Is the Cruising Lifestyle Dying ?

[settingsun]

Thanks, Mark, I appreciate that.

Cruising was my dream -- I dragged my sweet hubby into it by the ear -- and it has taken me a looooong time to figure out why it isn't the dream I dreamt about for 35 years...

It is great in its own way, but not in the ways I expected... and there are so many other things I dream of doing!

Perhaps the best thing cruising has done is it has opened our eyes to all the wonders the world has to offer, it has given us the confidence that we can make our dreams come true and see all these wondrous things, it has made us do a lot of soul-searching to figure out what exactly our most cherished dreams really are and why... and it has probably tripled the length of our bucket list!!

[boatman61]

Well I must be sailing at the wrong time of year... 60% of the folks I hung out with at Shelter Bay were under forty and European.. the 'Old Geezers/Geezeress's' were in the main US and the odd EU solo senior.
There were four crazy but great Norsk guys on a trip to visit Thor Heyadhal's 'island'.. 32ft
Coupla 4 Danes an a RTW... 42ft
Belgians, French, Kiwi's and Aussies on the way home from the 'sales'...
and last but not least L.Decker... don't come much younger...
And...
I had a great deal of fun with all of em...

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by settingsun

The bottom line is that the whole world can be seen by other means besides a boat nowadays.

Great post - and the above very much true (and a BIG difference from ye olden days - in the 1970's ). Cheaper as well than boats (if you want it to be and are not tied to a 10 day vacation style living).

and your comments about cruising in foreign places having opened your eyes up (and increased your bucketlist!) about what the rest of the world has to offer does chime with me - and probably explains my lack of real desire to "get out there" by boat, as temps passé I got spoilt a lot (by myself!) with extended time in foreign places (that and growing up with boats, "it's only a boat" . and being lazy ).

[carstenb]

It is a fact that fewer and fewer young persons (not kids) are sailing. Just ask any sailing association. The membership of persons between 25 and 50 is declining. Partially due to demographics, partially due to economics.

The gray haired generation though is going cruising in greater numbers. BAby boomers are retiring and many of them have quite substantial retirement funds, despite the financial crisis.

The fact that cruising boats have gotten more comfortable has only increased the number of retirees.

We also have to realize that back when say I was young (and dinosaurs roamed the earth), it was possible to go off and screw around for a couple of years and still get back into the work force and have a decent career/life. Sadly, that is much more difficult now.

The good news is that as all us old geezers decline or die, a lot of great boats will be for sale - cheap!

[sailorboy1]

my balloon is all deflated after reading some of this

[Tar34]

To all the grand ma's and grand pa's and not least aspiring anarchists.
Hold Fast on Vimeo

[RabidRabbit]

I have been rather bummed to not meet more of the under 40 crowd. I'm a recovering punkrocker, car nut, mechanic, metalhead, atheist. I have nothing in commen with babyboomers except floating on water. The boomer gen formed their opinions about morals, jobs, god, government, over 50 years ago. I didnt have JFK, I had MTV and that doesnt make me wrong. In 50 years I'll be the old one talking about the good ole days. Sure I chat with lots of cruisers, but for sundowners I would rather hear Black Flag over jimmy buffet.

[settingsun]

Don - I don't think your balloon should be deflated... it's just that the books we all loved by the sailors of the 70's & 80's should not be used as a guide to going cruising today...

Read the sailing blogs that are all over the web and mull over whether the experiences they are having are experiences you want to be having... what happens to them will happen to you too. When they say, "We rolled all night and moved to another anchorage the next morning," don't blow it off -- There's a lot implied by a little sentence like that...

For us, cruising has been a fabulous experience. Just not what we expected -- by a long shot.

If I had it to do over, I would definitely do it again...

But I would go knowing that:

I will be uncomfortable a lot of the time, I will be terrified some of the time, I will grow as a person in wonderful ways I could never anticipate, my relationship will be challenged like never before, we will grow to appreciate, love and know each other more deeply than we ever could have if we stayed home, and it is most probably a 3-5 year adventure not a 10-15 year lifestyle, so budget and outfit the boat with that in mind.

[Tar34]

Originally Posted by RabidRabbit

I have been rather bummed to not meet more of the under 40 crowd. I'm a recovering punkrocker, car nut, mechanic, metalhead, atheist. I have nothing in commen with babyboomers except floating on water. The boomer gen formed their opinions about morals, jobs, god, government, over 50 years ago. I didnt have JFK, I had MTV and that doesnt make me wrong. In 50 years I'll be the old one talking about the good ole days. Sure I chat with lots of cruisers, but for sundowners I would rather hear Black Flag over jimmy buffet.

Sorry about the paucity of role models. Your nihilism is rooted in taking comfort in mind numbing media. Try looking to the giants of medicine, the written word, and the unraveling of of what some call Intelligent Design. I feel your pain when it comes to Jimmy Buffet. To lighten your load here is an ode to the to the isolated, disillusioned and small boat cabin fevered. Enjoy:

Grinderman - No Pussy Blues (Live On Later) - YouTube

[RabidRabbit]

Dont get me wrong I Iove it. I think I'm right in the middle, I see slightly older folks with way more invested (reefer, A/C) and young gung-ho couples doing it with whatever they have. I work 5 month a year, and evey year the boat gets a massive cash infusion. If you go out forever, the boat gets worse, not better.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by RabidRabbit

I have been rather bummed to not meet more of the under 40 crowd. I'm a recovering punkrocker, car nut, mechanic, metalhead, atheist. I have nothing in commen with babyboomers except floating on water. The boomer gen formed their opinions about morals, jobs, god, government, over 50 years ago. I didnt have JFK, I had MTV and that doesnt make me wrong. In 50 years I'll be the old one talking about the good ole days. Sure I chat with lots of cruisers, but for sundowners I would rather hear Black Flag over jimmy buffet.

Obviously hang in the wrong places mate...
Don't know where you are... but for example SXM the old folk hang out in the lagoon... youth is on the big yachts in the form of crew...
Young cruisers anchor French side in the bay... they like the feel...
Work Dutch live French... if your on the US mainland give up..
As with old gits after wimmen.. don't sit round moaning about it... git out and find it.. its more common than you think..

[captain58sailin]

I started long distance cruising @ 17 with my parents, and have continued to do so into my 50s, turning it into a way of life as well as a living, I hope to be doing it into my 90s or die before I can't sail anymore. As far as the age thing, if you are doing what you love, who cares, what someone else is doing and what the respective ages are? As far as I'm concerned life is uncertain eat dessert first!

[Event_Horizon]

Originally Posted by Tar34

Sorry about the paucity of role models. Your nihilism is rooted in taking comfort in mind numbing media.

I don't think nihilism means what you think it means...

The guy said he was a car nut, liked punk rock, and didn't believe in god. Nothing read as rebellious or destructive in my book. Then again it's all about perspective.

Try looking to the giants of medicine, the written word, and the unraveling of of what some call Intelligent Design.

Which giants of medicine?
What written word do you recommend?
And what does "the unraveling of what some call Intelligent Design" even mean?


I'm a 'younger' member of this forum (28). In my casual observation there is little to no difference in laziness or stupidity from my generation to any other...despite what they say.

[NahanniV]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

now, not when I can sail there. Paris too, I would like to do immediately. Both are time consuming as a cruiser to get to.

Mark

Paris is only unstepping your mast and a few days motoring up the Seine. Paris Arsnel marina is a great place to winter, it's just under place de la bastille.

[zeehag]

here in zihuatenejo , except for 3 boats, most cruisers here are under 55 yrs i n age. there was a vagabond 47 with a couple under 35, there are 2 families anchored at playa de ropas, and some others.the over 55 group consisted of me, victoria, force 50 with solo male, and a cal 34 with a solo male..