Forced to give up sailing

[rbyham]

Here's a little homespun wisdom to add to the conversation. Comes from no less than Dr. Suess (I think anyway) - "Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it has happened." That and rest assured that the Jesus who sailed calmly on the storm-tossed sea of Galilee and who spent so much time among the watermen of His day has no doubt made sailing a part of the experience that the Apostle Paul tells us is better than eye has ever seen, ear ever heard, or heart ever imagined. Yahoo!

[Perew]

I focus on my health through education on the "natural" healing methods and lifestyle. Now, to get rid of anything with sugar or substitute and get more exercise. But wait! Sailing season is here! That will help with the exercise! So far am 74 and looking forward to moving onto a boat in FL! Never been in the hospital, or taken a prescription.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

(In the PNW, bottom paint can not have copper anymore, and bottom cleaning is restricted to prop & shaft only, except in a yard)

I had heard that about the PNW. Man...I thought California was getting bad. Maybe sign of the times.

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Plan your finances right and there's no reason you can't continue indefinitely. We've met several couples with health or age issues who continue cruising with hired help to assist.

More proof sailing/cruising is quickly and continually becoming a rich mans endeavor.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Perew

I focus on my health through education on the "natural" healing methods and lifestyle. Now, to get rid of anything with sugar or substitute and get more exercise. But wait! Sailing season is here! That will help with the exercise! So far am 74 and looking forward to moving onto a boat in FL! Never been in the hospital, or taken a prescription.

You're a lucky guy. But some things are in the genes that can't be stopped. If food & exercise were the only human failure, some us here would live into our 90s even 100s. Nerve damage is like an electrical system. One bad wire can shut down the whole boat. Once the corrosion has set in there are continuous problems. Unlike muscle or joint damage.

My congratulations to your health! 👏

[Hudson Force]

I've had a long run as I started sailing sixty years ago.
I'm enjoying a wonderful 48 year relationship with my wife.
We've just completed 45 years of living aboard and cruising.

So, what choice is made when your spouse loses the physical ability to maneuver about the sailboat?

I read the vows of people above saying that sailing is their life and something that they could never turn away from,- 'some innate quality that is their destiny. How can it be that this claim for the sea and a boat would be a bold and prideful commitment and yet, making the same claim for your spouse would be thought of by so many as giving up or succumbing to a less fulfilling choice?

I would always choose the people in my life and my family over the recreational activities.

So, yes, I am selling the ketch that I've enjoyed so much over the past 32 years without hesitation!

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

More proof sailing/cruising is quickly and continually becoming a rich mans endeavor.

Two registered nurses are the nouveau riche?

[Tayana42]

Hudson Force, I honor the decision you've made and your reasons for it. My wife and I have been married for 48 years and are soul mates. Whatever is in her best interests is my highest, indeed my only, priority. Life changes. Our course changes. Each day together is a good day.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I had heard that about the PNW. Man...I thought California was getting bad. Maybe sign of the times.


More proof sailing/cruising is quickly and continually becoming a rich mans endeavor.

I'm in CA and am from WA. I would move back to WA tomorrow if I could.

Sailing/Cruising is not becoming a rich person's endeavor, it just seems like that because most of the media coverage is at that end. The bling is what sells magazines so that's what gets written about. The notable exceptions are "Goid Old Boat" and "Latitude 38".

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

...............
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More proof sailing/cruising is quickly and continually becoming a rich mans endeavor.

I see a bigger picture. The sailors of boats in earlier times were just those like
John Malcolm Forbes, William K Vanderbilt, J. Pierpont Morgan, Sir Thomas Lipton and Cornelius Vanderbilt. People with middle class incomes didn't regulatly own fair sized cruising boats until after WWII.

Look at SteadyHand's post in the monohull forum for boats for less than $30K. Sailing is still anyone's game.

[a64pilot]

Nothing wrong with the big talk, but for 99% of us we will swallow the anchor one day.
Nothing wrong with that, It is part of life, and life changes. There are things I have already begrudgingly given up, I can't ride a performance dirt bike like I used to, and I can't go as deep or as far back in a dive, diving like I used to either.
I can no longer run two miles in under thirteen minutes, in truth I can no longer run 100 ft. I sometimes even dream of running like I did in my 20's
Yes I miss it, but those are fond memories that I cherish.
I hope to make a few more, and one day when the boating is done, I hope to still be able to live a decent life for awhile.
I just do not want to die of a debilitating disease, not able to decide when I have had enough, I think that decision ought to be a basic human right myself.

[Madwand]

I'm wondering if some of you geezers who know its time to give up the boat, but won't, because you might have a sail left in you, don't have anyone at the marina who'd love to take you sailing? I'd gladly take any old sailor out, as long as he wasn't a danger on my boat. It'd be an honor to have someone backseat sailing with me. I'd probably learn a lot.

I see old people hanging around their old jobs cause they have nothing else to do, but I've never seen an old guy hanging around the marina wishing he could sail. Maybe they already got a ride?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Adelie

I'm in CA and am from WA. I would move back to WA tomorrow if I could.

Sailing/Cruising is not becoming a rich person's endeavor, it just seems like that because most of the media coverage is at that end. The bling is what sells magazines so that's what gets written about. The notable exceptions are "Goid Old Boat" and "Latitude 38".

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I see a bigger picture. The sailors of boats in earlier times were just those like
John Malcolm Forbes, William K Vanderbilt, J. Pierpont Morgan, Sir Thomas Lipton and Cornelius Vanderbilt. People with middle class incomes didn't regulatly own fair sized cruising boats until after WWII.

Look at SteadyHand's post in the monohull forum for boats for less than $30K. Sailing is still anyone's game.

I see I am going to have to explain myself. delmarey was saying how you cannot scrub the bottom of his boat any more. You have to haul out to do it. That is way more expensive. Slips in Mexico were once 1/4 the price of the US. Now they are equal or more. Yes, the hob-nobs of the 1930's had 105ft. yachts. But the 30's to the 80's saw people who built their own boats, learned celestial navigation and set off for years on the cheap. Hal Roth was a good example. Today .com money continues to buy more and more Huntabenelinas creating a higher demand for marine services, pushing up the prices.
In regards to Steadyhand's post to sailboats under $30K, this is true but he doesn't speak of the costs associated with ownership such as maintenance, haul-outs and slip costs...because like a lot here on the forum does not own a boat and perhaps never has.

[Shawn0900]

I'm also a pilot. Been watching my older friends deal with it in that sport too. Most just switch to hanger flying, but the rest fade off into another activity, if able. Golf seems to be one of them. Just be thankful they don't require medical certificates for sailing like they do for aviation. That would seriously knock down the number of sailers. [emoji6]

I like your garden idea btw. One hell of a big garden you have. [emoji106]

[daletournier]

A big part of sailing that I like is the not sailing. Hanging around docks, doing little jobs and chatting.
Hopefully im a long way of stopping due to age, but when I do I hope I have seen enough ports to know which one I'd like to waste my days away in tinkering and talking.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I see I am going to have to explain myself. delmarey was saying how you cannot scrub the bottom of his boat any more. You have to haul out to do it. That is way more expensive. Slips in Mexico were once 1/4 the price of the US. Now they are equal or more. Yes, the hob-nobs of the 1930's had 105ft. yachts. But the 30's to the 80's saw people who built their own boats, learned celestial navigation and set off for years on the cheap. Hal Roth was a good example. Today .com money continues to buy more and more Huntabenelinas creating a higher demand for marine services, pushing up the prices.
In regards to Steadyhand's post to sailboats under $30K, this is true but he doesn't speak of the costs associated with ownership such as maintenance, haul-outs and slip costs...because like a lot here on the forum does not own a boat and perhaps never has.

We do all the repair and maintenance work ourselves including bottom cleaning. Why can't others do the same to save money?

Or like I wrote earlier... plan your finances better in order to hire others to do the heavy lifting. If one needs to quit due to lack of money, who's to blame for that?