Greetings from Portland, Maine

[MaineCub]

Greetings all;

I would like to tell you alittle bit about myself.

I am 33 and my partner is 49. We live in Portland, Maine.

As much as I love it here (even the winters are beautiful here), I dream of distant shores, maintaining a beautiful boat, meeting interesting people, eating interesting foods so on and so forth.

I am a complete newbie to sailing, having only sailed a few times. But, as we all know, a journey of 2000 miles always begins with the first step.

So I have made that mental step that this is something I am going to do. Now how to do it.....

Here is our financial situation: We have approximately $265k combined in our 401k's. Right now we own 2 properties (one duplex and one single). The rents we get from the duplex covers both mortgages.

Our goal is to continue buying multi unit properties to earn a net income of about 4k a month. Once we do that we'll sell our two properties for seed money for our sailing lifestyle.

Now onto boat selection: I think a boat is comporable to a house. It reflects who you are. For example: I would never buy a house in a development in the suburbs. It's just not me. I want a house that says, "Yes I am 110 years old, I am old and creaky but I am sure beautiful!" That's why I would love to buy a Formosa 41. I am not afraid of a challenge.

Right now I am doing a ton of reading and researching schools. As much as I would love to buy a 25footer to start out with, I don't want it to distract me from my final goal. I would appreciate any suggestions on learning that doesn't involve purchasing a boat. (ie: race clubs etc?)

Anybody who has any comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

I look forward to lots of learning..

Best,

--Dave

[NoTies]

Greetings Earthling,
With that sort of budget you could emloy a skipper. Where do I apply?

[MaineCub]

pwederell once whispered in the wind:
Greetings Earthling,
With that sort of budget you could emloy a skipper. Where do I apply?

Well.. I would argue that the cost of crusing is inversely proportional to the amount of experience a sailor has. Besides.. It would make my partner more secure in this decision if we had a little cushion.

But.. After reading THIS POST I may want to move things up! I dunno.. Im just shooting in the dark here (I feel sometimes).

Im also considering moving to Florida (as I have some family there) as the next step.

Keep them coming! I want to hear it all.. Good bad n ugly!!

[By Invitation]

Mainecub,

Welcome to the world of "to be" cruisers and sailors. I hope your dreams come true, just take it one step at a time and get out on the water as often as possible. As far as the challenge of the Formosa 41, just about any boat will work if you want it to. Start with a good strong hull and anything is possible. You do tend to do more work on the boat that you thought, and it never, ever stops. If you enjoy working with your hands and are capable of repairing stuff then you are well on your way. I have a Cheoy Lee 41 which I started working on 3 years ago - I have one year left before launch and I have done more than I had originally planned but it's the voyage not the destination that's really important. Check out what it took to get this boat on the road to recovery.
http://renegade-cruisers.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=677
Older boats are great and certainly have the charm that newer ones don't, I for one love the charm.

Hope all works out for you.

[MaineCub]

Scott;

Thanks for the link. It was great reading through your thread and the progress you have made. You're my hero!

Keep up the great work and please keep us informed!!

Best,

--Dave

[By Invitation]

Mainecub,

You're my hero!

I don't know about that, I'm just as crazy as everyone else on these boards and besides if you met me you may change your mind.

Keep the link, I update it whenever I do something worth while.

[delmarrey]

Just wanted to say Hi from the other side of the Island.

Sounds like your doing well and should enjoy the crusing life. Experience is the next step........................._/)

[CaptainK]

Welcome aboard Dave.

You've come to the right place here on the web.

This forum is the best sailing forum on the web.

And there are alot of old salts here. That would be helpful in any knowledge of sailing. At all levels of sailing that is!!

"This is where the turth is!!"

Welcome aboard.

[CaptainRic]

Dave,

Have you chartered yet? Best way to see if the cruising lifestyle fits you before you sink a bunch of time and money into it.

Ric