As a late starter am I too old to do serious cruising?

[hamburking]

Make sure you get a boat with a spot for your oxygen tank near the helm, and a good place to put your walker.

C'mon...really?...go buy a boat and have some fun!!!!

My neighbour down at my marina turned 89 last year. He sailed his nonsuch 26 almost every day. He sold the boat in August. We buried him in October.

[valhalla360]

I'll give you some more practicle advice.

When you hit your 60's, every year the odds of you being able to handle it go down dramatically. Yes there are exceptions but them's the facts. For every older person out there doing it, we know several who lost the physical ability before they got the rest of the deal together and had to give up the dream.

Go work your budget and plans so you can go in 3-6 months and your odds will be drastically better.

[Tingum]

Throughout years of cruising we met many older cruisers, they all said the same thing, "wish we had started sooner". Yes you are crazy, crazy if you do not do it!

[ardenlester00]

Nice to hear all the good stuff about sailing...even when ancient (wasn't there a book, "The Ancient Mariner"? Gotta find it and read it).

I'm almost 79, left a life 30 years ago of being one of the few that live aboard and sail the inland waterways. (Jubilee - 40'+ x 16' gaff-rigged ketch built month after WWII in Elizabeth City by Joel vanSant - his own personal boat) He sailed the same waterways I did - with only a small motor on his dinghy).

I still am looking for the Jubilee and IF I find her and can buy her, I'm off to sail the inland waterways again!

I have vowed to be found at the tiller with a smile on my face (as opposed to a frown in my LazyBoy). Yes, I could single-hand Jubilee - and, with motors and winches could do it again! (I restored her from the junk heap with Ferro-lite over her wood. 300 gallons of resin and 300 bags of Ferro-lite. Lots of re-bar and chicken-wire and hardware cloth and rolls of matting and cloth - I RE-built her to withstand the H-bomb we were being told was coming.

If not Jubilee, I'm looking for a 30', shallow-draft, wide-bodied, small diesel-powered for this "ancient mariner".


Dreams come true only after the dream.

Friend,

Dennis

[mindsofman]

76,,been sailing for 40 years,,still doing
solo Atlantic deliveries etc,,,if i'my not
still doing this in 14 years,,,I swallow
the barrel.....

[redhead]

We also had (lie, still have) that small voice that says "Whatareyounutz?" But since we attended 9 funerals in 2013 and we're only just early 60's we decided that we'd make the budget work because we could tweak it for another decade and it still wouldn't be prudent to go.

I have observed (and I think there are studies showing this) that anyone with a passion in life - be it sailing, gardening, photography or what have you lives longer than someone without an overwhelming interest in something outside themselves. It (the passion) keeps the little gray cells engaged and the body moving. It also keeps your butt off the couch watching Jerry Springer. That, IMHO, is a death sentence.

So if you can go earlier I encourage you to do so. 70 is not too old but where the mind is willing the body laughs at you. If you have to wait keep moving toward the goal, feed the passion. Sail, read, talk on forums...... see you out there!

[Mithril Bham]

It's all about staying healthy. I'm 67 and the main problem I have with serious blue water cruising is that I enjoy my creature comforts too much. You can get hammered out there. Prefer coastal cruising. If you make a long passage take a young, experienced person with you. Many serious cruisers are in their 70's and older. Never stop moving. Of course you can do it.

[budm303]

84, and bound for Bahamas and Cuba, single-handed.

[sotavento]

Ha.. now I understand!

[robert sailor]

Some guys are "old" at 45 and are in no condition to be sailing offshore, others in their "70's" are doing the job without problems, so which one are you??

[PuttingDoctor]

Originally Posted by powsmias

i'm 63 and movin onboard this year.. it ain't gonna suck.. why you waitin another 4-5 yrs? this ain't no dress rehearsal..

Wow! Took the words right out of my mouth!

I'm just 63 next month, plan to fully retire in February.... I'm a golf pro so I already know what not having a real job is like.

Plan to move onto the boat full time in December.

Learn by doing has long been my mantra so I say dive in!

[seasick]

Did my first voyage of the South Pacific on my second boat at age 19.

Still willing and able at 61. What I found on a recent singlehanded sail of 5,000 miles, Panama to Maui is that although I am still capable of sailing long distance, I find I am increasingly asking myself why I'm still subjecting myself to this.
The reality I find, is that for all the ideallic times, there are days on end of punishing conditions to be overcome. Yes I can do this but why am I doing this to myself.
Make no mistake, there will be many frightful and challenging times, many sleepless nights, very stressful and unavoidable weather related situations.
Met a 92 year old singlehander anchored in the Lahaina roadsted. He set off west from California with every reason to believe he was on his way to Valhala. He kept on west until he had crossed his outbound track.
Although a bit slow getting in and out of his skiff, he's still going strong.

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by jimp1234

Briefly about me. I started sailing late (about 3 years ago and I'm just turning 64). I don't own a boat but out most weekends on the SF Bay, sailing 3 of 4 days a month either sailing with friends, or chartering boats through my sailing club. I'm working through the U.S. Sailing classes, and plan on finishing the CPM and OPM certs by next year. Health is good except for a few minor "young jock" ailments. And I'm still hitting the gym 4 or 5 days a week though workouts are a lot lighter these days. Financially, I think I could make something work.

So my question is am I crazy for thinking about buying a boat when I retire at 68 or 69 and doing some serious blue water cruising? And by serious I mean something like the World ARC. I get the fact that it may not be so much my age but the fact that I don't have 20 years of sailing experience under my belt. And I also know I might be able to achieve some less ambitious cruising goals as well. Thoughts, comments appreciated.

Depends on your Health and Fitness Level. Although, I'd sailed for years I cruised essentially single handed from Canada to the Caribbean, 3500 miles, at age 67 and stayed cruising the Caribbean for 6 years.~~Go for it~~I know of skippers that have crossed the Atlantic single handed in their 70's~~

[Mithril Bham]

I seem to recall Chichester being air lifted off his boat during a trans-Atlantic race and dying a short time later. What a way to go. Beats dying on a couch watching re-runs.
Go for it.

[bailsout]

If the sea is calling, pick up.