When is it time and How DO You Know

[daletournier]

Life rewards action. Some make decisions quickly and jump on in, some need all the lights to be green before they go..........they'll never go because the lights are never all green.

How do you know when to pull the trigger? desire ,if theres enough then you'll just do it.

[AKA-None]

If you want a taste of the downsides of cruising then find a way to get on a long ocean race. There are no weather windows you take what comes. Just as if you were cruising and the weather turned bad.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

If you want a taste of the downsides of cruising then find a way to get on a long ocean race. There are no weather windows you take what comes. Just as if you were cruising and the weather turned bad.

Umm... there are a few differences... just try asking the skipper of your putative racing yacht to heave to so you can cook dinner and get some rest!

There are so many differences between racing and cruising that, other than some sea time and miles, the long ocean race does little to prepare one for the realities of cruising.

Jim

[AKA-None]

I meant the part where you have to put up with what is thrown at you. As opposed to a charter where everything is more idealistic.

[C.Karo]

Might help to sit and watch some YouTube.
Search for: GonewiththeWynns

[BigNut]

Every time you ask yourself the question, you make it less likely you will go.
We made the jump last year. We sold the house and almost EVERYTHING in Canada (June 2017) then moved to Florida, bought the boat end October, learned how to sail (yup, 101, 103, 104, 114), put the boat in service dock, then at private dock, left for Bimini end Feb 2018.
Now, we are in Curaçao, waiting to leave on the Suzie Too rally.

WE STILL DON’T KNOW!! (Not a joke).

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Traumagas

Ok guys
My wife and I are 9-5ers on the daily grind....

When you refer to your day to day life as a grind it's time to go...

If you can afford it...

[gonesail]

you spend half your time on Cruisers Forum and the rest of it browsing Yachtworld.

[sailor1026]

@Traumagas You don't say how much experience you have. Time on the water will teach you if you're able to make it through the challenging times so you can enjoy the delightful times. Charter a boat of the type you'd like (doesn't have to be the same model) and take notes (You say "Type A" so you know how to take notes. ;-) regarding what you like and dislike. Do some charters in waters that might be somewhat (but not too) challenging. You'll soon learn if you're both up to it.

You don't say how good you are at self sufficiency and fixing things. Things break on boats and you have to be prepared to handle them. If you're not adept at fixing things, then chartering may be the best option. If you want to know what can go wrong on a Leopard, look at our blog svlux.blogspot.com 2005 L40 and/or watch the YouTube channel "Gone with the Wynns" (200X L43).

We are not full time cruisers. We've done several long-ish trips to the Bahamas and on the Atlantic ICW. We come back to family and friends. It's an alternative that works for us. The Commuter Cruiser is another alternative - cruising half time.

Finally, there are often two fears that counter each other:
* Fear of the commitment to leave.
* Fear of not taking the opportunity to leave.
Determine what you need to do to overcome the fear of leaving. What safety net do you need and how much does it cost? This is why many posters say that you'll know when it's time.

[Lepke]

You need ocean time in good and bad weather. Most cruisers that quit seem to be people that can't take the constant boat movement. The harder life style is usually number 2. Lease, do a long coastal cruise.

If you can get past those two big reasons for quitting, the rewards are enormous. The perfect days and the good days make the bad days bearable.

[ClubClaudia]

We are in the compromise phase! Still making sure the sailing way of life is for BOTH of us. My hubby turned 50 and bought a 55’ sailboat. We sail 6 months in Europe and he works for 6 months at home so I can be with my friends, plants, family and pool. I love being on the boat, entertaining and swimming in the beautiful water, but home is where your heart is and you feel most happy!

[JPA Cate]

Everybody's different.

For me, our boat IS my home. I have none other at the present time. It is both the base for lots of fun happenings, but also where my "love sponge" gets full again, a place to withdraw from the hurley burley of modern life.

Ann

[drapem1]

Recommend you check out SV Happy Together on you tube. they have mastered the high cruising life on a Leopard 48.

[LargeMarge]

We pulled the trigger back in 2003.

My Very Significant Other got sick. We decided we needed to spend every moment from then on... together.

No regrets.

[Ex-Calif]

Didn't check it out but my guess is that it is hard to be unhappy on a 48 foot Leopard - LOL...

That's like the McMansion of cruising. Nothing wrong with it but out of reach for a lot of folks.

Anything less than 42 feet or so (mono) is a lifestyle one has to "commit" to. The space constraints and so on start to become "vastly" different than living on land.

I can see why lots of ladies, and men too, would not want to trade a 2500 sq foot house in the burbs for a 36 foot mono...