That old retirement date keeps getting shorter and shorter

[Putawaywet]

Greetings all,

I wanted to take a mnute and say hello as I am in the extremely early stages of planning (dreaming) for my retirement.

Last week it was 14 years and counting. But after this crazy week it's down to 9 years, or 3 bad days in a row, whichever comes first (LOL)

Seriously, just got married last year to an awesome gal who has the same likes, dislikes and long term goals as I do. This includes the itch to get out of California and head somewhere farther north when the kids are finally out of school and we decide it's safe to retire. We had both been talking for some time while we were dating about settling up north, but it wasn't until our honeymoon cruise to Alaska that we figured out how far north was far enough. Seven straight days of rain or fog and we loved every minute of it! You might even say we thrived on it.

Perhaps it's the the fact we have both spent our entire lives in sunny southern CA where rain seems to be as rare as a driver who know how to use their turn signal. Or perhaps it's that we have come to judge the changing seasons by what color the plants are on the side of the freeway... Green? - it must be December/January. Brown? - it must be one of the other 10 months.

However, up until a few months ago it was all talk of building a home somewhere along the water up around OR/WA and enjoying life at a much slower pace. And then I made one of those off the cuff, almost joking comments about how we could cash it all in and buy a boat and spend the rest of our days exploring the waterways of the PNW. Without even flinching she said that sounded like a whole lot more fun.

So... here I am, reading and learning what it might take to seriously do 6-8 months on the water with perhaps the winter spent holed up in a small apartment. Obviously I have a long road ahead of me, not to mention a huge learning curve.

I've laready figured out that I'm a trawler guy at heart, and the likes of Nordhavn, Selene or Krogen seem like they would fit the bill nicely. Although, the more reasearch I do the more I'm finding myself drawn to the new expedition power cats like the folks at Pacific Expedition are building.

I have no idea where the next 9 years will take me, nor could I even begin to venture a guess at how things will evolve during the remaining time that I'm tied to land. Laws will surely change. Gas, marina fees and just inflation in general might very well price everyone off the water. Not to mention boat designs will obviously continue their march forward leaving us with who knows what new bells and whistles at our disposal.

But hey, I've already got a great partner. I mean, you can't help but love a girl who not only changes her own brakes and knows the difference between metric and SAE sockets, but takes one look at a picture and says "I could handle anchoring there for a day or two"

Brett

[Pelagic]

Sounds like you found a great gal....enjoy the journey and ask away!

[David M]

Oh gawd...I sympathize with you Brett. My retirement is still a few years away and I have hit a spatial distortion where time is slowing down. Why cant I get into a Star Trek episode where I am thrust three years into the future? I don't expect to see Jetson's cars, but a sailboat would be nice.

David

[markje4]

I know the feeling...

I had always planned to give up work at the end of 2009 and start on the path to liveaboard cruising in the Med in 2010.

I was sitting at the breakfast table a couple of weeks ago and the thought suddenly popped into my head - why 2009? Why not at the end of 2008?

I can tailor my finances to enable me to purchase a 36'-38' yacht which I plan to sail and live on for at least 5 years before returning to Australia. lLuckily, being a teacher for the past 35 years means I can retire on a generous, lifetime pension so financing a cruising kitty "shouldn't be" too difficult.

I don't have a "significant other" - if you don't count the cat. He's had an easy 15 years with me and may be the only "fly in the ointment" but the planning has begun!

[Southern Star]

Welcome Brett and no worries, if you are committed to it as a plan, the ten years will fly by. If you are new to boating, you can use that time to study, develop some on the water skills, purchase a smaller boat (or boats) to gain experience and develop your own likes/dislikes in terms of boat design/equipment and finally, to purchase your ultimate vessel and to equip her so as to bring your dreams to fruition.

One book I commend for your purposes is Cpt. Robert Beebe and James Leishman, Voyaging Under Power, 3rd edition, 1994, International Marine, Camden Maine (newer editions are available). It includes a substantial amount of material on design and hull forms for voyaging, as well as reviews and comparisons of the work/design philisophies of various naval architects and of various manufacturers including Nordhavn and Krogen. There are also chapters on voyage planning, provisioning, routes, watch-standing, log books, spares etc., all directed towards long distance voyaging under power.

I am on the last stretch (the final year) of my first life and career and can tell you that over the last ten, very difficult years, my dreams (and eventually my plans and projects) have sustained me. It will make it easier.

Brad

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by markje4

thought suddenly popped into my head - why 2009? Why not at the end of 2008?

Originally Posted by markje4

Take Marks advice. See if you can rope in that 9 years a bit. Great that it came down from 14!!!

Originally Posted by Putawaywet

Last week it was 14 years and counting.

Brett

I retired this year at 48 and I'm living proof that its all in your mind.

One of my friends send me a link to one of those stupid self-help guru crap things and the video said: "What is your lifes dream? Focus on it and nothing else and command that dream to become reality now!" (Gawd, you can hear his prattle!)

Well, bugger me with a pitch fork if it didn't work!!!!!!!!!!!

I sat down with the calculator, a reality sandwich and worked out how much i really needed to buzz off. Then by focussing on it every day, every moment it came! Naturally! And a year after I am here. Doing it.

So, fine, wait the 9 years if you want to go cruising when all the others around you are using as much silicone on their faces as their boats, or go do it now when you are young, vital and impressionable.

If you screw up totally you can always come back to work

[waterworldly]

12 more weeks and I'm free.

[Putawaywet]

Thanks everyone.

Unfortunately, that's about as far as I can cut it down. My retirement plan at work (planning to go out at age 50) and the combined housing slump say I must stay for now. Not to mention we still have kids in school and they were just uprooted when we got married so....

But we're already looking at how we can cut out unecessary bills and add those funds to existing investment accounts. Every little bit helps. Not to mention I was very lucky that I caved in to a coworker some 18 years ago who conveyed to me the wisdom of taking advantage of the job's deferred comp program.

David M I hear ya. I look back and can't believe all the years I already have behind me. But then I look ahead and wonder how I'm going to make it another 6 months let alone 9 years.

In the mean time I've already picked up some books on basic coastal navigation and seamanship so I can begin studying. And that trip back to Alaska we have been planning for 2009 on one of those big cruise lines has been scrapped and we are now looking at booking with one of those charter trawlers that sleeps 4-6 and offers hands on navigation training. Sounds like way more fun than sitting around the pool on one of those monster ships watching kids go down the water slide.

Southern Star thanks for the book referral I will surely take a look.

Brett

[David M]

Putawaywet,
Same boat here. It's not the money, its waiting to be fully vested in my pension and waiting for my son to go off to college, both of which happen within a year of each other. I simply cant do it now either.

David

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Brett,
Welcome aboard!! Like some here on the forum, I retired at age 46 but decided to build a house, start a yacht club, buy a farm, build a boat, rebuild a car and guess what, I'm still doing all those things at age 63. Boat still isn't done.
Good luck on retirement!
Land prices here reflect the jungle green, mold and mildew and 120 inches of rain a year. Your kids need to be graduated though before coming to Hawaii. The schools here are terrible. Homes can be had for $200K and buildable lots for $35K on this side of the Big Island. Those are the cheapest. It all goes up from there.
Kind Regards,
JohnL