I have a silly "buy a yacht and bugger off dream"
Discussion
I did it. In 1968 I gave up motor racing, when I finally admitted I was not going to be a world champion, sold my Brabham, & bought a cruising yacht.
Sold it a year later, I couldn't handle going so slow, & bought an old Morgan Giles outright racing 40 footer. It was low, narrow, deep, very fast & very wet in a seaway. Everything you are told to avoid in a cruising yacht, & it suited me perfectly. It also had just a couple of bunks & a grog locker.
Spent a couple of years living on it, working full time, & holiday sailing, finding out what I needed, & building it in. In 1972 I took a 6 month sail from Sydney to the Whitsunday Islands in the Great barrier reef, & back, sailing about 4500 miles. I liked it more than Sydney, so did it again in 74.
When I got to Cairns I could not think of a good reason to turn around, so sailed on to New Guinea.
I then spent 8 years cruising the islands, Solomons, New Guinea, Carolinas, Gilberts, Ellis & a few others.
Basing myself in Rabaul, New Britain I found lots of plantations & logging companies needing some engineering work. I fixed generating plants, tractors, boats, bulldozers, & actually made a good living working about 4 or 5 months a year. I was not the best mechanic, but better than none.
I then developed a way of building coral fringing jetties for the copra boats, using mostly the scrap found in most villages or plantations. I made very good money, but had less time for fun.
Becoming home sick, [what a fool], I returned to Oz, & somehow got involved in the marine tourist industry again in the Whitsunday area of the reef, & spent another 8 years playing boats.
Of course I then met a lady, she started filling the place up with kids, & we returned to a more settled existence than playing with tourists boats.
Do it while you are young enough. At 34 I had enough experience, & was fit enough for all this. I could not have done it at 60.
I had the advantage of the tropics & the islands being just a thousand miles or so away, but I'm sure there are similar opportunities everywhere, go for it.
Sold it a year later, I couldn't handle going so slow, & bought an old Morgan Giles outright racing 40 footer. It was low, narrow, deep, very fast & very wet in a seaway. Everything you are told to avoid in a cruising yacht, & it suited me perfectly. It also had just a couple of bunks & a grog locker.
Spent a couple of years living on it, working full time, & holiday sailing, finding out what I needed, & building it in. In 1972 I took a 6 month sail from Sydney to the Whitsunday Islands in the Great barrier reef, & back, sailing about 4500 miles. I liked it more than Sydney, so did it again in 74.
When I got to Cairns I could not think of a good reason to turn around, so sailed on to New Guinea.
I then spent 8 years cruising the islands, Solomons, New Guinea, Carolinas, Gilberts, Ellis & a few others.
Basing myself in Rabaul, New Britain I found lots of plantations & logging companies needing some engineering work. I fixed generating plants, tractors, boats, bulldozers, & actually made a good living working about 4 or 5 months a year. I was not the best mechanic, but better than none.
I then developed a way of building coral fringing jetties for the copra boats, using mostly the scrap found in most villages or plantations. I made very good money, but had less time for fun.
Becoming home sick, [what a fool], I returned to Oz, & somehow got involved in the marine tourist industry again in the Whitsunday area of the reef, & spent another 8 years playing boats.
Of course I then met a lady, she started filling the place up with kids, & we returned to a more settled existence than playing with tourists boats.
Do it while you are young enough. At 34 I had enough experience, & was fit enough for all this. I could not have done it at 60.
I had the advantage of the tropics & the islands being just a thousand miles or so away, but I'm sure there are similar opportunities everywhere, go for it.
Know someone in their 70s who spent 2 years cruising endlessly round the world on cruise ships. Paid for by a good railway pension and renting out her house in the UK. All the sailing, cleaning and feeding are done for you. Zero stress, doctor or nurse always onboard, good socialising, posh dinners (not eating beans out of a can), and easy travel to and from most of the world's major cities. She recommended booking a cabin with a window, so you have something to look at (birds, whales, dolphins, sunsets, big waves, etc.).
Hi Yipper, I spent a bit of time on one of those big ones. HMAS Melbourne. Well it looked big, until you had to put your Sea Venom down on the damn thing.
Also did a trip from Perth, Western Australia to Sydney on Orsova. Never had such a boring 6 days in my entire life. The fact that I was 22, & ALL the ladies on the thing were about the same age as your friend probably contributed to that.
Also did a trip from Perth, Western Australia to Sydney on Orsova. Never had such a boring 6 days in my entire life. The fact that I was 22, & ALL the ladies on the thing were about the same age as your friend probably contributed to that.
For your consideration, have a look here;
http://www.cruisersforum.com/
Few people on there who circumnavigate on sub 20 ft on really limited funds, plus ideas to earn cash whilst sailing.
Go for it, this is not a rehearsal
http://www.cruisersforum.com/
Few people on there who circumnavigate on sub 20 ft on really limited funds, plus ideas to earn cash whilst sailing.
Go for it, this is not a rehearsal
Yipper said:
Know someone in their 70s who spent 2 years cruising endlessly round the world on cruise ships. Paid for by a good railway pension and renting out her house in the UK. All the sailing, cleaning and feeding are done for you. Zero stress, doctor or nurse always onboard, good socialising, posh dinners (not eating beans out of a can), and easy travel to and from most of the world's major cities. She recommended booking a cabin with a window, so you have something to look at (birds, whales, dolphins, sunsets, big waves, etc.).
Real bargains to be had on cruises if you can up sticks and go on short notice. The boat's going anyway so they would rather fill the cabins and make some cash than lose out.Hi,
I did what you are thinking of doing back in 1984 as I had had enough of the rain sold my Westerly 26' and bought a 34' Rival Hull & Deck, fitted it out and left work Nov 88 and got some small jobs in boatyards, then left in July, spent the next 5yrs sailing and working winters, sailing Summers.
Eventually sold the boat and set up another business in the Med, and lived and worked both there and Northern Spain until 5 yrs ago, there is the story somewhere on Pistonheads with some others like King Harold etc,
Do it or regret it
I was 42 when I left the UK, but had sailed all my life.
I did what you are thinking of doing back in 1984 as I had had enough of the rain sold my Westerly 26' and bought a 34' Rival Hull & Deck, fitted it out and left work Nov 88 and got some small jobs in boatyards, then left in July, spent the next 5yrs sailing and working winters, sailing Summers.
Eventually sold the boat and set up another business in the Med, and lived and worked both there and Northern Spain until 5 yrs ago, there is the story somewhere on Pistonheads with some others like King Harold etc,
Do it or regret it
I was 42 when I left the UK, but had sailed all my life.
fat80b said:
I think at 50, your finances don't suggest that sailing away is necessarily the best long term plan - as you say, how long might the money last and what would you come back to?
That said, I'd do it - we have family plans to do something similar before it is too late and I have often fantasised about buying a boat and disappearing for a few years. My personal inspiration was the "My family gap year" prog on CH4 a few years ago.
A few thoughts :
Can you not keep the flat and rent it out thereby generating some income and maintaining something to come back to? The pot sounds like enough to me to get going.
The other thing I would definitely consider in your position is to become a crew member (probably Skipper, possibly Engineer (no real experience necessary)) on a flotilla for a season. You are never too old and you'd get to spend several months on a boat in the Greek Islands. Might not be a long term plan and will never make you rich, but I'm sure it's be a world apart from where you are now. http://www.sailingholidays.com/ After a year of this, you'd be ready to either get off the water or buy one and go.......
Bob
Keeping the flat would be an option I hadn't thought of.That said, I'd do it - we have family plans to do something similar before it is too late and I have often fantasised about buying a boat and disappearing for a few years. My personal inspiration was the "My family gap year" prog on CH4 a few years ago.
A few thoughts :
Can you not keep the flat and rent it out thereby generating some income and maintaining something to come back to? The pot sounds like enough to me to get going.
The other thing I would definitely consider in your position is to become a crew member (probably Skipper, possibly Engineer (no real experience necessary)) on a flotilla for a season. You are never too old and you'd get to spend several months on a boat in the Greek Islands. Might not be a long term plan and will never make you rich, but I'm sure it's be a world apart from where you are now. http://www.sailingholidays.com/ After a year of this, you'd be ready to either get off the water or buy one and go.......
Bob
Some experience would be sensible before committing to anything major, flotilla crew might be worth looking into.
Trexthedinosaur said:
For your consideration, have a look here;
http://www.cruisersforum.com/
Few people on there who circumnavigate on sub 20 ft on really limited funds, plus ideas to earn cash whilst sailing.
Go for it, this is not a rehearsal
Well, that's going to take a few nights to plow through. Thank you, I think.http://www.cruisersforum.com/
Few people on there who circumnavigate on sub 20 ft on really limited funds, plus ideas to earn cash whilst sailing.
Go for it, this is not a rehearsal
We did this almost 2 years ago.
We haven't got very far yet for various reasons. Currently in Spain. The furthest we'd sailed before we left was Brighton to Eastbourne.
You don't need a huge boat or loads of equipment, but a regular small income would be brilliant. There are loads of people out there doing it in all sorts of boats and all budgets.
Let me know if you have any specific questions which we might be able to answer based on our limited experience so far.
The best advice we had was to just leave. You'll never be 100% ready. So long as you don't mind being damp, terrified, skint, covered in oil and only owning the clothes you're stood in, you'll love it.
We haven't got very far yet for various reasons. Currently in Spain. The furthest we'd sailed before we left was Brighton to Eastbourne.
You don't need a huge boat or loads of equipment, but a regular small income would be brilliant. There are loads of people out there doing it in all sorts of boats and all budgets.
Let me know if you have any specific questions which we might be able to answer based on our limited experience so far.
The best advice we had was to just leave. You'll never be 100% ready. So long as you don't mind being damp, terrified, skint, covered in oil and only owning the clothes you're stood in, you'll love it.
Have a look around 70k doesn't rly get you alot also make sure you get a good survey
We paid 80k on a 40ft sealine and it was a lovely boat but running cost on 2 engines mooring fees and when problems arose quickly takes away the good!
We sold it a couple of years ago and bought a 17ft speedboat instead for fun!
I think I'd be saving abit more (probably double or triple) either buy a barge and do a luxurious fitout or just a decent 50ft boat that's sea going (will be nicer to seep on)
We paid 80k on a 40ft sealine and it was a lovely boat but running cost on 2 engines mooring fees and when problems arose quickly takes away the good!
We sold it a couple of years ago and bought a 17ft speedboat instead for fun!
I think I'd be saving abit more (probably double or triple) either buy a barge and do a luxurious fitout or just a decent 50ft boat that's sea going (will be nicer to seep on)
lee_fr200 said:
Have a look around 70k doesn't rly get you alot also make sure you get a good survey
We paid 80k on a 40ft sealine and it was a lovely boat but running cost on 2 engines mooring fees and when problems arose quickly takes away the good!
We sold it a couple of years ago and bought a 17ft speedboat instead for fun!
I think I'd be saving abit more (probably double or triple) either buy a barge and do a luxurious fitout or just a decent 50ft boat that's sea going (will be nicer to seep on)
You're talking motorboats though, right?We paid 80k on a 40ft sealine and it was a lovely boat but running cost on 2 engines mooring fees and when problems arose quickly takes away the good!
We sold it a couple of years ago and bought a 17ft speedboat instead for fun!
I think I'd be saving abit more (probably double or triple) either buy a barge and do a luxurious fitout or just a decent 50ft boat that's sea going (will be nicer to seep on)
It'd be sails all the way for me - I wouldn't want anything longer than 40ft for easy shorthanded parking either.
We're thinking around 35ft should do us perfectly - was ideal when we chartered in the Med.
If you are planning on going to sea on longer passages I suggest avoiding any multihull, particularly catamarans, unless you have a lot of experience with them, & understand what you are buying very well.
Smaller racing multies, up to about 40Ft are great fun, but are not that hard to turn over. Been out to a couple of those, even in the calmer water inside the reef. These were racing, & being pushed, & would be safe if not pushed so hard. However they do not offer good accommodation, & struggle to carry all the weight of gear long distance cruising requires.
The more cruising multies have very high initial stability, & tend to put severe loads on their rigging.
When running those commercial tourist boats I was involved in a few rescue missions. I had to go out & tow in 2 dismasted trimarins, 2 dismasted cats, & one up side down cat. I also had to go fetch a couple of monos which were quite sound, but the crew weren't.
Even my little racer in the photo was OK lying a hull in a cyclone. It was in the Solomon Sea, where you don't get cyclones. Well you're not supposed to, & only a category "A", but 70 knots for 50 hours still gets a bit rough. I would not have wanted to be there in anything less seaworthy, & certainly nothing that drifted very fast.
With no sat nav. for ordinary people in 1976, my main worry was how far I may be drifting, with just a couple of hundred miles of safe lea.
I'll see if I can put something together about the voyages of the mighty Alyth. I covered 53,000 nautical miles in her, so must have done something interesting.
Smaller racing multies, up to about 40Ft are great fun, but are not that hard to turn over. Been out to a couple of those, even in the calmer water inside the reef. These were racing, & being pushed, & would be safe if not pushed so hard. However they do not offer good accommodation, & struggle to carry all the weight of gear long distance cruising requires.
The more cruising multies have very high initial stability, & tend to put severe loads on their rigging.
When running those commercial tourist boats I was involved in a few rescue missions. I had to go out & tow in 2 dismasted trimarins, 2 dismasted cats, & one up side down cat. I also had to go fetch a couple of monos which were quite sound, but the crew weren't.
Even my little racer in the photo was OK lying a hull in a cyclone. It was in the Solomon Sea, where you don't get cyclones. Well you're not supposed to, & only a category "A", but 70 knots for 50 hours still gets a bit rough. I would not have wanted to be there in anything less seaworthy, & certainly nothing that drifted very fast.
With no sat nav. for ordinary people in 1976, my main worry was how far I may be drifting, with just a couple of hundred miles of safe lea.
I'll see if I can put something together about the voyages of the mighty Alyth. I covered 53,000 nautical miles in her, so must have done something interesting.
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