Hope to be cruising soon

[LSchell]

Hi there. My husband and I have recently decided that cruising is the lifestyle change we are aiming for. We are still in the research mode and would appreciate any info and hints. We currently live in Northern Ontario Canada. Thanks!

[SailsWithFists]

In order to help, much more information needs to be provided:

1. Power or sail
2. Boats that interest you now
3. Experience (boating, navigation, mechanical, etc.)
4. Budget
5. Expected cruising area
6. Short or long term
7. Full time or part time
8. Other needs/wants/desires

This is just a starting point.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by LSchell

Hi there. My husband and I have recently decided that cruising is the lifestyle change we are aiming for. We are still in the research mode and would appreciate any info and hints. We currently live in Northern Ontario Canada. Thanks!

Welcome LSchell. My partner and I left Thunder Bay a few years ago for a full-time cruising lifestyle. We live on our boat about seven months of the year (b/c we’re still in Canada), and do other things for the remaining.

There’s a wealth of knowledge here on CF. You’ll get the most useful responses if you ask focused questions, providing all the necessary background.

Without knowing anything about you I’d say the most important thing to do right now is to get a cruising boat and start living the lifestyle as best you can. Learn to live and cruise well before you make the big lifestyle change.

For me and mine that meant a decade of extended journeys on the upper Great Lakes. Each summer we’d go off for a minimum of a month, sometimes up to three months. This allowed us to gain some experience, and also confirm the lifestyle is what we both wanted.

[LSchell]

We currently own a 32 ft Doral and cruise Georgian Bay and Lake Huron all summer. Our goal is to upgrade a bit bigger as we hope to live aboard and just travel the south for a few years. We are currently building up our finaces to afford this a bit easier. We are cutting back now on our expenses and learning to live with minimum luxuries.

[SSgtPitt]

Greetings LSchell, we are moving aboard in Jan ‘18. Two years ago we’d never even been on a sailboat. Today we own one and are moving aboard in January ‘18.
We need to keep working til the boat is paid off and we’ve got enough in savings to cruise for a couple of years. We’re hoping to not have to do rice and beans the whole time.
Good luck, hope to see you out there.

[LSchell]

We are looking forward to it!

[chuckr]

Gosh - assume you are going sail - not sure what to tell you - We never ever intended to do what we have done - we set out small with the only goal of reaching the Bahamas and getting back without sinking the boat or kill ourselves or each other.
well that was 10 years ago and many thousands of miles, a 2 handed ocean crossing and lots more - things just got out of hand


We have people along the way who told us they are sailing around the world and we find them later parked in some cove or marina never to move on - it was not what they expected -


There are days out here that we wish we were on terra firma hiding under a bed - it is not what you read in the glossy mags


So our suggestion would be take one step at a time - and take your time and enjoy and be open to all you see and eat and hear and people you meet - don't make value judgements and accept what you see - and have fun


OH WATCH THE WEATHER