Choosing sailing over joining the rat-race...

[mikecontessa26]

I'm 33 own a Contessa 32 without a mortgage in the Med and no debts. I've spent three summers (6 months) cruising the med which has basically meant in all that time i've used all my savings up and been unable to save more as all the money is spent cruising and maintaining the boat. I have no dependants or financial responsibilities. I work winters to save money for the next summer cruise.

I'm currently saving to go off this summer with the initial plan of selling the boat so I can buy a house and do the normal stuff all my friends are doing like paying off a mortgage and working 12 months a year.

I guess i'm torn, will i regret not buying a house earlier and putting money aside or would I regret bringing the boat home early and giving up what I enjoy doing so much.

I guess there's a point I could come unstuck and it will be too late for me to start saving for my retirement etc. But how do you know when it's time to get sensible?

 

[KellysEye]

We planned to be away two years and came back after six and a half years. The reason was we had a 'been there done that feeling', if you have that come back if not...or come back if you have money issues.

 

[sam_uk]

Sail & Earn?

I'm currently liveaboard and doing a couple of days a week web development work for a UK company whilst travelling. So long as we are frugal we seem to just about be able to live on the income without eating into savings too fast.

Ever fancied becoming a qualified diesel engineer? Marine Electrician? Just a thought..

 

[mikecontessa26]

I'm currently liveaboard and doing a couple of days a week web development work for a UK company whilst travelling. So long as we are frugal we seem to just about be able to live on the income without eating into savings too fast.

Ever fancied becoming a qualified diesel engineer? Marine Electrician? Just a thought..

Thanks... My work is 3D Models of buildings for engineers but while possible technically nobody really works from home, it's all office based.

 

[Tam Lin]

Only you can make the decision and you will probably only know if it is the correct one some time after you have made it!
I did the family, house, job route and now hope to go sailing a lot more now I am retired. I don't regret it but find that things become more difficult as I get older and bits of me start to wear out. Also there is no guarantee on how long you have got! There is a lot to be said for doing it while you're young.
Good luck in whichever choice you make.

 

[7htas]

It's a nice idea, living on a boat, and it's even nicer if you can afford it. Not all of us can. When I decided 'that's what I want to do' (I'm still not a live aboard- yet) - I thought to myself, "How will I finance this life?" - A university drop out; a hater of the conformity of a 9-5 office jobs, I decided to pick a career, that would pay well, and also allow me time off. With my interests in mind, the Merchant Navy was the obvious choice for me; and with sorting out my health (I was severely overweight) and going back to college to meet the requirements, it took me over 4 years to get to where I am now! I'm a first phase 'cadet' now, being paid (not much) to become a Deck Officer in the Merchant Navy. When I'm qualified as a 3rd officer, I'll be 30. I'll be going for deep sea companies; meaning I'll be doing 3 months on, 3 months off- which ties in perfectly (or at least I think it does), with living on my own little yacht.

Pick something that allows you to do what you want to do. If that's to fall into line like the rest of your mates, then so be it! The life of laminate flooring, flat screen tv's, and a war to get the bins out on the right day awaits!

I can see why you're worried, with not bothering to own your own home. I personally have no desire to own a house at present. I'm 28; perhaps things will change as I age?

Why not get a house, and let it out, until you decide what you want to do?

Or just keep what you're doing now? Working winter, enjoying summer. It's a unique position to be in, and life is for living.

Good luck with your decisions!

 

[duncan99210]

Live for today and enjoy it. Don't get caught up in what others tell you that you 'should' be doing.

 

[BR34]

I'm 33 own a Contessa 32 without a mortgage in the Med and no debts. I've spent three summers (6 months) cruising the med which has basically meant in all that time i've used all my savings up and been unable to save more as all the money is spent cruising and maintaining the boat. I have no dependants or financial responsibilities. I work winters to save money for the next summer cruise.

I'm currently saving to go off this summer with the initial plan of selling the boat so I can buy a house and do the normal stuff all my friends are doing like paying off a mortgage and working 12 months a year.

I guess i'm torn, will i regret not buying a house earlier and putting money aside or would I regret bringing the boat home early and giving up what I enjoy doing so much.

I guess there's a point I could come unstuck and it will be too late for me to start saving for my retirement etc. But how do you know when it's time to get sensible?

This is interesting. I'm at the other end of the spectrum. Worked for years saving, acquiring assets and making babies, up until last year when my wife decided she didn't want to play that game anymore.
I now find myself 40, with amazing new partner (she's probably reading this ) and a 34ft sailboat. The plan is to go sailing forever! Hopefully be able to find work along the way fixing engines and electrics, this is what I've done for most of my working life. Sam uk mentioned this, which is encouraging. You think it viable then?

Mike, I guess it's down to what you want out of life. However, to add my 2p, I'd advise doing what's right for you, not what you think you should do because "they" (friends, society, banks, et al) tell you is "sensible".
Houses, pension, etc.....pah! I've paid thousands into pensions, company and SIPP, and I'm realising now that the whole thing is a giant Ponzi scheme.
With interest rates lower than inflation?! it's a practical joke! Houses are great if you can buy one for cash but in most parts of the UK they cost 8x (or more) the average wage. Is this sustainable???
The world is changing, I reckon. Can we take for granted the same things our parents generation did?

 

[nathanlee]

it will be too late for me to start saving for my retirement etc.

You're already doomed! Each to their own, but I've really never understood all this saving for retirement nonsense. It's like, everybody saves up, and works hard, so that they can enjoy the bit of their life where's there's almost always great limitation in dodgy joints, bad health, dependency on being nearish to a doctor or family, if indeed, that is, they even make it that far.

Enjoy it while you can. There will probably be mass famine and severe over population by the time we retire anyway.

What do you want a house for anyway? They're **** and don't do anything.

 

[capnsensible]

We have been living on a boat and doing boaty things for the last 15 years. Its neat.

 

[dunmor]

Live for today and enjoy it. Don't get caught up in what others tell you that you 'should' be doing.

+1

 

[mikecontessa26]

so nice to hear peoples varying opinions, i think it says it all that nobody has said sell the boat and buy a house.. obviously this forum will be slightly biased but we should hopefully understand each other better and the great possibilites that sailing can bring. Its like real living, you become very aware and enjoy every moment without looking forward to something in the future all the time.

I guess those who can do this and have total stability at the same time are very lucky indeed.

 

[laffinskip]

At the age of 50 another divorce hard earned money going down the drain to
lawyers,, banks,etc .One morning I thought sod it who needs this ****.
Put the business & the house up for sale,& started getting the boat ready.
I was determined to have a good couple of years before I reached old age.
8 yrs later having completed a circumnavigation,& with more experiences & adventures than I ever thought possible,I arrived back in europe,I pottered around the med for a few years then the canaries,madeira,the azores etc,staying at each for several months,finally finishing up in spain.
However the wanderlust has returned & at the age of 74 I am at present negotiating for another boat then off we go again (new wife 11yrs ago).
To earn money I would anchor off a crowded beach & sit in the cockpit with a beer,within an hour someone would pop up in a pedalo, or even swim out & before long we would have agreed a price for taking them & their friends or family out for a sail the following day,at about £20 a head they provide their own food & drink.up to 8 people.never failed anywhere in the world.
So go for it young man enjoy life its what its for.
Good sailing & good fun its great.

 

[7htas]

At the age of 50 another divorce hard earned money going down the drain to
lawyers,, banks,etc .One morning I thought sod it who needs this ****.
Put the business & the house up for sale,& started getting the boat ready.
I was determined to have a good couple of years before I reached old age.
8 yrs later having completed a circumnavigation,& with more experiences & adventures than I ever thought possible,I arrived back in europe,I pottered around the med for a few years then the canaries,madeira,the azores etc,staying at each for several months,finally finishing up in spain.
However the wanderlust has returned & at the age of 74 I am at present negotiating for another boat then off we go again (new wife 11yrs ago).
To earn money I would anchor off a crowded beach & sit in the cockpit with a beer,within an hour someone would pop up in a pedalo, or even swim out & before long we would have agreed a price for taking them & their friends or family out for a sail the following day,at about £20 a head they provide their own food & drink.up to 8 people.never failed anywhere in the world.
So go for it young man enjoy life its what its for.
Good sailing & good fun its great.

Fantastic stuff!
You're only as old as you feel! Keep on sailing sir!

 

[LittleSister]

Choosing sailing over joining the rat-race?

1) Most of those enjoying the cruising life-style are able to do so because they did the rat-race first and did quite well out of it.

2) On the other hand they were lucky enough to be doing their rat-racing in a historically rare time and place where a comfortable surplus could be accrued by many in a lifetime. That time may now have passed. (Probably there are many who can only afford the sort of boat and lifestyle they have because they bought a house (possibly rather than a boat!) at what turned out to be the right time.)

3) I would have said much the same as Nathan a few years ago, but now I'm not so sure. From the perspective of youth, old age (and 'retirement' if it still exists then) may seem almost unreally distant, but I predict you will be amazed at how fast it comes round to you. (You would think it would take 40 years to get 40 years older, and there are even convincing theories to support this notion, but, mark my words, in practice it only takes about 10!)

4) Really you are posing a false either/or. Without generous savings the 'sailing' lifestyle will include a significant element of rat-racing to make a living and get by. The'rat-race' option, on the other hand, may well include quite a lot of sailing.

Hope you manage to find the right balance for you!

 

[RogerG]

It's interesting reading this thread and seeing the different viewpoints and I am coming into it with a fairly wide viewpoint.

I am just coming up to my 66th birthday and when I was 21 had been convinced that I needed to own a house and build my fortune. I bought my first house at 21 and my first boat at 23 with my first divorce at 27. From then on, I have had 4 children and 2 more divorces, but no more boats until 8 years ago.

I have learned over those years that the more you have the more you stand to lose, particularly if you divorce. I have never saved for retirement as I have never seen the point of spending the healthiest years of your life struggling to save for the time when you are least able to enjoy it and your children are quietly waiting to inherit.

I swore after my last divorce 10 years ago that the single life was finally for me, but after renting a flat for a few months met a 'man hating' woman who loved boats and we have now been blissfully happy since then and married for 7 years. Neither of us wanted the hassle of a mortgage and we bought a 25ft motorsailer for some sea work, followed by having a 57ft steel widebeam canal boat built to live on 8 years ago. We intended to sell that in the Spring of last year to buy an ocean going ketch, but plans changed after we were offered a new residential mooring with some land for the widebeam and started refitting the motorsailer.

We have built a small video and audio production business which we run using the widebeam as a home and office, but it is a business that we could take virtually anywhere. We are currently looking at selling the Motorsailer this year to replace it with a larger ketch to head for warmer climes, but keep our widebeam as a UK base.

Retirement is not something in which I have any interest whatsoever, as my income is based around things that I would otherwise do for fun, can move with us, and as long as I can maintain a reasonable level of fitness will continue to explore life.

I should add that my children, who are all grown up with their own lives, all enthusiastically support what we do and how we live our life. My advice is to follow your dreams or you will always regret not doing so.

Roger

 

[Koeketiene]

But how do you know when it's time to get sensible?

As soon as possible.

When you're young, you're skint anyway. So, why would you want to sink what little money you have in a boat?

We got married and had kids (very) early.
The kids will leave the house over the next few years, and I will retire.
Pension's not too bad, and we'll be looking forward to enjoy the boat relatively free from financial worries for the next 20 years or so.

 

[mikecontessa26]

Sell your 32 and go back to the original 26.
Halve the running costs, and can sail anywhere the 32 can - just a little less comfort - but anythings better than the RatRace.

half the running costs! I wish, probably 10% less but a lot less comfort for someone 6'1" tall - (I know I lived in the 26 for a year)

 

[Sandyman]

Seems to me your searching for that 'spirit of adventure' rather than be caught in the rat-race forever dictated to and expected to follow societies conventions.
Work hard all your life and pay vast amounts into a system which upon your retirement rewards you with peanuts.

Only one way to go.

 

[affinite]

Some of the comments on this thread are really inspiring.

Take a look at this guys blog also.
Alex has wrestled with the same dilema as you but seems truly content now -having decided to stay on his boat