Not today

[K.I.S.S]

Well at 58 I guess time is getting shorter and dreams sometimes just fade into the ether and if I could just get back to where the ocean is again the fog may rise on my aspirations and give me a kick along.Nope never sailed a day in my life but I have spent a fair bit of time at sea in the form of commercial fishing so I'm not totally void of knowledge but I do know if given half a chance I'd be back on her in the form of a live-aboard wannabe sailor.

So this is my introductory note awash with where I want to be and the reality of probably never getting there.I haven't seen the ocean in 7 years since we went the tree change route and I miss it so much...maybe the tide of luck will change and put me on a better course to realize my dream but for now I guess being here on CF will suffice the hunger.

G'day to you all you live a rather exceptional lifestyle.

Glenn.

[Don C L]

Well welcome here anyway, and I bet we will see you out there soon! As a commercial fisherman I am sure you know the sea well, sailing will come very naturally to you! Good luck on the dream!

[JPA Cate]

Glenn, welcome aboard CF. I hope you find a way to move towards the sea, where the boats are. Mostly yachties are pretty friendly, and you have a chance to go out for day sails.

One option, you may not have considered, and could think about would be to get a trailer sailer and tow it around to lakes for sailing. Sort of like going camping, but at least on the water.

I hope you don't have to turn loose of this dream, although life sometimes forces us to do that. You're youngish, it's still doable, but it probably won't be if you wait till you're 70. Good luck with it.

Ann, the wrinkly

[dlymn]

Welcome aboard, Glenn. We started sailing at 58 for the first time in our lives. we bought a trailer sailer and learnt the ropes for 2 years. then we bought a 38 footer in the Med and now spend 2-3 months every year sailing and love it. Cruising sailing means being tied up to a quay or at anchor for 90+% of your time on the boat. Almost 100% for a liveaboard. In the Med Sailing is really motoring and then with the sail up for a few hours or less. It's only when you take on Overnighting and sailing between continents that you will saill for a long rime. Neverthelees we thoroughly enjoy the art/near science of extracting power from sails. Life in port is somehow very different from life in the 'burbs; maybe it;s the boats, the damp ropes and salty air. Ports have their own character too. Aside from those time when you let yourself get caught in a storm, you'll love it

Learn the skills then get going,
" Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

[K.I.S.S]

Ann I've read a lot of your reply's...very down to earth and sensible I think. Quote..." You're youngish, it's still doable" yeah I can handle that attitude.Thumbs Up.


As much as I would embrace crossing oceans I'm not that nieve,I think I read here somewhere of a Japanese man that owned a flower shop that baught a boat and sailed away without much knowledge to return his wifes ash's to the family spot/plot or what ever they call it.THAT really got me churning.


I have a love for growing our own food and we all have a need for land in some way or not and my ideal would be to use some land to continue that love/need and just swing as the saying goes a couple of hundred feet from shore and learning to sail as I spend time getting use to what could be a my permanent home and source of travel.A trailer sailor would definitely be the smart way to go for the most obvious reasons(Learning to sail),I think we need a few pirates on our inland lakes.LOL.


Not to take anything away from what Don C L and dlymn said and thank you for your words of wisdom and I truly hope It does come as natural to me D C L I love the ocean with a passion...sometimes I think I would be happy with a dingy and just 1 oar.


1 thing that has always puzzled me....why don't sailors with only ice box's use Dry Ice instead of bag's of ice.I for one wouldn't want to be mopping out melted ice water.LOL.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Glenn.

[dlymn]

Apart from the cruising boat, we have a sailing dinghy back home. This is just to keep in touch with sailing and the sea. Wow, what a lot of fun; not a like like sailing a 7 tonne cruiser but exciting and fulfilling and wet! A few things I would recommend apart from reading about sailing (Arvel Gentry, Josh Slocum, Rob Knox johnston etc ) is to learn to be very practically minded. The closest to cruising on dry land is caravanning especially in a vehicle that needs maintaining and repairing. The cooking, sleeping and maintenance are not so different. It's just that it's so, well, boring. You will develop useful skills.

Personal fitness can be an issue when you stat hauling lines or walking around a new village. Practice some one pot cooking on a camp stove. This now leads to a humorous description of how to prepare to live on a sailboat that others might know about. Best of luck.

[JPA Cate]

K..I.S.S.:

Maybe one of the sailors around Sydney or Pittwater will invite you out for a sail. Stranger things have happened.........

Ann

[K.I.S.S]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

K..I.S.S.:

Maybe one of the sailors around Sydney or Pittwater will invite you out for a sail. Stranger things have happened.........

Ann

That would be something to ponder Ann but we are over 400km from Sydney and my work is mostly on call or organized the day before so it's not like I get the weekends off like normal employees do where I could set dates for such offers.

[K.I.S.S]

Thanks GordMay.


dlymn I traveled around Australia for 30 odd years and am quite versed in the camping genre and all it's imperfections/restrictions.One of the main reasons I would fit straight into living on a small spaced yacht I guess...all good advice though.Thanks.