end.

Thanks ALL

I am going to suggest to you again (because we've hit you with a lot) ... before or after (not during) ASA 101, rent a SMALL RV for two weeks. Fit it out with one of everything you need except you can have a SMALL extra allotment for clothes -- one frying pan, one sauce pan, one cup, one plate, one fork, etc.

Go out on the open road to some place you've always wante to go. Make unexpected stops along the way; you'll discover things.

You do all this on a sailboat -- but you already know how to drive. You can concentrate on what you think of the life style.

See if the pared down, teeny-space, minimalist, vagabond life style appeals to you. I was able to move aboard rapid-fire once I got the idea



because I already knew the answer to that question

because

I had previously rented an RV for a vacation.

If you walk back into your home afterwards and think "BOY it's nice to be home," pay attention to that, and examine why you feel that way. If it's because you have more space, living on a sailboat may not be for you.

I have a friend who lived on a sailboat when he was younger for 15 years. Then he spent a lot of time on land. He's just moved back on to his (granted, on the small side) boat -- and misses the spece. He's not sure if it's because he needs more work-arounds or if he's jus gonna want more space now. You really need to know the answer to that. He'd done it for 15 years and thought he knew, but now he regrets selling all his furniture instead of putting it in storage, because he's not sure it's going to work for him this time.

It isn't all about sailing.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hi CB! Check for local seamanship classes offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the US Power Squadron; very low cost schooling/book knowledge taught by Old Salts. Good luck!

Mauritz

Really like those classes. For many of them, they spend *one evening* really honing in one *one thing* you need to know -- reading charts, or using a chart plotter (you won't learn celestial navigation in one night!), coastal navigation, anchoring -- they have a long list of them here.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

are you saying in addition to the ASA course line? or opposed to the ASA's? (btw I just started a new thread on ASA courses in my area)

ABSOLUTELY in addition to the ASA classes! Every one you can squeeze in. Every single person I know who became a reasonably decent sailor in a short amount of time took those classes. I've known people who took the ASA and still had HUGE gaps in both knowledge and skills.

Be careful. In the beginning, you don't know what you don't know -- in other words, there are important things to learn, but you don't know what they are, so you don't go seeking that information or skills.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hi CB! ASA classes are fine; no need then for what I suggested in the earlier thread.

Mauritz

I respect the poster above but heartily disagree with him on that.

[Teknav]

Hiya Flames! ++

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Flames! ++

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

Hey you in the teknav suit -- be nice to the noobs!

[cheoah]

+1 on Power squadron courses. I took piloting and advanced piloting early on and it saved me heaps of trouble. It kept me out of danger over thousands of miles of coastal passages and ICW, without really a single grounding, and with at times no electronics. There are other things that must be learned through experience, like inlets or anchoring/docking in a wide range of conditions. Inlets I learned the not so easy way, just a spanking though, and all it took. Hard as a new sailor to learn to lie out at sea when an inlet isn't hospitable, and you're ready to drop the hook. Inlets can be treacherous when wind is against current.

You're on the right track. Take the course, read some books and see where it leads. BTW, I took my PS classes in AVL 8 or so years ago, don't know if it is still active.