How stupid is this idea?

[HappyMdRSailor]

OH!

And welcome to CF!

[Hudson Force]

I did some cruising young and with minimal resources. You've been given much good advice; however, you've probably already noticed that stowing all the equipment suggested would not be easy.

You have not mentioned your starting point in the US for your year of cruising.
Starting your year far from your destination can be the reward itself, but you can also consider buying an inexpensive vessel that is already in the islands. Either buying in the Windward Islands and sailing back our leaving the boat in the islands after your year is a viable option. The trip beating to windward and the sleigh ride home are in no way similar!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by SunnySky

atoll makes a good point prior to getthing into your own boat, and findacrew.net is another option if you go that route...

+1. A good option I think. Boats are expensive and your finances are short. You dont need to own a boat to go sailing. You will waste a lot of time and money working on the boat.

Regardless of which route you choose, DO IT!

I had a sailing student in his 20's do similar to what you plan. He took some classes, bought a small boat, and cruised Mexico with friends for a few months.

The future is always uncertain and can change in the blink of an eye. Do it today, because tomorrow may not happen. Ive watched plenty wait till normal retirement age and have failing health or other issues side line their dreams...and at that stage in life there will be no second chance.

For some motivation you might read " Dove"....16 yo circumnavigation.

Take advantage of your situatution, go now, and maybe again later in life.

[jheldatksuedu]

I have a little 23 Grampian boat for sail and sale. Small but I would not hesitate to put a lot of bluewater miles on it if I didn't have a bigger boat, the price would sure be right. See my website for pics.

[akprb]

Absolutely go for it!

That being said take to opportunity to approach professionally. Clear goals for skills to learn and share. You will learn more in this year than a lifetime of reading about it :-) Enjoy every minute and WRITE.

Cautions................alcohol. Be careful is all. (Gosh I sound like a dad!)

If you see Ohana out there say hello!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by SunnySky

It's dangerous, specifically I think it is very likely you're going to have the time of your life and never be able to bring yourself to enter into the rat race that so many people end up being dragging into into day after monotonous day if you experience sailing and living aboard full-time...

...

Very real risk!

When we left to go cruising the first time in 2001, I did not anticipate how hard re-entry would be. Came back about 6 months later and tried to rejoin the rat race...I was never successful...after a couple of years of struggling half heartedly to get back up to speed, I finally fired myself and we started preparing to leave again and not make the mistake of returning. We left again in 2004 and have yet to return.

Robert Lee Graham ("Dove") struggled with similar concerns upon his return.

[doublewide]

Dittos to all the good advice above. You will undoubtedly prove once again the old addage: good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. Try not to make any really big mistakes; you will learn, as we all have, a lot of lessons about sailing and about life in general, from your smaller mistakes.
Once you have a sound boat, an EPIRB, a reliable radio, some excellent ground tackle, and proper charts you should be safe enough. You can learn a lot by asking other cruisers along the way.
Have a great cruise. We will see you in the Eastern Caribbean.
Oh, and try to go to church every Sunday. Besides being good for you, it is a SUPER way to meet the islanders.

[seasick]

I took off for a 4.5 year voyage through the South Pacific in 1973 with five of my best high school friends. We were ages 17 to 19. Best age to voyage.

Of the six of us, only one went back to school. One married the Bora Boran princess who accompanied us through much of Polynisia.

All have prospered in their chosen fields of endeavor and we all have an enduring bond that transcends everything life has thrown at us.

[icemate]

Originally Posted by 420sailor

Recently, I've been thinking about taking a year and living aboard. Ideally, I'd like to do this within the next year and a half. I know that there are a fair amount of threads with similar topics, but my question pertains mainly to age. I'm looking to spend the year sailing with a friend and we will both be 18 at time. Is this a bad idea? We both have a lot of experience racing small dinghies and have spent some time crewing on a larger (70 ft) schooner. We're looking to by a 25-30 ft boat for under $10,000. Is this realistic? We want to go towards the Caribbean and island hop after that, anchoring each night. Are there problems that we'll face because of how young we are? We don't want to dock for financial reasons, so this may help with some potential problems. Coming out of the US will we face legal issues? I know most people tend to cruise after they retire, but neither of us want to wait that long. We're looking to do it as a gap year before college, so it will only be for the year. Any thoughts would be helpful and thank you in advance!

Enjoy the trip. I sailed from Buffalo to Australia mostly solo and little to no money and had a great time. You need to be prepared for equipment failures so take some spares and tools. Other yachties are always willing to help other boaters so don't be afraid to ask. Try a captains course before you go. It will be very helpful and may save your life.

[Sinbad51]

It's sure not stupid. When we were cruising the Bahamas winter of 2014 we met 2 young gents freshout of high school from Toronto. They were cruising on a Contessa 26. We kept running across them along the way and last time we saw the, was in Georgetown in the Exumas and they were heading further. They were travelling on a pretty tight budget but having the time of their lives. Attached is a pic we took of their boat in Bimini.
Do a search of "The Knotty Buoys" on here and you can get first hand info from them.

[lesterbutch]

I think your idea is fine, as to being young think of Tanya Abby who was even younger when she circumnavigated, ALONE! I would reccomend the larger vessel for comfort. You also might want to consider a 30 -35 foot Pearson, they are good sea boats and a number of refurbished ones are available. Certainly much more heavily built than Hunter or something like that!

[FollowingCs]

Check out this YouTube channel. Wicked Salty. He goes from day 1 of looking for boats to buy.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR_...ZCu9c8kHBR7lGw

[KidSheeleen]

Go for the gusto! your of legal age. Do not posses or attempt to buy illegal drugs, booze ect. Your age group is in a targeted slot by law enforcement unfortunately.

Some islands and country will jail you and good luck getting the State Dept. to help you! Been there, done that! Was released after 6 days in a hellhole after it was determined my "drugs" were sinus pills LOL.

[Sinbad51]

Whoops sorry. Dothe search on Facebook for The Knotty Buoys, not this forum

[Cadence]

You sound like a mature 18 yr. old, have at it.