Challenge: Sail Around the World on $15k ?

[beowulfborealis]

Here is my suggestion, for what its worth. You have a degree in biology and you want to spend time at sea. Why not work for NOAA? I told a friend about their captain's training program and now he is a ship captain with NOAA. Pretty cool gig. Or you can work for the NOAA Fisheries. They will give you plenty of sea time and pay ya like 100-200 a day for you collecting data on fishing and catch. Put "Fisheries Observer" into a web search engine. Another option would be to join the Navy. You get paid well to be at sea, get training and job experience.

Don't feel too bad about job burnout in teaching. I hear that 50% of all K-12 teachers quit after their first year.

[limejucer]

The boat can be realy cheap but is it worth it.
Micro boats work?

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Dr. Hannes Lindemann (born 28 December 1922) made two solo transatlantic crossings, one in a sailing dugout canoe and, the other in a production model, seventeen-foot (approximately 5m) Klepper Aerius II sailing double folding kayak modified to carry two masts and an outrigger. His book Alone at Sea[1] documents the trips, which were totally unassisted. He was motivated to make the trips by an interest in how the human body and mind respond to stress.
He had his boat delivered to the Canary Islands, before sailing and paddling to the Caribbean. He carried 154 pounds of supplies, much of it canned comestibles: 60 cans of food, 96 of milk, and 72 of beer. He lost his stove on his first day out (it flared up and he knocked it overboard), and he had to catch fish to survive, as the food he carried was not sufficient for the journey. He used handmade sails to complement his paddling. The 3,000 mile trip to St. Martin took him 72 days. En route he encountered hurricanes, but capsized only twice.

[mrohr]

Hi all; Just got to love this site.
OK,where to start? Yeah somebody some where will cross an ocean in a bathtub, this proves nothing,you might even get around hanging on a log(dont laugh,I once had to repel a boarder who used that approach).Btw if you are going to work your way arround you will have to compete with guys like this who will work all day for a stale loaf of bread, and since it will probably be illegal for you to do so ,you may not even get paid. The lesson here is to make your bucks at home and leave with them. Every cruiser claims it all costs much more than their carefull calculations indicated.
Live on the fish you catch? No way,no how, but it's great when you do.
So, would I go in your circumstance? You bet, but go as far as you can and you will indeed learn much: #1 what you truly need and don't need
for rtw #2 teaching isn't such a bad gig(you can sail all summer)
Btw ,I quit teaching math and science at your age and traveled extensively , some by crewing, and became inured to privation that would have killed me today; then I just thought it was a great lark.

[OaklandSailor]

For our OP (and all others):

Go Extreme!

Famous Small Boats

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by OaklandSailor

For our OP (and all others):

Go Extreme!

Famous Small Boats

Be careful what you wish for:
"Lawlor was eventually lost at sea during another race against Andrew. He and his 14'6" boat "Christopher Columbus" were never found."

Is dying for your cruise extreme enough?

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Is dying for your cruise extreme enough?

On the other hand you could stay home and drop dead from a heart attach due to stress from that miserable job. You could get cancer and die within a year. You could find out at 27 that you have Leukemia and die within 3 days. I know someone that last one really happened to. His health insurance and savings did him a lot of good.

That said, I have a bigger boat than any on that list, I'm a little old, and not quite as broke as the OP, and my plan isn't as extreme as a circumnavigation, at least not any time soon, but...

The point is, you never know what tomorrow may bring. I'd rather have lived, or worst case die trying, then die a bitter old man saying "I wish I had."

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by grunzster

The point is, you never know what tomorrow may bring. I'd rather have lived, or worst case die trying, then die a bitter old man saying "I wish I had."

Oh, I agree with you.

Just there does get to be a level of cruiser one would call a "nutter".
I don't really give a stuff about what people think about me, but I don't want Mum to be saying to her friends in the Nursing Home: "Oh yes, My sons a nutter. He's off on one of his Nutter journeys again. Wonder if he will finally kill himself this time. Good riddance!" And all the other ol cronies nodding together saying: "Oh yes, Jean its tough having a Nutter. My George is an adventurer: Has adventures but keeps alive and send me chocolates from all round the world...."

"Here lies the body of a nutter
Went to Sea and never an utter...."

Sorry Ezra...

[boatman61]

LOL..... Mark.... relate your experiences in a F8.... the wave heights and general conditions... to any land-man and I think you'll find most of us are considered 'Nutters' for being there in the first place.. voluntarily.
You'll get the slow shake of the head and... "You must be Nuts'
I think Hang Gliders are nutters myself..... but that's another matter...

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by grunzster

Did anyone actually look at that site he posted a few pages back?
If not...PLEASE do! Here it is again.

WOW! Did you even read any of that before posting it? If so, please tell me it was a joke. If not, just get the boat and leave now. I really feel sorry for your students.

There's a few legitimate (I use that term loosely) low paying jobs, that I could see you easily getting while cruising, but otherwise...

Been places, done things.

My take is that there are countries where there are jobs and you will be judged by your skill and will, not by you 'illegal' (?) status. Then there are places where there are no jobs no matter what regulations.

I say, for the budget conscious cruiser, do not get stuck in a country with slack economy and socialistic government. Otherwise you will be fine.

BTW Learn to become a good diesel mechanic. You will be fine mostly anywhere, including the Suwarov ;-)

b.

[gpshephe]

Twenty affordable Sail boats.... was written by Gregg Nestor, forward by John Vigor. In case your going to search.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by jbosborn

I am a 24 year-old teacher (Math and Biology) living in southern California. I need a break from teaching and I want to sail around the world.

The challenge: I have only $15,000 cash saved up.

The challenge gets BIGGER: I have little sailing experience (merely ASA 101 and 103 certified).

Even BIGGER: I may have to single-hand it, but I am looking for a friend to go with me. For the sake of this brain-teaser, let's assume I am going to single-hand it.

My thoughts so far on meeting these challenges...

Budget
Give up alcohol (already done) - expensive luxury.
Hope to buy a seaworthy boat in LA for about $5k.
Live on the hook.
Eat rice and beans.
Learn to fish.

Experience
Sail up and down the So Cal coast for practice.
Once comfortable, sail to Channel Islands (do this all summer).
Weather in October is prime (regarding safety) to go around Baja tip.
Get more experience in Sea of Cortez.
From there, see how comfortable I feel with my experience - then either go to the Caribbean (for more practice) or head to Peru and follow Kon Tiki's route to make my first trans-oceanic passage.

I accept that there will be risk involved.

The main goal is to cruise for a year on $15k (including boat purchase). If I circumnavigate the globe, that is icing on the cake (very appetizing icing).

Everyone's thoughts and ideas...

Atom Voyages | Voyages Aboard the Sailboat Atom -* Good Old Boats List - choosing a* small voyaging sailboat

Here is a website you need to look at. It has a list of boats the man considers Blue water and reasonable. He did a circumnavigate twice and worked outside the country as well.
I am also in the market for one and I am a auto tech by trade so I am hoping that I can use that to make money on the world cruise I am thinking about taking.
Also it would be best to invest that money(15K) and just get some knowledge and sailing experience under your belt first. I've decided on a five year plan. You can pay off a boat you get at the right price in a year or two if you can get financing. The interest on your money adds up and at 5% a year that's 750 extra to take with you or to live off the interest while on your way. Still at 5% a year interest you cant expect to be able to see much every month.
You get caught working in another country with no visa or permit and you will know the inside of their penal system. So your best bet is learn mechanics and fiberglass repair and stick close to the marina. Don't dock there moor out in the bay but work in the marina for Americans and cruisers with money.You know that thing you don't have..

Good luck and Fair winds my friend.

[sevent]

so, several months have past since this thread started. I skipped to the end... did the original poster wind up with a boat? or reconsider? I was actually surprised at how many members suggested he do it with so little experience. I agree he should do it, but not yet, not on his own on what will likely be a weak boat - one that, if he is lucky, will get him stranded somewhere since he won't have the means or know how to fix. If he is not lucky it will fail too far from land. That's my $.02... but good luck what ever you decide.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by sevent

so, several months have past since this thread started. I skipped to the end... did the original poster wind up with a boat? or reconsider? I was actually surprised at how many members suggested he do it with so little experience. I agree he should do it, but not yet, not on his own on what will likely be a weak boat - one that, if he is lucky, will get him stranded somewhere since he won't have the means or know how to fix. If he is not lucky it will fail too far from land. That's my $.02... but good luck what ever you decide.

I think he went down to the local watering hole and found a nice girl that fancies him as well. That made him realize that there aren't to many nice girls in the middle of a squall off the coast of Mexico on the pacific ocean. Much less that want to go around the world on a shoe string.
And if you do find one hold on to that lil woman as tight as you can. And stay away from anything in on the way over 35ft loa...

[qwer5r]

Originally Posted by jbosborn

... I want to sail around the world. ... The challenge: I have only $15,000 cash saved up. ... My thoughts so far on meeting these challenges... Hope to buy a seaworthy boat in LA for about $5k. ... The main goal is to cruise for a year on $15k (including boat purchase). ...

As others have said, 1 year is not likely to get you around the world. And, have many have pointed out, $15K presents you with a lot of challenges.

My suggestion is to assume some of those challenges now, before the cruising year starts while you won't be risking death from a mistake or a turn of bad luck, and thereby increase your budget and therefore your margin of error during the cruising year.

Here's what I mean. You're envisioning living for year on $10K (having spent $5K for the boat). Your teaching in S. Cal right now, probably making -- what -- $40 or $50K a year? After taxes that's probably about $35K. I suggest you live on land at your target budget of $10K a year, giving you an additional $25K of savings, for a new total of $40K. With $40K instead of $15K, you're odds of buying a seaworthy boat and having enough food to eat for a year and being able to survive an occasional mistake or a bit of bad luck is going to be much better.

How to live for $10K while still teaching? I'm guessing that's going to involve living in a rooming house near your school and use a bike instead of a car. But even if you find other ways to do it, you won't be risking death with every change in the weather.

Good luck.

[scottychop@gmai]

Have any of you checked out "Hold Fast"? It's about a bunch of young twenty somethings that buy a 30' boat for a grand and sail it like crazy all over the bahamas on the CHEAP. It's a great documentary on how some people live their lives differently than the rest of us. Almost like Chris McCanless in "Into the Wild"....

it's a little over an hour so grab some RUM....

Link: Hold Fast on Vimeo