New to the Board, Never Been in a Boat in my Life, Want to Sail the World

[Arch Stanton]

OK it's good that people are being encouraging but I think this thread needs a reality check.

All your talk of the "open sea" and freedom and "rodentine labyrinthistic structure" and all that makes you sound like a disgruntled worker with a romantic escapist fantasy.

Following advice to shop for and buy a boat now "and everything will come together all by itself" could potentially work out great, or it could lead you broke, with a rapidly deteriorating $30,000 liability, doing something it turns out you don't enjoy.

Find a way to spend time on boats now. If it turns out you like it, take lessons and get good at it. If you still like it, make a real, long-term financial plan, and stick to it.

What you're talking about right now sounds like a desperate escapist fantasy and could end poorly or worse. See also: Into The Wild.

You should sail because you love sailing, not because you hate working.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

What you're talking about right now sounds like a desperate escapist fantasy

Yep. That goes for the Iran bit in the original post. Iran's version of the Utopian cruising destination will end up confiscating your boat and leaving you in jail for a while.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

You should sail because you love sailing, not because you hate working.

This is great advice!

Find a friend with a boat and offer to help. Go daysailing, take lessons, help with a longer delivery, generally get some experience. Sometimes the reality doesn't live up to the romance.

Also, if I may be so bold, find work that you love. This is obviously easier said than done, but it is so important to build your life around who and what you are, and not the other way around.

[shipofools]

to quote Nike - Just do it.

[sailorboy1]

you must be taking notes to keep track of our "advise" :-)

[zopi]

yeh...do something before the EU figures out how to tax breathing...

[858673]

Arch Stanton - Not so much a disgruntled employee, more a disgruntled employer, but that's a whole nother story. See the thing with magicians and tricks is that they shouldn't perform the same one too many times in front of the same crowd otherwise they see through the magic and notice the trick. Wonder turns to rage, don't worry - you'll get it one of these days. Your advice is sage and duly noted so I hope you note mine when I say that some dreamers live their dreams whilst the common folk just live nightmares.

MarkJ - It's all an experience my friend, some of the best minds in the world are in jails/asylums. To start with I'd be happy just getting from the UK to Amsterdam then hugging the coast all the way round the Med and back again. Softly softly and all that.

Paul Elliott - I love my work, just don't like getting treat like a $2 whore by a system that thinks it's the pimping equivalent of Superfly - Be a lazy bum and we'll handout some handouts, excel in your field and we'll charge you 50% of your hard earned in order to furnish the lazy bums with vicarious success.

shipofools - Ship, did you know that the Nike logo actually represents the rings of Saturn? Trickery is literally afoot my friend.

Don Lucas - You wade through haystacks to find the needle, people reveal a surprising amount about themselves based on their output.

zopi - Already done my friend, they call it "Carbon Duty" and shock horror - Guess what you breathe out, you naughty carbon terra-ist you...



Thanks for all of the responses so far, I appreciate them all for you all teach me something. After spending the past 24 hours looking around the forum I've realized that I'll be acquiring a complete new skill set (yippee - It's like being a child again) for my new soon to be maritime life.

First things first, I'll be going out for a spin on a friends boat to see if I have inner ears for it, if not it will be a case of round the world in a Land Rover instead

I still feel it will be a boating life for me though as my instincts have always served me well so with that in mind, do you folks have any boat recommendations for plans and budgets such as mine?

Thanks again.

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by 858673

What kind of boat would y'all recommend to a beginner in the game? Originally I was leaning toward something with power but after a bit of thought life on the ocean wave shouldn't be something that rushed through night and day when you can just glide and watch the world go by.

8, your writing is great
I really must say, with words you do have a way

Okay, that's all I could come up with right now. You said above "life on the ocean wave shouldn't be something that rushed through night and day" so you were back to thinking of a sailboat. It seems like you've done a bit of research, but I'll just repeat what you may have already read elsewhere on CF anyway. Going fast (rushing) in a planing speed boat will cost you tons of money in fuel, but a gentle cruising speed (watching the world go by) in a displacement hull boat has quite reasonable fuel costs.

Now, if you plan on bluewater passage making...that's another story...

[lost]

Hi 8, and welcome, not sure if I can welcome anyone as I too have never set foot on one of the floaty things with the stick in the middle.

Just don't like getting treat like a $2 whore by a system that thinks it's the pimping equivalent of Superfly - Be a lazy bum and we'll handout some handouts, excel in your field and we'll charge you 50% of your hard earned in order to furnish the lazy bums with vicarious success.

Ah a like minded soul, I see. (i can see by your responses you have worked out allot more than just that bit)

time is what passes by when you're busy making other plans.

Amen to that.

Good luck on your endeavour, hope your inner ear can hack it, mine too when I get the chance. You'll learn allot here I know I have already.

Really like your writing style

Fair winds
Lost

[Lancerbye]

Welcome aboard. All advice is worth reading, but not necessarily followed. Remember in this life no one gets out alive.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Leaving aside that fairly certain will never happen, at least not in your intended time frame...............

Originally Posted by 858673

To start with I'd be happy just getting from the UK to Amsterdam then hugging the coast all the way round the Med and back again. Softly softly and all that.

That'll be part of your learning curve. being near the coast has dangers that offshore doesn't. and vice verce. either way swimming ashore ain't an option to rely upon

still feel it will be a boating life for me though as my instincts have always served me well so with that in mind, do you folks have any boat recommendations for plans and budgets such as mine?

Thanks again.

do a search honestly your question (and dreams / starting point) are quite a regular feature here. some threads run. some don't. but loads worth reading / learning from.

But, my 2 pennies worth. here

your budget would be tight (with your plans) if you knew what you were doing, both on the boat sailing and the boat buying. the latter is likely to be the biggest challenge - with boats it's quite common to buy someone else's bills in deferred maintanence, usually involving a boat bigger than budget allows and in a condition that requires "a little bit" of tlc. I can't emphasise how important buying well is. eyes wide open and remove the rose tinted spectacles. a spreadsheet is your freind

this quite a good site for research on older boat models:-

Archive boat data from Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

in your shoes (and uk based) I would be looking at:-

Archive details of Halcyon 27 - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers

Invicta 26 archive details - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

not to say that not lots of other choices. but a reasonable number built.

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

this quite a good site for research on older boat models:-

Archive boat data from Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

in your shoes (and uk based) I would be looking at:-

Archive details of Halcyon 27 - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers

Invicta 26 archive details - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

not to say that not lots of other choices. but a reasonable number built.

Great links DOJ. Thanks for posting them so that I can bookmark them.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

You should sail because you love sailing, not because you hate working.

I am not much into the should vs. shouldn't things, but otherwise the statement sounds bulletproof to me.

b.

[Therapy]

This is a great one.

lots of energy here.

Oh yea, 8 - there are tons of similar threads. Enough for weeks, nay months, of reading.

Get a Westerly Nimrod and rough it. Good for a young soul.

[Blue Stocking]

8,

You have my consent to use my credo, "It seemed like a good idea at the time"

That answer, to the question "why", from people who will never understand, usually gets you to a philosophically comfortable place.