Anyone into cruising?

[MitchSteel]

And I don't mean on a cruise ship, I mean a sail boat? Liveaboard part time, full time, cruising the world?

I still have some time before retirement and scrape some coinage, but, seriously considering doing the cruising thing in the future,after I'm done cruising the skies in a sky bus.

Any sailors out there?

[Kingair]

Nope . . .

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[MitchSteel]

Marc, I take it, you prefer the sky?

[Abdullah71601]

Like wet RV'ing?

My parents had a sailboat for years and contemplated doing a year on the boat when they retired. They never did it. The long term detachment from friends and family was the major drawback. They remained weekenders until age intervened in the maintenance and operation of the boat.

[JP Chestnut]

Cruising has another meaning...

[MitchSteel]

I can see how long term travels on a boat can be tiresome for elder folk.I can also see part time sailboat retirement adventures appealing, let's say 6 months cruising, 6 months feed the pigeons in the park:)

It has been quite a few years since I've last sailed. My Dad kept a nice 38 sloop in Georgian Bay, which I spent most summers on in high school. I'm starting to get that itch again, only Blue water this time.

[T. Ferguson]

Years ago I had an acquaintance whose family was sailing a boat around the world but it was in stages. For example, they'd leave home Newport Beach in California and sail it to and around the Hawaiian Islands. They'd leave the boat there and fly home. A few months later when the family could get together again they'd fly to Hawaii, pick up the boat and sail on to Japan and Southeast Asia or wherever, then leave the boat at that port of call and fly home again until the next stage.

I thought that was an interesting way of going about it.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by MitchSteel

I can see how long term travels on a boat can be tiresome for elder folk.I can also see part time sailboat retirement adventures appealing, let's say 6 months cruising, 6 months feed the pigeons in the park:)

It has been quite a few years since I've last sailed. My Dad kept a nice 38 sloop in Georgian Bay, which I spent most summers on in high school. I'm starting to get that itch again, only Blue water this time.

Have you thought of an extended sailing vacation to test the depth of your interest? There are packages available for various levels of crew experience and involvement. Maybe an occasional adventure is enough to satiate your desires. If not, you'll know more about where you want to be after testing the waters.

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by MitchSteel

Marc, I take it, you prefer the sky?

Did some sailing as well

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[MitchSteel]

Have you thought of an extended sailing vacation to test the depth of your interest? There are packages available for various levels of crew experience and involvement. Maybe an occasional adventure is enough to satiate your desires. If not, you'll know more about where you want to be after testing the waters.

Well, back in July '96, was my last real passage, from Parry Sound Ontario to West Cork Ireland,with 5 other guys.We delivered a sail boat for a man from Killarney. 32 days total, including all the stops and the drinking, that was so long ago, after that I thought I'd be done with something like that.

Doing it in stages would be very doable, as long as the funding is there,up on the hard for the hurricane season and back at it a few months later.I do realize, something like this requires constant passive cash flow,like rental properties.The Caribbean is peppered with awesome anchorages where you can chill out for weeks on end.Panama canal onto Hawaii, then Polinesia, Oceania.....

[Old Expat Beast]

The men in my family have been sailors for several generations, back to the early 19th century at least. I tried for the navy at age 17 but was turned down. It's still in my blood, though, and I dream of sailing around the world some day.

[MonBK]

We have a member who's seriously in to cruising.

[SemperFi]

Originally Posted by MonBK

We have a member who's seriously in to cruising.

Priceless!

[MitchSteel]

Adam, that's pretty much my story.3 generations of Master Marners, but I turned out to become an airline pilot......I'll need to fix that in due time of course, the golden handcuffs are weighing down.

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by MitchSteel

Adam, that's pretty much my story.3 generations of Master Marners, but I turned out to become an airline pilot......I'll need to fix that in due time of course, the golden handcuffs are weighing down.

Seaplane Rating . . . 😂

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[MitchSteel]

Marc, yes, been there done that.....flew twin otters on floats and skis......not the same thing

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by MitchSteel

Marc, yes, been there done that.....flew twin otters on floats and skis......not the same thing

Did my rating in Winterhaven at Jack Browns

Had tons of fun flying the Cubs on floats

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[azguy]

There are many couples on YouTube you can follow that spend months in the islands, great adventures and an exciting lifestyle if you ask me. I have a Catalina 22 (land locked at Lake Pleasant in Phoenix, AZ) and have charted a 32 and 36 ft'rs out of Long Beach a few times for weeks at Catalina and down the coast to San Diego.

My retirement plans include living around Tampa and sailing the islands during the winters and being back home before hurricane season starts.

Port Side.jpg

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[mrricks]

I've cruised extensively on the east coast up to Bay of Fundy and around the Caribbean based in Key West. Did a few trans Atlantic deliveries. Great fun, but can get tiring on long passages.

Preparation is everything, crew choice important, good physical fitness essential. Don't try it on a shoestring, something expensive always comes up. Another thing to consider is piracy and how you'll handle it.
I'd rent a boat or get on as crew on a delivery if you are experienced. Search the net for info.

My ex father in law was a pioneer pilot who started flying in the 1920s. He used to say:"There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots,
but there are no old bold pilots." Same for cruising sailors.

I've heard Hawaii is a good place to find cheaply priced boats because people start out around the world from CA and on the way, "see the Elephant",
and will never get on a boat again.

Once in the Caribbean, big storm, pitch black punctuated by lightning, sea anchor off the bow, two, one hundred foot lengths of heavy hemp line trailing from stern, mainsail reefed to the size of a thong, horizontal rain. Flash of lightning, look up and over my 60 foot mast and see an oncoming wave, (but no elephant, maybe a rhino).

I'd say the ideal size is about 36 feet, close to half displacement in keel, built for stability, not so much for speed. Any longer and problems grow geometrically.

[vman]

Yes sir! Just got bitten by the hobby and loving it. CA-Hawai 2019!

[MitchSteel]

Good to see fellas.

Been looking at a few production monohulls, 38-44.So much to see.

Hallberg-Rassy sure makes me drool.

[mrricks]

Hinckley are top US yachts.
Cruise around this site.

http://www.hinckleyyachts.com/Sailboats/Default.php

http://www.hinckleyyachts.com/pdfs/H...l-Brochure.pdf

I was in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) some years ago and met an American in the port of Trincomalee. He had sailed from CA, took him 5 years to get there.
I crewed for him to Bombay, for some refitting, then on to Aden, Yemen, where I could get a cheap flight back to Bombay. He was happy for the help.
He was sailing a Westsail, purpose built cruisers built in Costa Mesa, CA, but out of business now.

38-44 Ft? You're not going solo I assume

I recommend reading "Sailing alone around the world " by Joshua Slocom. 19th sailor who made first solo circumnavigation in the late 1800s. A must read classic.

Knowledge of celestrial navigation is a good skill because when a sextant gets wet, it still works. Electronics, not so much.
A marine environment is death to electronics, especially in the tropics.


l

[MitchSteel]

Great, thanks, I'll have a lookie.

Deffinitely not solo, not planning on talking to Santhiago:)
The wife isn't keen on ocean passages, she just wants to island hop and drink her face off,which is fine by me.Im quite ok with the prolonged bobbing around when seasons call for it.Most likely it'll up on the hard on the off season, so we can summer back in Canada.To keep medical benefits, we'll have to be back for more than half the year.

I've been out of sailing for a while, tech sure has changed, nav,materials.....so much new.When we did the Atlantic passage 20 years ago, all we had was 3 handheld Garmins, an old vhf,charts and a wind vane which broke on day 4, we rigged it together with zap straps, but that worked for a day or so....hand steering all the way.

[Wingman244]

I love to sail. But I could never go cruising. Day sailing is like taking my Porsche out for a drive in the country. Give me a fast, light sailboat and a warm stiff breeze and I am happy. Bad weather? Time to hit the dock and go home. Cruising is like loading up the Winnabego to drive across the country. Sailing a fully loaded loaded cruising boat in no way would seem to be fun to me. Two very different things.

Currently boatless in Seattle, but I have owned a J/29 and a Corsair F-31R. The multihull was loads of fun - top speed 24 knots on the GPS.

[HogwldFLTR]

Currently just a couple of Hobie cats. I'd love something of the 30 ft. variety to putter about in.

My daughter's SO, Travis, and me, on the not so open seas of Merrimac River one late October. Also fwiw, I truly prefer wind powered boats to enginer powered ones. The sails require use of the senses unlike anything else I've ever experienced.

[THC]

only if Ginger and Mary Ann were aboard