Major leap of faith... Call me crazy (I don't care!)

[svmariane]

Okay - This nice woman named Vicky dropped anchor off our starboard beam some weeks back. Single. Here's her blog: Travels with Inspiration at Sea

And when she talks about boats dragging anchor here in Pago Pago? That wasn't us!

Just ONE example of a single woman out there and sailing the seas.

James

[Wingysails]

8 yrs ago I sold my house Bought a 28 foot Columbia and left Ireland behind me ( I ve been back once ) best thing I have ever done !
As me Grandfather always said " If your always staring at the wake you'll end up on the rocks lad ! "

[Wraith_Mac]

Originally Posted by MaryEllenCarter

I would question your friends' and family's sanity.

+1
Where I come from your love of the sea and what you're planning sounds normal. At the very least, not crazy.
If you were buying a house or mobile home to live would they question you?
Use the same care about quality etc. and move towards what you want.
You are still allowed to make yourself happy, I think it hasn't been regulated against yet.
Cheers and good luck,
Mac

[Thin Line]

The super condensed version.

In Oct 2011 my wife and I came to Marathon with our kids on a whim for vacation. We both worked high stress jobs, were in debt, overstretched and tired, we needed it. The trip ended up being a week of torrential non stop downpours that forced us from camping to staying on a houseboat. We spent all week talking with people around town at stores, restaurants etc. They all had one thing in common, they lived on a boat in Boot Key and lived cheaply. We had one day where the weather broke and we took a snorkel trip that ended up returning through Boot Key Harbor. We saw all the boats anchored, mooring balls and both looked at each other and said "we could do this". Two things collided right then, my desire to live simply and my fascination with sailboats. The only problem, I had never sailed a boat, or even stepped foot on a sailboat. That night while the family was sleeping I was up, mind racing and I hatched a 5 year plan to get us from 3br house, 2 cars and a mountain of debt, to living on a sailboat in Boot Key.

We returned home and within 2 weeks I had drug my wife down to the dock to look at a Catalina 22 I found on Craigslist. That night we bought the boat after spending about an hour discussing how we could use it to learn. I went out with the owner for about an hour the next day for a crash course, by the weekend the whole family was out sailing. Ok well it didn't go that smooth, but we did it. Within two months I had purchased an Endeavour 32 and less than 1 month later we found ourselves selling every single thing we owned at 2 different yard sales until it was all gone, we moved on the Endeavour 32 in February. Crunching numbers I figured this would cut us down to 3 1/2 years instead of 5. That summer I bought a 26 Balboa for a song and between the two boats, sailed almost daily. I would sail with other people if I wasn't sailing my boats. I sailed at times nobody else on the lake would even dare go out. 24 San Juan with no engine in 35kts, CHECK! Hey it wasn't my boat lol. I spent my 24 hour shifts as a Paramedic reading books on sailing, cruising, repairing, basically anything I could get my hands on.

Fast forward to Oct 2012 (exactly 1 year later) we took a trip to the Key Lime Sailing Club in Key Largo. That was a week spent sailing that none of us could deny, this was it, we had to make it happen sooner. When we got back this lead me to a crew position in November 2012 on a disastrous trip from Port Canaveral FL to Puerto Rico (hey go big or go home) this was my first offshore trip and we were taking the delivery route. We almost lost the boat, due to system failures and problems that should have been taken care of and I ended up in Abacos with no passport 4 days later. I'm a quick study and have always relied on a strong dose of common sense to get me by. It was only 4 days but 4 days full of experiences that would take a lot longer if you had common sense. A blown thru hull, no electronics or navigation, all night watches, hand steering by compass alone, only paper charts, you name it, it happened. I don't think I ever returned from that trip. I got some quotes for shipping the boat from Nashville to NC for a repower and massive amount of work and planned on going in the spring. Fate would have other plans.

One rainy winter day in the middle of December I got a knock on the cabin top, I popped my head up to see what they wanted and heard "is this boat for sale?" to which I responded "depends, are you looking to buy one?" He looked me dead in the eye and said "I'm buying this one" 30 minutes later I had a check written on the bow for 50% more than I paid for the boat. An hour later I called a friend and sold the Balboa for what I paid and by the end of the week we were going to be homeless! To shorten the story even more.. We found a Watkins 36AC in Indiantown FL and within the week we had our car packed and were on our way to FL. Christmas was spent in Indiantown and we left for Marathon 2 days later. Keep in mind I had no previous trip planning experience, and was doing this all based on common sense, what I learned on my 1 offshore trip and whole lot of reading. We arrived in Marathon about a week later, picked up our mooring ball and our 5 year plan, had been reduced to 14 months by sheer determination.

We have spent the time here sailing all over the Keys, Dry Tortugas, Marquesas, Contents etc. I learned how to work on my boat by watching, listening and helping others here in the harbor. I completely redid almost every aspect of the Watkins, electrical, plumbing, fuel system, battery bank, solar, the boat was done.. We were saving for the Bahamas and planned on leaving in February, then life threw us another curve ball and about a week ago an opportunity came knocking again. We are now the proud owners of a CSY 37 and our Watkins is now for sale.
From no boat, never sailing, and a mountain of debt to where we are today within 2 years. We both have great jobs here and are saving with plans to next fall leave for as far south as we can go on an open ended trip. But plans for this family are like the wind, likely to change quickly without notice so we will see..

In Oct 2008 (stuff always happens for us around this time of year) I was diagnosed with stage 3A cancer. I fought with everything I had and after all the chemo, sickness and self reflection, I decided to go out and live my life, this was the catalyst for our decisions. We do what we feel we are supposed to do, do not question it, and leap, we sort everything else out on the way down. We are debt free, living in the Keys, I work 3 days per week driving a boat and have an almost stress free life. I say almost because I have 2 kids Actually the kids are some of the most polite, well adjusted children you will ever meet, more people know them then me!

You have nothing to lose by going for it, if this is what you feel like you should be doing, DO NOT question it.. Jump and figure the rest out on the way down.. Good luck, and if you ever pull into Boot Key Harbor look us up

S/V Thin Line

[fjwiley1]

Thin Line you have found Paradise....looks like you are not far from Burdines (great French Fries).....after all the positive comments......I believe Wanderingloon will be joining you soon.....Marathon is a great place to be....we've been going down every summer for many years and Love it.....Life is Good.....keep Smilin........

[fjwiley1]

Wanderingloon...take a look at Thin Lines photo......that should be you and your S/V in Boot Key.....the temperature is 75 degrees with a forecast of 79 degrees today......

[weto]

WOW ! Great story Thin Line. Makes me want to quit making excuses and get my damn boat. Thanks for the inspiration.

[fjwiley1]

Weto.....One must never give up on a Dream...life is full of obstacles...but never give up....

[Thin Line]

Thanks for the kind words..

Funny you mention Burdines! That was where we ate on that first vacation and my wife thought "could you imagine what it would be like to work here?" Well she has been working there for the past 7 months and it is paradise. I interviewed today and am starting a new job Tuesday. I will be working here in Boot Key for the city marina, so if any of you are in the area say hello.

[rw58ph]

The best is to go to on the water boat shows so you can go on and compare. At most boat shows sail, motor and motor sailors are there. There are many of us that stay tied to the dock most of the time, Dock Queen. A dock queen is a boat that is tied to the dock most of the time that is well care fore and highly maintained. We been a live aboard dock queen for 17+ years as we like the live style and the water. We leave the dock couple/several times each year to go to another marina to be tied to another dock. We are both not keen on actually taking the boat out and boating as we live on the boat and use it every day.

However there is a lot more to being a long term live aboard than people think. so make sure you understand what it means and takes to be a live a board.


You not crazy just different!

[Adelie]

Wanderingloon --- Minnesota?

Is this something you feel you can pursue immediately or are there commitments you feel you must wrap up first, if so when will they be done?

What's your capital situation for this endeavor?

I assume no or minimal sailing experience.

[onecoyote]

good girl, im from michigan and used to sail a 16 ft Hobie cat around the great lakes but now am studying and saving to live aboard in the Caribbean for life. where in mich are you from?

[wanderingloon]

OMG! I started this thread in 2013 when I first opened my account here at Cruisers Forum, and never came back to discover all the WONDERFUL responses from you all! For that I dearly and most sincerely apologize! So many of you took the time to share your thoughts and words of heartfelt encouragement, and I never even saw them or acknowledged them. It’s too late tonight as I write this, to start replying to each and every one of you, but I plan to get back to you all as soon as I can.
I do want to let you all know, though, that I have since manifested my dream… It took a few more years, but I finally bought my first boat this past October!!! I am tucked into my aft cabin as I write this post!
Life is good... feeling blessed and blissful!

[JPA Cate]

Welcome back, wanderingloon, I for one, am glad to hear you did get a boat, and were tucked up comfortably therein, cozy and warm. All good.

Ann

[wanderingloon]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Welcome back, wanderingloon, I for one, am glad to hear you did get a boat, and were tucked up comfortably therein, cozy and warm. All good.

Ann

Thanks, Ann! I ended up getting a motor yacht though, not a sailboat, so not sure if I still fit in here, as it seems mostly sailing-minded people on this site.