When to go? (An informal poll)

[BigLeap]

The big circumnavigation. Cruising in general...

Do it now (approaching 40) or wait until retirement?

And why?

Please weigh in!

[bangkaboat]

I watched my father work into his sixties, then not follow his retirement plans because, "You don't know what it's like to be sixty-(something)"
That's when I started to focus on early retirement as a goal. So, I say, "Go for it, now!" However, I have a very understanding & supportive wife & no kids, so you may have more reasons to continue working to retirement. When my nieces/nephews talk about the high costs associated with post-secondary education, I fully appreciate why some of my siblings plan to work into their mid-sixties.
Tough decision, best of luck with it!
Mike

[SaucySailoress]

Welcome aboard, Big Leap!!! Great question - and we all love polls - so I added in a real one with pretty colours and everything!

Oh, I voted for older and richer, 'cos although I'd love to go now, one has to be realistic about the money thing!!!

[sailingaway221]

You might wake up dead one day before leaving.

[zeehag]

real riches arent money-LOL

[barnakiel]

I had no options but to wait till I was 35 or so - I had to collect money for the boat and for the trip. I did not want to be forced to work while doing the RTW. On one hand it was too late - the youth/stamina gone and some early health issues showing up, etc.. On the other hand it was too early - we went in a relatively small boat and on a small budget.

I think 35-55 is the worst age to start. It is good to go early - when you hear the call (and when you can take the discomforts), or else cherish the call and go when you can easily manage the whole thing emotionally, personally and financially.

Then again, I think that anybody who is in the financial, personal and emotional position to go round the world NOW should do so NOW. No matter what age. Life is short, tomorrow we can be but cold meat.

b.

[James Baines]

Hi BigLeap, I’m happy to kick in my two cents to your request for input:
If you can afford it, and if you have the necessary skills to go about it safely, and if it will not have a negative impact on your family or future employment prospects, I say do it now and I’ll tell you why:
Three very good friends of mine had their own dreams, but they decided to invest small amounts of money over time so that when they retired, their dream scenario’s would be there waiting for them.
Sadly, one died before he reached retirement age and the other two died within months of retiring.
I suppose that on a positive note, they got a great amount of pleasure from planning and looking forward to their dream retirement goals but it’s sad that they never got to enjoy the real thing.
I’ve been very lucky, I have been able to do a lot of the “Dream Sailing” stuff and still live a relatively normal life and with more than 50 years global sailing behind me, I can tell you with complete honesty that I don’t regret a single moment of my “Being off doing my own thing” sort of stuff.
Like Robert Frost, I took the other path, the one less travelled by, and the difficult times (Of which there were many) were more than offset by the good times; being the master of my own little universe, learning how to fix whatever broke, learning how to improvise in order to survive, learning how to get by on a dollar a day, dealing with medical emergencies, all good things to know but I must add a note of caution; the world’s oceans are unrelenting, unforgiving beautiful monsters that you can never master, you can only take what they will give you and the sort of experiences they throw at you require characters made of the sterner stuff.
It’s certainly not for wimps.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, safe sailing to you. James

[Cruiser2B]

I say go. I am 35 and was a regular healthy 9-5 guy, or so I thought, until I had a health scare(heart) a year ago. It was then that things in life I thought were important no longer seemed so. I no longer want to spend my life gathering and building bigger a better things, I am content with what I have and have been concentating on the smaller things in life. My wife and I are on the same page, which I think helps. We are only on this earth a short time and unfortunatly we never know when we are leaving....I don't want to spend my last day here at work! We are leaving asap(3-5), we will figure it out as we go. by the looks of things here in the states...nothing is a guarantee anymore anyway

[keepondancin]

Having sailed since I was about 6, watching Adventures in Paradise, listening to Jimmy Buffet, etc., cruising was to be a part of my life. My wife and I had serious conversations about going cruising. Her feelings were to be in a situation where when we are sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the "home", we could say "remember when...", and not be saying "I wish we had..". Work slowed in construction, we sold our dream house, which I had built. At age 42, we purchased a boat that we felt was the best compromise of design, build, size and cost.( Pacific Seacraft 37). We planned on one year and see what would happen. One and a half years later we left here in Trinidad, and went back to earn some money, and see family. Started to build another house, and decided that this wasn't what we wanted. Back to the boat, and was able to work it out for about 6 months on and 6 months off. After almost ten of the very best years of our life, we ran out of money, and resources to continue on. We knew we would go again. Sold the PS 37, and purchased an older Bristol 41.1 to fix up and try to go again. Two years later my wife suffered an almost complete amputation of her leg, and as a result, is in constant pain and suffers from diminished mobility. We still have the Bristol, have made some changes so I can pretty much single hand it, and are getting ready to liquidate some holdings and cruise again. Now we feel that we will be limited to the East Coast and the Bahamas. If we do try to go further, we will need crew, but I feel the constant discomfort that my wife has, will limit us to staying close to the US. Prescription pain meds I think will be difficult to manage when away, so we will need to be able to get back to the US probably every 60 days. It is a very serious decision to make, when you are leaving the normal work-land life. In our case, it was truly the right decision, we sacrificed during our earning years, and we will sacrifice in our older years, but we can say "remember when".

[AllezCat]

Originally Posted by zeehag

real riches arent money-LOL

agree
go now
you are going to die
and pulling ropes can be hard work...

[imagine2frolic]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nce-49481.html

Here's my thoughts........i2f

[bangkaboat]

i2f, I'll be heading over with a boat in the next couple of months. Once she's there, you're more than welcome to use her, anytime, if you don't bring your cat.

[skipmac]

Well I'm working toward doing both. Dropped out and spent about 8 years mostly living on boats and cruising starting when I was 23. Forget cruising on $500 a month, there were long periods when I got by (by necessity) on $50 a month but I was young and living on a boat in the islands. Then I got married, had a kid, sold the boat and got a job.

Now thirty years later I have a little money in the bank, house paid for, boat paid for and have about 6 months left on the hard doing a complete refit. Then another 6 months to finish the cosmetics and woodwork and let the games begin.

Lucky to still be reasonably healthy although I am a lot more careful when I do the heavy lifting.

[Unicorn Dreams]

1st RTW was 17 rts old and worked my way around the globe back when you could do it. Always worried about funds. Lost boat in Durban due to yard fire.

2nd RTW 36 yrs old, better financially.

3rd maybe RTW will be 59 with good retotrment.

First trip was probanly the best even though I was always working, bur younger and care free for the most part.

[SkiprJohn]

Go as quickly as possible.