New member

[jean.mccormack]

Hello
Just joined and looking forward to info offered on this sight We are currently living on Vancouver Island and hoping to move on to our 40 ft this summer and start our lifelong dream of sailing to Mexico and on through the Panama Canal and on to the Great Lakes eventually A little skeptical to sell all we have. My husband turns 60 next year so time is ticking [emoji3] any one have any experiences they want to share ?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Jean.

[gamayun]

Welcome, Jean! If you have a Facebook account, look up Women Who Sail. They'd love to hear from you and give you their perspectives. Many of the ones who post seem to be cruising, too. All the best on your grand plans

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Jean,

Welcome aboard CF.

I've been a member here for a while, now, and been cruising more or less full time since March of '89. We were out for a year 86-87, and discovered that I needed to sell my house, to make a cruising kitty. It was not too worrisome to do--the neighborhood had begun to decay a bit; but the actual doing of it was pretty emotional, saying goodbye to the place where I had raised my kids. Many tears were shed that day, letting go of the past. So, my house was transformed into a cruising kitty, and Jim and I married.

People often want to minimize risk, and I think that's mostly what makes it hard to let go of property, that we have the illusion it will keep us "safe" somehow. In fact, by the time you want to give up cruising, if you take to it, you may well need to live in an entirely different setting, closer to top quality medical services. All change is somewhat threatening, it's normal to be a little scared, at the same time, it is sort of liberating to re-cycle the possessions.

Some people prefer to keep a pied a terre, but if you really love cruising, it will be a headache. Most of the keeping your house programs seem to involve renting it out, and then when something goes wrong, you're flying to Canada in the middle of the cruising season to take care of things because the property manager didn't do what you expected. We saw a lot of angst about this in the early days. Some people also just cruise seasonally. It's going to depend a whole lot on how you and your partner change with the process of cruising.

As for me, i hope you really enjoy it, it will ask a lot of you, and eventually, you'll know if it's for you--or not. Cruising really isn't for everyone. For some, it's a good fit, others, not so much.

Ann