Aging Newbie Needs Reality Check from Experienced Sailors

[jemini]

Thanks, Hudson Force! It's good to know there are folks out there who share my dream. Since I am currently housebound with a mom with Alzheimers and a father with a broken leg, dreaming is all I can do at the moment, but someday...
In the meantime, I will research like a mad fool.
Loved your post about the netting...too funny!
Happy cruisin' out there!
Julie

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hi Keri,

Thank you for being explicit in your posts. We get many like these and most hide the true extent of their personal disabilities.

I have just come back from a party where I sank a bottle of wine so please take my notes with that understanding.

I don't think you can do it.

The budget for a catamaran is too small.
You still need money to live and maintain any boat.
Your disabilities are not good for sailing.
You can never get crew to help you... people think they can but its very difficult.
Your disabilities are not going to improve sailing, in fact arthritis has forced many good sailors off the water.

The beach party I was at tonight was 'normal' cruisers, your age, mine, a little older. Their one similar a tribute was they were all pretty fit. Yes sailing may have given them that but I can't help think they all started a fair bit luckier than you.

I think you need to join a sailing club, as someone suggested, and go sailing on their peoples boats. If, after a while, can sail well and are happy doing it then, YES, go for it. But just to shove your life savings into a boat without knowing its within your abilities is a recipe for ummmmm, well, you know the cliché.


Sorry to be so blunt.


Mark

Thanks not blunt, just good advise.

[1Sunseeker]

"On an ancient wall near Cairo
Where a dusty Pharaoh blinks
Deeply graven is the message
It is later than you think.
The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At a late or early hour.
Now is all the time you own
The past is but a golden light.
Go cruising now my friends
It is later than you think."

[Kenatsea]

Hi Keri,
Look for and read this book, "11 years aboard" I read it a few months ago. I think you might relate to it. Simple living on a smaller 26' sail boat. Good luck on your dream!

[KeriMoonbeam]

Hello everyone, thank you so very much for all the posts!
I like to thank everyone individually or post a reply when others take their valuable time to share their wisdom and make suggestions, but I've been super busy doing research, making plans and preparations while dealing with the rat race in high gear. My apologies for being slow to respond and say thank you to everyone. But, hopefully there is consolation in the fact that I'm sifting through everything I've learned here from all of you and applying what I feel fits best for me. I'm still learning from everyone. I'm just not able to get to the computer as much these days.
So, if anyone is still following this thread, here's the plan as of this moment - oh, and the plan is subject to drastic changes in the blink of an eye. So, the plan:
First, I learned that my house has appreciated (allegedly) far more than I would have ever guessed. That puts me in a position to hang on to an appreciating asset and cut my already tiny mortgage by a half to two-thirds. That makes all the difference for retirement finances. I haven't even listed the house yet and I have already had a tentative offer - there just are not a lot of houses in this price range in this neighborhood. Two different neighbors a couple doors down both sold their houses without ever listing them or putting a sign in the yard. So, hopefully my house will sell FAST! and at a tidy profit! If not, I'll be able to afford both mortgages, easily!
So, I'll spruce the place up, move out a bunch of stuff - basically stage the place and then find a house somewhere that I want to put an offer on.
I'm hoping to close on both houses within days of each other so I'm not doing a lot of couch surfing or living in a hotel.
I am going to try to sneak in a quick sailing vacation sometime prior to listing my house just to get a taste of this life I think I would love so much.
From there, I'll set my retirement date to some time after closing on the houses, get my stuff moved to the new location and then, I'll be free to pursue any sailing dreams I choose.
I'm stunned at how wildly cheap really nice houses can be in small midwestern towns and how cheap some condos in S. Florida are.
The best part of my little plan, I think, is that the dirt cheap mortgage will allow me to keep an appreciating asset, have a place to return to when it becomes necessary or desirable, and I get to keep whatever "stuff" I choose and I will be able to get to the gulf coast or either east or west coasts whenever I want and hopefully do some sailing with friends that I hope I meet along the way. Maybe I'll even meet my captain.
So, if something I said is totally idiotic, please don't hesitate to let me know! I owe all of you great thanks for your amazing and generous posts full of so many good ideas - you have taught me so very much! I would never have been able to work out a plan with any possibility of success if I had not stumbled upon this forum. You've helped me find my way from a pretty bleak place in my life to thinking it is entirely possible that more than my wildest dreams could actually come true. I offer you my most sincere and profound thanks.

[Stillwater1]

Keri,

I am in a similar position to you. Not much experience, but pretty healthy and with a bit of money, and a lot of curiosity about this whole sailing thing. My most recent plan includes heading to west coast of Florida next year (2018), sailing lessons, research, research, research, then shop for a boat, live ashore till she and I are ready, then head out beginning of 2020. A few years in the Caribbean, and then maybe some Central America, which is where I have been since retiring 3 years ago. It all seems doable, and why not? Others have, and even at my age (66) or later. Many things have led me here, but this is the gal who got me really thinking I should do it, read her blog when you get a chance: speedwelladventures dot com/blog. She does it really, really well.

Best Wishes,

-Bob

[Tafa]

Keri,

I believe you are at least 70% sane ....

My first advice would be... "Stay away from NAYSAYERS" ...... Unfortunately, there's no shortage of them anywhere in the world..... Also, beware of OVER-ENCOURAGERS .... It's definitely NOT a cakewalk.... You transition is going to take some time ..... You'll need to invest time and some money to acquire knowledge and skills even before you start boat hunting..... embrace it, plan it and do NOT rush.....

Does it sound challenging? YES.... Does it doable? definitely YES.... I may recommend you to set top priorities as follows:

1- SAFETY... numerous situations at sea, in a sailboat can lead to life-threatening events (very fast) ... No matter what you do... put safety first.... But first you need to learn to practice safety.....

2- KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS.... For the safety and comfort sake, you'll need to acquire sailing and boating knowledge and develop skills.... The first thing to do is READ..... tons of interesting reading...... Even if you only read the related CF topics, you can start to build a foundation quickly......

An entry level keelboat course is a MUST to develop the cardinal skills faster.....Then... If you can afford a sabbatical.. you may try crewing in a cruising sailboat... I believe it's the fastest way to practice, develop skills and understand/preview the lifestyle.... One of the websites you can try is....... https://www.findacrew.net

3- BOAT & BUDGET ...... $80K sounds a very reasonable budget to me (if you know what you are doing) I have been actively seeking for a 40+ cruiser for the last 18 months and we are in the process of buying a beauty... So my knowledge about the market is fresh..... There is a hidden market beyond yachtworld listings usually works through word of mouth... If you are patient and know where to look and ready to close the deal fast.. you can get a very decent boat at that range ...You can even get a decentish 30' Catamaran (older Gemini?) at that range.....

Your challenge again is the knowledge.... Buying a boat requires some knowledge too... You need to know, what you NEED, what you WANT, why you want.... and are you getting exactly what you bought..There are dedicated book titles only on buying pre-owned sailing vessels.... I would definitely recommend you to NOT to buy a boat before developing your (at least basic) knowledge on boats........

Congratulations (even considering going out of the rat race is a big thing) and good luck....

Cheers,
Tafa