I'm an older guy 72, and missed out on a lot of things I wanted to do in life but have not given up. On my bucket list I have a long
cruise on a
sail boat. However, time and trials of life have taken their toll. Last year I purchased a 1972
Catalina 22 swing
keel and have been sailing it and fixing it up on a long winding reservoir in North AR.
My question is am I being realistic to think at 72 I can make the Great Loop
cruise on this
boat?
I’m in pretty good shape and don’t have
health problems. I live and
work daily on my
retirement small farm,
work on the
boat,
fish and sail her for extended periods of days. I am a retired teacher and have a livable pension
income with enough
money left over to add essential
equipment and boat upgrades as I make the cruise. What I don’t have is time to wait until the boat and
equipment are perfect.
I have some
boating experience, worked on a MS river push boat as a young man just out of the Army, and shipped on freighters (before containers) as an ordinary seaman. I lived on a 23 footer while going to the U of
New Orleans. In the 80s I had a wealthy wife for a while that bought us a 30'
Hunter we lived on and cruised the northern
Gulf Coast for a couple of years. I Took a home study course from FL Maritime logged my time and got a 50 ton
license (no longer current) I have owned and sailed an O'day 23 on the Gulf
Coast and salvaged, lake sailed a holed brand X 23' swing
keel for a while.
The
current boat, a C22 is an old model with no frills. She is not a pop top. She has had some upgrades to strengthen the
rigging and
rudder. I just finish refurbishing and reinstalled the keel, and painted the bottom. She has a new keel wench, cable, and lights. I just bought her a
VHF. I know generally what other equipment I need to add (she has some), and plan on some new off shore class
sails. I have a 2008 Tohatsu
4 stroke,6 hp long shaft and a self refurbished Johnson 6 hp
2 stroke for a back up.
I have some reservations about the FL big bend to the Okeechobee crossing leg and the
Great Lakes leg from the Erie
Canal to Chicago. Reservations are mostly because I don’t have any
navigation electronics but I can plot, use
charts and have a hand held
gps. I used a
loran C based chart plotter on the
Hunter 30, but know C is no longer in operation.
I am not trying to impress anyone, don’t want to write a book, or make
history. I just don’t want to sit here like a bump on a stump until the end. I really want to make a trip but don’t want to commit suicide although I am willing to go down swinging. I would appreciate constructive
advice and guidance, but if all you can offer is
school boy smart a** sarcasm then keep it, I already got that.
Thank you for your indulgence. If you think I don’t belong on this forum just politely say so, I’ll go.
Peace and Love, James