Full or part time?

[boatmike]

Having sailed extensively worldwide but never lived permanently on my own boat for more than 3 months at a time, I would be interested to hear opinions regarding which way to go.
My natural inclination is to follow the "superyachts" who can spend the summer in the Med and the Winter in the Caribbean but I have to come to the recognition that in my previous life on superyachts (motor vessels mainly of 40m OAL upwards) this could be done easily at 15-20 knots when passage making and I am now down to 6 knots if I am lucky. The danger is I will spend most of the time going backwards and forwards across the pond and have little time to smell the roses..... I also remember that in most cases we worked hard to get the boat in the right place at the right time for the owner who flew out to meet us on an aeroplane!

Much (but not all) of the experience on this site seems to be centred on the Med. At 61 years of age this suits me OK in the summer and I am heartily looking forward to sitting in the Greek islands drinking Ouzo and dangling my feet in the water.... Way to go!
However come November/December it becomes a question of survival until April next year. You could argue +/- a month or so either way I guess.

I can afford to keep my house on the south coast and come back here to the cold wet dark 'orrible winter (which seems silly). My kids will be in NZ, France, Africa so no ties there and my friends mostly sail so I am sure to get lots of visitors wherever I am.

I could go to Cyprus, Malta, Tunisia and survive overwinter on the boat (boring?).....
Or I could buy a house somewhere warm (Canaries?) to return to in the winter....
Question folks: If you had boat, crew, + sufficient equity to move wherever you like but were not rich. (I am not!) How many would livaboard permanently, how many part time going home in the winter, and if you had the choice, where to?



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[cynthia]

Part time suits us - 6 months on the boat (usually in two 'lumps', a house in SW France and holidays in the UK for the festivities. When we're on the boat we never want to set off back for the house. When we're at the house, we're not sure we want to go back to the boat just yet. Seems we enjoy both situations to the full. The kids, family and friends, come visit us lots. We see more of them than if we lived in the UK - might be a lot to do with the sunshine!

Do whatever seems right for you, and enjoy yourselves.

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[boatmike]

Thanks Cynthia!
Had thought seriously about France. Language, culture, lifestyle much more me than Spain or (unfortunately) the yob culture that is taking over in the UK. Where are you exactly? I have friends/family near Lyon and my son (geologist and world girdling explorer) is shortly marrying a Mongolian beauty in New Zealand and moving to Toulouse. Or at least thats the plan at the moment! What a cosmopolitan world we live in. Great isn't it! Where do you keep your boat?
Mike

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[catmandoo]

I think it is a problem that faces all of us who are over 60 . Die of boredom , die of alcohol poisoning or die doing something interesting or life satisfying . But we all reach the same end

With the last option you have only one choice

Do volunter work in some place where you previous talents could be used to help others . help aids victims in Africa , help disadvantaged children.

If you cant face that then you go for self satisfaction but this is only momentary as you are stil only filling up time . You will still feel bored

Who was it said " He spent all his time passing time and in the end time got him"

I agree with other posters that sailing between ports at 6 knots for a couple of days is boring and you only get your kicks when you reach a new place but ultimately this wears out and you must move on ; and on and on until you have covered the whole Med Then what then .????

So really I think you should become a missionary in Africa or South America . it will be hard but not boring . You will probably die of some disgusting disease but at least you would have tried to leave your mark .

On the other hand you could stay in the UK and watch TV every day starting with Kilroy Silk or the like every morning at 9 am and and end your days dribbling into your soup in a nursing home any way which ever way you go

may be its who you meet on the way that counts

cheers its your decision

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[robind]

Sh*t this isnt a rehearsal this is life!! get on with it! stop posting around and get on the high seas. Get bored in the sun for christs sake (sorry please substitute christ for the name of your particular religion head) I wish I had the B*lls to do it. )))
Regards
Rob

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[HenryB]

Hi Mike,

I'm still working but am self employed so manage to get about 5 months in the Med between April and November and work my socks off in the UK for the rest of the time.

I haven't met any cruisers who do the SuperYacht thing and travel great distances to follow the sun. I would say that about 70% that I meet settle down in a marina for the winter months, going to the warmer parts of the Med - Tunisia, Crete, Malta, Cyprus and SE Turkey. (Though there isn't much room in Cyprus these days).
Of the 30%, most return home, and for about 10% that's in Spain or Cyprus.
Personally, I wouldn't like to spend 4 months or so in a marina but it seems to suit some. If you are living aboard all the time then there are a fair number of safe anchorages which aren't too remote in Greece and Turkey and the weather can be very pleasant.


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[MedMan]

There is no answer other than your own. For every ten boats out here, there are twelve ways of doing it!

No-one, I would venture, actually lives on their boat 365 days (366 this year) a year, year in, year out. Even the most ardent live-aboards are likely to return to their Home Country from time to time to attend a wedding or funeral or some other Rite of Passage. Most of us do rather more than that. Family ties are the most obvious pull but there are other reasons too: escape from the heat and crowds in July and August; a need to dig the garden or paint the house; a need to live a more stable life for a while; a need to visit the family doctor; a need to be in one's own country speaking one's own language; etc etc etc.

We tend to return to the UK in the winter despite the bad weather so that we can maximize our time sailing. However, good friends of ours over-winter aboard in one of the warmer spots of the Med (Malta last year, Almerimar this year) and return to the UK for the Autumn. If you choose your spot carefully you will certainly not be bored.

Though his post is written rather cynically, catmandoo raises a valid point: is 365-day cruising something you can handle or do you need something more in your life? You must answer that for yourself, but don't expect the answer to stay the same year after year!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

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[boatmike]

Thanks for that Medman. I am coming to understand that "livaboard" on this site is indeed a generic term that covers a multitude of practices (and attitudes) it seems.
It seems that the "summer in the med come home to the UK for winter" and maybe other times as well in between, prevails with only a minority overwintering on their boats.
I tend to think that is what I will do but intend to visit all my old haunts in Brittany, Southern Ireland and the West Country one more time first departing May and returning to the Solent in November. Then refit for departure to the Med in May 2005....
Then I will sell up in the UK and overwinter somewhere warm like Tenerife rather than here as I don't have the ties many of you have here anyway. I might be persuaded to S.France but it's still too cold really........
Don't think having worked me nuts off for 40 years I feel that unselfish that I would dedicate my life to saving Africa...... Bob Geldof I ain't ! But then we are all different. I for one never bore of sailing....just sitting still !
Look forward to meeting up en-route some time.
Thanks again for the input.



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[boatmike]

Thanks for that. Exactly what I was looking for... A view on who does what. Also see my reply to Medman.
Cheers

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[boatmike]

Er well yes... all contributions gratefully recieved. Balls aside I dont think I will depart in January though........

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[boatmike]

In due consideration of your interesting reply I think alcohol poisoning sounds good. Back to dangling feet in water and drinking Ouzo then.....
I will leave you to save Africa on your own.......
Thanks anyway!

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[tcm]

Re: 6 knots

If you could pick the time (not now) then i would follow the superyachts between med and carib. Yes, they work hard to get to the right spot on the right day, but without those pressure 6 knots will cover 3000nm in erm 500 hours which is twentyish days. This essentiallly means 2 months coverin the ground each year, and five months in the med and 5 months in the carib. I probably wouldn't do this all the time but i would do it for a year anyway.

Anyway, I must say that this is a better class of problem than most people have!

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[boatmike]

Re: 6 knots

Oh yes! It has to be done eventually but if one considers a good crossing from the Canaries to be 2 months + realistically another month to get down to there it's 3 months not 2. Coming back the northern route might take longer to get back to Gib so it ain't a yearly commute! My feeling is after getting fed up pottering around the Med (2-3 years?) potter round the Caribbean. Only problem year round there is the hurricane season but thats another story......
Yeah! Agree....nice problem to have though... Beats being a missionary in Africa or freezing here......

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[cynthia]

'Cos the answer is long and boring - I've sent a p.m. Don't see why everyone else should suffer the details!

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[spark]

I've just been on holiday to Morocco and if you're looking for somewhere warm, cheap and French speaking to spend the winter I'd consider buying a house on the Moroccan coast. Essaouria is a great town within easy distance of cheap flights at Marrakesh airport. Lots of other smaller towns to the south. Most of the Moroccans that I met were very easy going and friendly.

Another place that I visited a few years ago was Cape Verde. There were a few European yachts wintering in Mindelo on Sao Vicente, which is a bit more of an adventure than Morocco but dirt cheap and less of a trog to and from the Med than the Caribbean. The trip down the Moroccan/Senegalese coast would be interesting in itself.


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[ROANNA]

Having spent the last three years getting to the Greek Islands via Biscay (three months per year roughly in 4 week stints), I have got fed up with the long wait in cold depressing England to restart cruising in the spring. My partner doesn't like much more than 5-6 weeks on board before she needs to do some land based activities and see the kids etc. We hope we have found a good solution by buying a place in Cyprus. This means we can cruise the eastern Med most times of the year, with the benefit of a permanent berth nearby as well. The kids can be flown over, and If my other half wants to do more land things than I do, I can always go to the marina for a spot of boat maintenance. I guess if we really get wealthy (must remember to buy lotto ticket) we could buy place in the Caribbean as well, with a second boat in a local marina - possibly a catamaran as I've always fancied trying one. Now thats what I would call a jetset lifestyle!


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[boatmike]

Yeah! Dream on......!
You seem to have a good compromise there already though my friend. I know Cyprus fairly well as a cousin was stationed at Acrotiri and we used to visit regularly. I would be interested to know what property prices and Marina charges are like there as it is one of the places on my list. Which marina do you use as a base? What's the weather like in January? Always been there in the summer.
As an aside I know the Cromarty very well. Had a hand in the mechanical systems in the early days. Nice little motor sailer that does (unlike some) perform reasonably under sail I believe. Not for me though as I am spoilt by the space and stability of the cat now and can't stand rolling about at anchor!
Will send you a PM also. If you ever want to try a sail on a cat let me know....


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