Hi from Green Bay, WI

[DsquareD]

Hi,

My name is Dennis. I've been lurking on and off for years and finally decided to participate as my wife and I are getting serious about cruising.

We are in our 50's and contemplating early retirement. Our plan is to sell our house in Green Bay and build a fairly small home on our land in northern Wisconsin. Then buy a boat to live on for about 9 months a year and live at our cottage/home just in the summer.

I got bit by the sailing bug as a teen and built my first boat, an 8' pram, even made my own sail. I've had different small sailboats ever since and raced as crew on a few larger ones on Lake Michigan.

We have been spurred on by a number of things, including some friends who have been successfully living on their boat for 9 years. Our jumping off timeline is 1-3 years, depending on how things go.

So I'm here to learn and perhaps ask a few ignorant questions.

Dennis

[Hudson Force]

Dennis, Welcome to the community. There are a good number of places to safely store a boat during hurricane season among the warmer latitudes while you are enjoying the summers in Wisconsin and then you can be off to the islands in the winter,- maybe a little fall & spring too! Keep us posted of your progress!

[crazyoldboatguy]

Around here there are some ignorant questions but plenty of ignorant answers!

Just kidding - since you have been lurking you know it's a great place!

Welcome aboard.

[sailorchic34]

Welcome to CF.!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard Cheeseheads!

My brother spent several years in Green Bay and I visited him in the snow at Thanksgiving one year. Very neat place and Door County was fun to visit.

Good luck in your goal.

[matauwhi]

G'day, Mate. Welcome aboard from down under. My earlier sailing days were on the Great Lakes based out of the state to the east of you. Here's a plan you might want to consider, buy a nice liveaboard boat down in New Zealand, spend 6 months cruising the summer water here and then back to 6 months of summer cruising on the Lakes. We did it successfully for over a decade.

Send me a PM if you want to discuss further. All the best with the dream. Cheers.

[DsquareD]

Originally Posted by matauwhi

G'day, Mate. Welcome aboard from down under. My earlier sailing days were on the Great Lakes based out of the state to the east of you. Here's a plan you might want to consider, buy a nice liveaboard boat down in New Zealand, spend 6 months cruising the summer water here and then back to 6 months of summer cruising on the Lakes. We did it successfully for over a decade.

Send me a PM if you want to discuss further. All the best with the dream. Cheers.

Hi and thanks for the suggestion.

Are you thinking 2 boats then? Not sure I can afford that and a house. Plus flying back and forth could be expensive. But I like the concept.


Dennis

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[nautical62]

Hi Dennis - I grew up in Appleton, WI, and now live in Iowa. I sailed my first cruising sailboat for a summer on Lake Superior before moving it to Florida/Bahamas.

If you can find a boat you are happy with on the Great Lakes, there is something to be said about getting to know it and addressing problems while it's close to home and then taking it south when you retire. Many used midwest boats, lacking salt exposure and being stored on the hard much of the year can also be in better shape, but selection is certainly more limited than buying one in say Florida.

If you end up keeping the boat in Florida, it's a short hop to the Bahamas and points south.

[matauwhi]

G'day, Dennis. The 2nd boat was a land yacht (motorhome) back stateside. We spent a lot of time in the U.P. Also had a very good mate who sold sailboats for a living and we would deliver them on the lakes. Airfares to and fro down under are a lot cheaper than property taxes!!! Cheers.

[DsquareD]

Just thought I'd give an update.

My wife and I just bought a boat. It wasn't my first choice, but the time to make the next step is upon us. So we bought a Com-Pac 27, which should serve us well on the Great Lakes.

So anyway, the plan is coming together. This will be the longest winter ever, as the boat is already hauled out until spring. I'll probably ask a lot of stupid questions over the winter.

Next summer will be mostly in the marina as we get my wife up to speed. Then the following season I should be able to take a few months off from work to really experience what the lakes have to offer.


Dennis

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