Why do you sail?

[Ocean Phoenix]

The water is all around you, your boat is swaying gently with the waves and you can feel your whole body at peace. We know this feeling because we live on a sailboat or we are striving to live on one. BUT…


We have all been there…talking with friends, with our family and someone says, why in the world are you going to live on a boat. They are confused and appalled, they can not understand why. They try to talk you out of it, some are worried that you are going to sink, most of them have never been on a boat.


What makes someone leave everything we have known as comfort for so long, too sell everything in our 2, 3, or 4 bedroom homes and set off to wander the never ending blue waters.


Some sailors are born into this life, it is a cherished gift passed one to another, the passion and respect for the water. Others are introduced at some point in their lives to the joys that water can bring.


Regardless of your start, we all become boat owners and some set off for uncharted waters. The one question others all have in common is WHY? Why do you sail? For those who do not sail or dislike the water they have a hard time with this, they cannot understand the appeal that it holds for us.


So, for each of you reading this…Why DO you sail? Is it the lust for adventure? Maybe you wanted to try something new and you got hooked. Sailing can have a very social aspect to it, but you can also enjoy a life of solitude if that is your fancy, and sometimes right beside each other. Do you enjoy people or maybe you want to escape them? Do you cherish the sense of freedom? What made you choose this lifestyle?


Take a moment, if you could please, and hit the comment button and tell us all Why do you Sail?

[picklesandjesse]

Freedom, lack of bureaucracy ( mostly ). really great times sometimes, some scary times that you survive. meeting people. Generally a life of extremes..... not boring. good exercise, helps to have a sense of humor and a bit crazy, never ending learning experience. Must be a lot more. I need a sleep !!!!

[Fore and Aft]

Good question and hard to answer.
I suppose it is an activity the whole family can do together or for us maybe it is camping without the hassle of packing up the tent at the end of the weekend.
You have got me thinking, maybe it is just the fact I like spending money, I mean what else do normal people spend their spare cash on?
Who knows, but whatever the reason it is always fun to be on the water even if some days the family might not agree with my version of fun.
Cheers

[Pelagic]

To harness something I cannot see, to reach a destination where I've never been.

[chris mac]

Because that is when the world makes sense

[SURV69]

I sail(at least initially), for the same reason I rode a motorcycle .... to save money and fuel.

I hate wasting fuel and I hate wasting money ..... when there's another way to do something/anything in a more ecological manner and cheaper(as a bonus), I'm all eyes and ears.

I bought my first sailing boat in 1996 .... A Venture(McGregor) 25' and told my wife I didn't want to get involved with the amount of gas a powerboat requires.

I must've, been right, cause I'm still on a sailboat(Bristol 29), and living on it 12 months a years in Ohio.

If I were super rich I'd still have the same attitude .... I used to be a bark-eater .... a naturalist.

[44'cruisingcat]

I dunno, I just like it.

[daletournier]

Sailing or cruising? I had a great 26nm sail yesterday that I fully enjoyed, playing with the boat trying to pinch a little more out of her, making sure I kept ahead of the charter cat trying to catch me BUT that's a rarity, I cruise and sailing happens to be my main form of propulsion, I don't do it for the sailing.

Big question, and so many reasons, but the main reason for me is "the creeping death of sameness" that day to day normal life offers, how many lawns can one mow?

A comfortable existence of hoarding more crap just doesn't do it for me. When Saturday morning at Bunnings (home depot) is the highlight of one's week, you know your in trouble! I look at my life as a book, and I want to write as many chapters as possible, each new place, each new person, each new problem adds to my life, currently writing Seychelles chapter.

The busyness of doing irrelevant stupid little things that dwindled my days away at home prior to cruising didn't seem like living to me, one year blurred into another,

If I died tommorow I feel like Iived more in the last eight years than most of my home bound friends have lived or will live in their lifetimes, even the not so good experiences add color to my life, it's all adventure.

Sailboats are designed to move, cross oceans and go places, they teleport you to new experiences!!! IMHO.

[zeehag]

because i CAN.


and have since i was 7 yrs old.

[thomm225]

I think many sail because they are getting high without realizing it.

The high is from the sun.

This also happens to folks that garden, cycle or run long distances, and various others that get outdoors for hours on end when the sun is out; hikers, mountain climbers, kayakers, etc

For some, the sailing part can get quite boring and slow but the high, at least on sunny days, is always there

[conachair]

Why do you sail?
Same as all the other full time cruisers I know, to get somewhere else

Why live on a boat - yet to find a better way to live

[dwedeking2]

I don't enjoy traditional travel. Going somewhere for a week or two doesn't do it for me. I like to go somewhere and stay months and years before moving on.

Its expensive to move everything or do the sell/rebuy thing all the time to relocate. In 2008 I was looking at rising fuel costs and realized that sailboats were a solution to being able to move frequently. I also liked the fact that solar and things like watermakers brought a level of self sufficiency.

I didn't learn to sail until 2014. I'm really not into racing. I wouldn't go out of my way to find a sailing dinghy. But I found I like ocean open water sailing. I just did a 6 day sail from Ft Myers to Jacksonville and felt totally at peace.

[Mike OReilly]

CLAFC: Creativity, Learning, Adventure, Freedom & Cessation

[Pegu Club]

We sail because of a range of reasons. We like being out of doors, adventure, it is an endless learning process, a sense of freedom , it's really a cool thing to do, and relatively cheap means of travel. It is old school when it comes right down to it, and I like that. As was said above, how many times do you want to cut the lawn... Owning a house is very expensive proposition, money I would much rather use to explore the world I live on. I could go on but that would bore all of you to tears

Fair winds,

[knotstogo]

I sail because it is fun. I enjoy the motion of the boat and the invisible force of the wind. I love the sounds and smells and cold unexpected splashes upon my face. I like the fact that the surface that buoys us never really looks the same. I get a similar feeling watching clouds go by or the tree canopy above my woodland walks. How many times can I gaze upon something so familiar and yet it always looks different?

It isn't always fun because there are times when I'm preoccupied by some intrusive thought or prevailing conditions don't match my expectations, but that's just life. I always look forward to my next day in the forest, air, or sea.