New to sailing, going full time in 4 years.

[patagoniadave]

tldr: super noob, never ever, going full time in 4 years, bought a practice boat to learn on. Thank you for all your help.

Good morning, my name is David Martin. I am about to turn 45, I live in San Carlos Sonora Mexico, and I am a project manager at an architecture firm in Massachusetts. Happily a bachelor with two dogs and no kids.

I bought a water front condo that I will have payed off in just under 4 years. The life plan is to go full time on a boat, and rent the condo out for income. Probably change my work up to more of a consulting roll.

Up until about 3 weeks ago, I could honestly say that I had never been on a sailboat. I have still never been under sail. Last night was my first night sleeping on one. I have come to find out during my research shopping for a boat locally, and by reading posts on this forum, that this scenario offends or irritates some people. I am sorry if you are one of the ones offended. I am still going through with the plan.

I did somethign similar about 8 years ago. Bought a large fifth wheel with no prior experince. Spent a year getting up to speed, and then traveled the hemisphere full time for 5 years, while working full time. Kept making sketches of rv's on barges and boats for some reason.

I realize that sailing is more complicated than hauling heavy (except in Wyoming, then it is about the same). To that end, I am giving myself 4 years to learn. I bought a 1983 34' Irwin (Citation I think). I will moor her outside my condo in a protected bay with other moored boats. I will sleep on her every night, and spend the weekends. I have an instructor lined up for lessons, and a growing library. When the instructor clears me, I will start sailing on the weekends, learning in the "relative" safety of the Sea of Cortez.

I figure most of my questions have already been asked and answered multiple times, so I am just going to lurk and read. I appreciate everyones willingness to share information and experiences. If anyone is in San Carlos and needs help with boat projects (or access to a shower and laundry), I will gladly volunteer manual labor, because I think it is a good learning tool for me.

[jeanathon]

Welcome and good luck.

[Tellie]

Go for it. It's your life and dream. Everyone here was new to sailing at one time. They have all made the same mistakes. Some do get offended when they remember they were in the (Pardon the pun) same boat. Ask away and ignore the dirty dozen every forum has and welcome to the Cruisers forum. The more the merrier.

[gamayun]

Welcome to the wonderful world of sailing! There will always be someone offended at something you do, so let those just roll off your back and you'll be a happier person with your time on CF. It sounds like you have a sound plan and are approaching it responsibly and carefully. What more can be said about that? Good on you. Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions. Have fun!!

[patagoniadave]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Welcome to the wonderful world of sailing! There will always be someone offended at something you do, so let those just roll off your back and you'll be a happier person with your time on CF. It sounds like you have a sound plan and are approaching it responsibly and carefully. What more can be said about that? Good on you. Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions. Have fun!!

Thank you! I am very happy, and having a blast with this new chapter in my life. I suppose there is a chance that I am experiencing something similar to NRE (New Relationship Energy), and am minimizing red flags, but such is the life of humans. At least it will be a long engagement, and I will have time to walk away before tying the proverbial knot.

[pjShap]

Since you haven't started cruising yet, you might want to set aside some time for that once you get comfortable. Instead of sleeping on the mooring, move around for a week or so, and sleep at anchor. Gives you a different perspective. I do software consulting. The first summer I spent cruising I thought I would spend some days at anchor just working, not sailing. The first time I sat down to work, I quit after a few hours and went sailing. I realized I didn't have a boat because I wanted to sit on it and work. Since then, I only do time-critical work, like an essential new feature or bug fix, and even that may have to wait a week or two. The rest can wait until I'm not sailing. I'm lucky that my primary client is understanding.

[patagoniadave]

Originally Posted by pjShap

Since you haven't started cruising yet, you might want to set aside some time for that once you get comfortable. Instead of sleeping on the mooring, move around for a week or so, and sleep at anchor. Gives you a different perspective. I do software consulting. The first summer I spent cruising I thought I would spend some days at anchor just working, not sailing. The first time I sat down to work, I quit after a few hours and went sailing. I realized I didn't have a boat because I wanted to sit on it and work. Since then, I only do time-critical work, like an essential new feature or bug fix, and even that may have to wait a week or two. The rest can wait until I'm not sailing. I'm lucky that my primary client is understanding.

Sorry, my terminology is not up to snuff yet (I need a vocabulary test). By mooring, I meant at anchor, not a slip. As soon as my instructor clears me, I intend to do weekend cruising around here. I will probably re-structure my work week to have 3 day weekends.

As far as working on the boat, I am not there yet. It is a future consideration, I have too many other things to figure out first. My desk now has three monitors, and I would need Air conditioning to comfortably work on the boat, so I will keep the office in the condo, and just kayak back and forth. Been 10 years since I had a commute!