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Old 28-01-2022, 16:49   #796
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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Originally Posted by thomm225 View Post
You're missing the point.

Point is don't sell everything you have and buy a boat and think that will be a perfect way to live for the rest of your life.

This idea get pushed here constantly, and it simply isn't true.

You have to be a certain type to want to live that lifestyle.

I have seen too many that end up simply hanging out at the dock as a sort of Walmart Greeter....

As for me, I'll always be on the water and have a boat, but I really enjoy the sound of the wind through the trees and talking long hikes in the wood.

I also enjoy when exhausted a nice secure place to sleep .....with the sound of the breeze through the trees.
Its you that doesnt get the point , some people are quite happy to sell everything and take to the water, typically re-acquiring a property ( or renting one ) when they are physically unable to comfortably lie on a boat. Around me there are dozens of cruisers who have spent 10 years or more on their boats

Please dont generalise , and no nothing is a "perfect way to live for the rest of your life" there is no such way , but a boat isnt a bad choice for some
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Old 29-01-2022, 04:21   #797
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

So, I've been dropping in on this thread off and on because I am turning 60 in March and retirement is something I think about quite a bit lately. I am really looking forward to it for starters. I would like it to happen at 62, and I'm fairly confident I can do so.

It may not be a full retirement right away. My wife is 5 years my junior, and while I have been the majority bread winner her income helps us enjoy more freedom.

I have already made a significant move by selling a large portion of my business and downsizing to just me. This is what prompts my post.

I went from working 5 days a week - and really more, because I was never really far from responding to customers thanks to modern messaging technology - down to 2 1/2 days. I found myself with time on my hands. I am still not fully used to this. There are days when I get "ansty" - for lack of a better term - with feeling like I should be "doing something."

Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining ! Lol. My quality of life has improved due to lack of stress. But I can definitely see how someone who goes from full employment to no employment could have a hard time making the adjustment.

I'm glad I have the chance to learn this part slowly. I have taken the step of finding a completely separate part time job. It does feel very odd to go back to work for someone else after being your own boss for 25+ years, BUT, it is also really nice not to have any of the responsibilities. And I can use this other job as a way to transition fully out of my current business.

Cruising is also part of our retirement plans, both at sea and on land, and we will likely do both part time for a while until we get to go fully. We feel lucky that we can do this a little at a time, and keep things flexible as we try to make it happen.

My point being that for many men, I think it is hard for us to make this transition. Something to consider as you make your own plans.

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Old 29-01-2022, 04:26   #798
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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Originally Posted by goboatingnow View Post
Its you that doesnt get the point , some people are quite happy to sell everything and take to the water, typically re-acquiring a property ( or renting one ) when they are physically unable to comfortably lie on a boat. Around me there are dozens of cruisers who have spent 10 years or more on their boats

Please dont generalise , and no nothing is a "perfect way to live for the rest of your life" there is no such way , but a boat isnt a bad choice for some
Yes, I've seen a few sell everything and take to the water simply to be back re-acquiring in less than 6 months.

I've always entertained the idea of living on a boat and was lucky enough to be able to observe others doing so in Florida for the 15 years I was there, and now up here.

Also while in Florida we had about 8-9 hurricanes so I got to see the process monohull sailboat owners went through if their boat survived the storm. One hurricane hole was right in front of my apartment and we'd watch the boats at anchor during the storm as some old salt gave his view on how each was anchored and which would drag and get dismasted by the low bridge beyond.

Outside my office door is an anchorage many use after there get to the Southern Chesapeake Bay. I have observed them as well.

I've seen the cruisers both from land and sea.

Therefore I plan to cruise a few months here and a few months there and see how it goes.

At this time, I'm ripping out the PO's counter top which will allow me to have the starboard settee back. This also really increases the size of the interior of my boat.

Also since I have built a tower computer for home use my 17" laptop will replace my RPi's on the boat, and they will be backup. Just too many wires with those.

In the next few years will be to add AIS transponder instead of just AIS receive.

I'll add a 12 volt battery (100 ah) this Spring to go along with my two 6 volt golf cart batteries which are in series and are on switch position 2. This will give me about 320 ah battery power, and I don't have a fridge or windlass.
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Old 29-01-2022, 04:35   #799
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

My wife and I were lucky enough to sell our business when we were in our early 30s. The house and the yacht were paid for and we sailed away with no definite plans. We spent the summer in the Med and went off to the Caribbean in the winter and our life changed for the better - forever. We are now in our 70s and live ashore and we both agree that we could now not do what we did then, so go cruising as young and as soon as you can.
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Old 29-01-2022, 04:39   #800
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

In the 5 1/2 years I have been full time on the boat cruising I have NEVER heard a fellow cruiser say "I am tired of cruising and am going back to work". Yes some hang in a place a long time and may a job or part time job. Sometimes it for something to do, but mostly it is for the money.

Only on this thread and posted by a "never cruised" are all these retiree cruisers getting all bored and going back to work.
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Old 29-01-2022, 04:48   #801
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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Originally Posted by thomm225 View Post
til I try it?

Are you talking about the last 50 years that I have been on the water on my own boat (or the last 60 years if you count when I was on other peoples boats) , or the last 10 years "cruising" the bay locally with my $2,000 Blue Water Cruising Boat.

Photo is racing in Pensacola , FL probably around 2003.. I'm trying to steal this guys wind and pass but he made the line first....

is it my new speakers or are these ladies simply that good?



Exactly- “until you try it” —YOU HAVENT!!!
Nothing you posted has anything to do with full time cruising. I also cruise part time on Chesapeake bay with extended cruises to NE due to young family and career. And used to race a lot, and have been cruising here on east coast since I was 10, probably over 30000 miles of part time cruising in those nearly 40 years of sailing, cruising, and racing.
None of it equates to this thread which I am trying to follow out of interest.
Thomm- I’m interested in hearing from folks who have been or are full time cruising.
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Old 29-01-2022, 04:55   #802
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

When I lived in Florida, I was racing or on the water sailing 10 months out of the year not living on a boat at a marina although I did hangout at our dock quite a bit with the cruisers and monohull owners. (as well as most of the other docks and marinas in town)

If you lived at our apartment, a slip was an extra $50/month.

Our dock was the hangout for us sailors where many evenings and weekend afternoons you could find us having a few beers and talking boats/cruising/racing

I learned quite a bit from those guys many of whom had already cruised and were now just hanging at the dock since they were older (about the age I am now)

It was a great experience and I got the lowdown on every boat at each marina. These guys as most here know love to talk boats and point out what is good and what isn't about each.

I went through 4 different beach cats during this period two of which were new.
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Old 29-01-2022, 10:32   #803
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

I am almost embarrassed to be contributing to this thread, AGAIN. Thomm, I had thought you had finally gotten the point, when this thread dried up awhile ago; and I was relieved.



But....no. You are again telling us all about a life you have never lived. And, parenthetically, whilst ACTUALLY HAVING DONE SO, I agree that beach cats are a great thrill to sail. But, there is little that is more remote from cruising. And, especially live-aboard cruising. A few posts ago, you told us that you like to sleep peacefully with the sound of the wind in the trees. You told us you like to walk in the woods. Many here might agree with the second statement, and some will agree with the first, but many prefer to sleep with the sound of the lap of the waves, and maybe some rocking. You seem unwilling and unable to comprehend that. I think we all applaud your mini-cruises on the southern Chesapeake (although we shake our heads when you say you don't like to sleep aboard). We give a thumbs up to the mods you are making to your boat. And we are looking forward to hearing of your forthcoming cruise around Hatteras. Probably not many are looking forward to another rehash of your beach cat Florida days...again.



But, I expect that most of us get extremely irritated, enough so that we actually come on here to refute your proposition, when you tell us that we don't enjoy our lifestyle (as if we all cruised the same way) and that others should not fall into the trap of adopting it. You know nothing about our lifestyle, first hand, and it is arrogant to suggest that talking with cruisers gives you that knowledge. It's as if you drove your sports car into an RV campground, talked to a few people, and then held yourself out as an expert on the matter. IIRC, your job relates to electronics. If I chatted with you about it, would that qualify me to think i understood the business?



Liveaboard cruising is very much a state of mind. Hyperbolically, I have always said that "if you can cruise, you can probably do it on a rowboat. If you can't cruise, you probably can't even do it on the Queen Mary", and you are a good example of this. No wind in the trees, among other things. And that is absolutely OK. Everyone is different and has their own priorities. But, most of the folks on this thread actually can, and do! Probably everyone goes through a period of adapting to a new lifestyle and maybe a different type of "work", but most love the experience.


In a week, I will be coming up on my 40th anniversary of when I first lived aboard. I have done so for all but four years, since then. My first two months were during a very wet Northern California winter, where I left for work when it was barely light and returned after it was dark. I thought I had made the worst decision of my life, and that was not even taking into account that I got sea sick, when I left the dock! But spring came, and then summer, and I found I loved the lifestyle and never looked back. I even got over my seasickness, although it took a couple of years. Since then, I have lived aboard in marinas, whilst working ashore, I have lived at anchor, whist working ashore, I have run a liveaboard charter boat for sixteen years (always living aboard myself), and I have cruised. There have been occasional moments of frustration, even of boredom. But, I don't wish I had done it differently, so don't imply that I, or others in my shoes, secretly do! For a good number of years, I specialized in catamaran instruction, and my usual clientele consisted of couples or families that were planning on retiring or taking a sabbatical and moving onto a cat. From me, they not only got the formal ASA training, but the insights of all the years doing what they hoped to do. We discussed the lifestyle at length, including the plusses and the negatives. I wound up helping a number find and buy their cats, and mentored them as they got started. All have become close friends, and none have looked back. Some others determined that they wanted to cruise and liveaboard, but weren't quite ready. Others, later, made the jump. And others were content to live as you do, and were very happy they did. It takes all kinds, and having spent a very great deal of time with these students, not to mention cruising, myself, it's hard to tolerate your non-factual pontificating. And it's frustrating to discuss this with someone so firm in his conviction that he refuses to absorb unfamiliar information, and maybe, just maybe, learn something.



I still hope that something turns on your light switch of understanding, and I do sincerely wish you the best in your lifestyle. I doubt that you will ever adapt to ours, but if you do, I am sure you will be welcomed. And, with that, as I said in the previous incarnation of this thread, I am done!
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Old 29-01-2022, 11:54   #804
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

^^^^^
Well summarized, well written, kindly done.

I think that you have touched on all the points that we who have long lived aboard and cruised have felt while reading through this thread. Thank you.

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Old 29-01-2022, 12:50   #805
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

Well I'm a year into the "semi-retired early retiree thing", and so far, my wife and I love it. The boat is currently in Puerto Rico, as is my wife, but I'm back in Texas for work as I need to spend a few weeks here about 4 times a year right now as we get everything working smoothly without me.

I'm flying back to PR on the 1st of Feb and then we're going to work our way down the Caribbean until May, when I'll fly back to Texas for a few weeks.

It's early days yet, but cruising and the cruising lifestyle is what we've been working for for 6 years - we know what it is (and isn't) and we're happy.
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Old 29-01-2022, 14:07   #806
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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But, I expect that most of us get extremely irritated, enough so that we actually come on here to refute your proposition
So the thing I enjoyed a lot when we were all at the dock back in the day enjoying our favorite beverage is that it didn't matter whether or not you were a cruiser, racer, or day sailor we all got along because we all enjoyed sailing.

Here though if someone slightly disagrees with another's lifestyle which may not be for everyone, there is little tolerance.

This to me illuminates a problem with those that cannot seem to allow others to have a differing opinion.

Is it that you retired too early or that you have become too set in your ways to allow others their opinion even though it may not agree with your own?

GET OUTTA MY YARD!

That's what old folks say that have forgotten what it's like to be a kid and there are some similarities here I believe......

Btw soon I'll be retiring and probably headed back south on my good old cruising boat which should be much easier with my new and improved wider salon/cabin/sleeping space.

It's all about experiencing all aspects in whatever it is you enjoy doing.
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Old 30-01-2022, 06:12   #807
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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I am almost embarrassed to be contributing to this thread, AGAIN. Thomm, I had thought you had finally gotten the point, when this thread dried up awhile ago; and I was relieved.
I kept reading because I KNEW he was going to tell you are wrong and there would be story
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Old 30-01-2022, 06:14   #808
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

I have raced beach cats for 15 years, and sailed 30k plus blue-water miles.

Perhaps I can provide a facility for arbitration :-)
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Old 30-01-2022, 08:26   #809
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

Geez - too many replies to wade through them all.......but yes, we pretty much met your description. No regrets - we maintain a home and cruise part-time. Currently en-route to the Bahamas. More details of our story and our current trip at https://midnightsunii.blogspot.com/
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Old 30-01-2022, 09:32   #810
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

This thread keeps sucking me back to read others stories while I mentally compare them to my own. And I guess thats the point, there are many stories. I retired at 52 when I realized that there is not enough daylight left in my life to do everything I want to do, but I knew I could easily go back and consult when I wanted or needed. Bought the boat a few years later and enjoyed living aboard full time in the Med. Came back to US in 10/2019 for a short gig and got stuck here in 03/2020 due to covid. Finally back to boat in 10/2020 and ended up wintering in Greece under lockdown that winter. Spent spring and summer of 2021 wandering the Adriatic and put the boat in Tunisia for the winter 2021/22. Now back in the US raking more gold into the box, but will be back onboard in April. Its a great life living onboard part of the year and working a few months when I want. Its likely my last year doing this and I'll go to fully retired in the spring.

Everybody's story is different, and thats great. Ive met many others who cruise part time like I have been doing. Now I'll go full time for a few years. Then I'll buy a house somewhere in the world and ride my motorcycles again. Nothing is permanent or lasts forever.
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