Forced to give up sailing

[delmarrey]

My friend asked me the other day, "At your age, what would you prefer to get -
Parkinson's or Alzheimer's?"

I answered, "Definitely Parkinson's. Better to spill half an ounce of Jack Daniel’s,
than to forget where you keep the bottle."

.

[Ken Z]

When they pry my hands off the wheel... yu my resort to a trawler, my dad did and was happy til his 80 s😎

[rmesfo]

The unfortunate reality is that folks will let their boat rot before selling it for a price they think it is worth. The Same thing occurs in aviation and you can see rotted hulks that could have provided the new owners with much enjoyment yet there it sits. Never fly or sail again without an enormous amount of work and money that doesn't really make sense for anyone. I don't know how you could ever change this.

[zedpassway]

I've known many oldsters who downsize to something they can handle in situations that they can handle.

A West Wight Potter 19 micro cruiser, is easy to single hand, is very very stable and somewhat slow, and it will sleep two easily has a port-a-pottie and a cook stove.

Its a way to keep sailing until you are really really old.

At 63 after not sailing for 50 years, I started with one.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by arch007

I wonder when you knew you had to give up sailing and what you did with the boat ? And life after sailing ?

The wife said "sell the boat, I'm leaving you". Life after sailing? I'll have to let you know.

[hamburking]

My dock neighbour had a nonsuch 26, the last in a string of nonsuchs for him. He was in his 80's and a fine example of how sailing keeps you young. He and his elderly wife would take the boat out all the time. Then one summer, he's in hospital with a heart condition, and the boat is for sale. The boat is sold. 4 months later we attended his funeral, and raised a final glass to our friend.

They will have to pry the tiller out of my dead hands before I give up sailing.

[silverbeard1]

i WILL SAIL UNTIL i GIVE BACK TO THE SEA. I WILL BECOME FISH FOOD, AS LONG AS THE FISH DO NOT MIND ME BEING WELL DONE NOW WHO WILL SHOOT THE FLAMING ARROW IS SOMETHING i NEED TO WORK ON

[Deltasailor]

My wife is very ill, we just cancelled out flight to Greece yesterday.
My sister said sell the boat, I can't, I think about it all the time. As long as there is a chance to sail I'll keep her. At 75 I think I can manage a few more trips.

[GulfportBarb]

A little house!

[delmarrey]

It all sounds so romantic! But the money can be put to better use. The ocean/bay is but a half mile from my home here (walking distance) so I'm not missing the benefit of the ocean air and smells. What I won't miss are the labors involved in doing bottom work, required every spring after a long cold spell.

(In the PNW, bottom paint can not have copper anymore, and bottom cleaning is restricted to prop & shaft only, except in a yard)

My back and shoulders just can't do it anymore. And I can't see paying someone 1-2 months of my SS to do it for me. My well maintained boat is for sale right now. I'm just procrastinating, getting it on the market and am barely able to drive for now. So as time dwindles away the boat sits collecting moss and dirt.

You can say all ya want about loyalties but unless your hands are on the helm when your time comes, other options are a bit less painful. 😖 And there is only one step past painful. 😵

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Deltasailor

My wife is very ill, we just cancelled out flight to Greece yesterday.
My sister said sell the boat, I can't, I think about it all the time. As long as there is a chance to sail I'll keep her. At 75 I think I can manage a few more trips.

For me, someone else's illness does not justify a sale! Your sister cares about your wife, not you, apparently.
It's ones mind and physical strength that should be considered when supporting a boat, if the money is non subject.

[thericksster]

Im gonna go work on my boat.

[Kenomac]

Plan your finances right and there's no reason you can't continue indefinitely. We've met several couples with health or age issues who continue cruising with hired help to assist.

[TrentePieds]

In a lighter mood - for all you geezers and geezerettes :-):

Olaf Haakonsson is my age, and like me he wakes up every morning thinking “I wonder how long this can last?” So he goes to the quack for a complete physical. Three weeks later the quack's secretary calls him and asks Olaf to come in for a consultation.


Olaf gets there, full of trepidation. The quack sez: “Mr. Haakonsson, “I don't usually call in my patients after a physical unless we've found something we need to deal with, but in your case, I felt I just had to ask you: How does a man who's nearly eighty years old stay so fit and so healthy?”


Olaf sez: “Vell, I don't know, I yust go from day to day”


Quack: “Surely there must be something in the way you live your life?”


Olaf: “Maybe it's because I'm Norvegian?”


Quack: “Yes, that would contribute, of course, but don't you perhaps do something special to keep fit?”


Olaf: “No, yust the usual tings”


Quack: “What are they?”


Olaf: “Every morning at half-past-four I take my father fishing on English Bay, but 'cept for that, I don't do nothin”


Quack” Your FATHER? How old is he, then?”


Olaf: “Ninety eight”


Quack (incredulous): “And you take him fishing every morning?”


Olaf: “Summer and vinter for over fifty years. Except this morning. My Dad had to go to a vedding”


Quack: “That's nice. Whose wedding?”


Olaf: 'His dad's”


Quack: “His DAD'S??? How old is HE, then?”


Olaf: “ A hundred and sixteen”


Quack: “A HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN!! Whyever would a man of a hundred and sixteen want to get married?”


Olaf: “Who said he vant's to?”






Cheers
TP

[GrowleyMonster]

Old sailors never die.







They just smell that way.