How many does this apply to
- Thread starter Madhatter
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Sandyman
Well-Known Member
Hello Chrissie hope all's well !! with you now. Hardly seems possible that next week it will be a year since we left Gosport.
Just don't stop dreaming and with determination you'll get there just as we did.
Our regards pse to Simon, Julian & Cathy
RichardS
N/A
I reckon that you have to plan for the dream but be prepared to settle graciously for less if a "force majeure" comes along.
At the moment we are just about "on plan" for several months in the Med next year, switching to several months in the UK by 2016, and perhaps the grand crossing in 2017 (the Atlantic, not the Styx!).
However, there have been two occasions in the last 7 years when it looked like "the plan" would have to be abandoned and SWMBO expected me to fall into a pit of despair (yes, you're right, it's probably more my plan than it is hers but she is up for it as well!). However, my reaction was that these things happen and we have to adapt. Luckily, things have turned out better than expected and we are back "on plan" again.
I think both Darwin and the Great Faiths have something to say about adapting to changing circumstances!
Richard
At the moment we are just about "on plan" for several months in the Med next year, switching to several months in the UK by 2016, and perhaps the grand crossing in 2017 (the Atlantic, not the Styx!).
However, there have been two occasions in the last 7 years when it looked like "the plan" would have to be abandoned and SWMBO expected me to fall into a pit of despair (yes, you're right, it's probably more my plan than it is hers but she is up for it as well!). However, my reaction was that these things happen and we have to adapt. Luckily, things have turned out better than expected and we are back "on plan" again.
I think both Darwin and the Great Faiths have something to say about adapting to changing circumstances!
Richard
phanakapan
Well-Known Member
We bought a very cheap but strong ( albeit very 'homebuilt' and unglamorous) boat and escaped for 3 years or so - parents still in reasonable health and kids (5 of them between us) just about left home- and with 'ex'es to look out for them. We will have to return asap to earn some more money because we will be rather broke;but hopefully with a circumnavigation under our belt. However I know we have been very lucky- it only takes one little hiccup (our health, family health, boat breaking, terminal relationship failure, unusual weather, homesickness, the list is endless- and things will fall apart. But so what- they might do on land as well.
There are many ways of skinning a cat- you don't have to sell up and sail forever- choose your own challenge (we, for instance, are disregarding the advice to take 10 years or so going round the world but haven't had the money to do a really fast luxurious sail in a newish 40+ footer). When we get back we might- no, WILL, have to work like stink ( we have no pension at all) but hey, we'll survive. I miss my kids and family soooo much but reckon (maybe foolishly) that I'm setting my kids a good example by being creative and adventurous and determined.
What do I miss the most? my children and family, of course- but with Skype I'm probably more in contact with them than I might ordinarily have been.
I suppose I also miss feeling part of a community/part of a continuous British/European history- a bit homesick for 'culture' and my choir and orchestra; BBC radio 4, and 3 (but def not TV!); also I am very aware that I am a foreigner, even - or especially- in English speaking countries like Australia.
I do feel, though, that I will not feel 'at home' in a house any more.
Feeling stuck? Pick a dream/challenge- doesn't matter what- and just take one step at a time, no matter how small, to achieve it. But you do have to actually Do it- DO something- even if it's scary. You will not lose out by having a punt. ( or a dinghy or a yacht..- you can only ever gain.
There are many ways of skinning a cat- you don't have to sell up and sail forever- choose your own challenge (we, for instance, are disregarding the advice to take 10 years or so going round the world but haven't had the money to do a really fast luxurious sail in a newish 40+ footer). When we get back we might- no, WILL, have to work like stink ( we have no pension at all) but hey, we'll survive. I miss my kids and family soooo much but reckon (maybe foolishly) that I'm setting my kids a good example by being creative and adventurous and determined.
What do I miss the most? my children and family, of course- but with Skype I'm probably more in contact with them than I might ordinarily have been.
I suppose I also miss feeling part of a community/part of a continuous British/European history- a bit homesick for 'culture' and my choir and orchestra; BBC radio 4, and 3 (but def not TV!); also I am very aware that I am a foreigner, even - or especially- in English speaking countries like Australia.
I do feel, though, that I will not feel 'at home' in a house any more.
Feeling stuck? Pick a dream/challenge- doesn't matter what- and just take one step at a time, no matter how small, to achieve it. But you do have to actually Do it- DO something- even if it's scary. You will not lose out by having a punt. ( or a dinghy or a yacht..
- you can only ever gain.
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
Coming up for 15 years on board now and 14 years in April since we sortied south.
Top bananna.
Top bananna.
Sometimes life gets in the way but I still hav'nt given up hope of finding the right bird & winning the lottery....hang on I don't do it.
Sometimes it can be nice sailing around our coast.Here's to hoping we have a nice summer!
Sometimes it can be nice sailing around our coast.Here's to hoping we have a nice summer!
webcraft
Well-Known Member
.
It's hard to grab even a year away for most people . . . you have to find a gap between kids leaving home and the next phase of elderly parents and grandchildren. We did it on a very small budget and it was a fantastically worthwhile experience.
On the other hand, if you can afford to leave the boat tied up somewhere and fly back whenever family duties call there should be nothing stopping you.
- W
It's hard to grab even a year away for most people . . . you have to find a gap between kids leaving home and the next phase of elderly parents and grandchildren. We did it on a very small budget and it was a fantastically worthwhile experience.
On the other hand, if you can afford to leave the boat tied up somewhere and fly back whenever family duties call there should be nothing stopping you.
- W
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
You need to understand that I’ve always planned to sail off over the horizon some day, you know the dream. . .cross oceans, see tropical islands, find flying fish in the cockpit. . . but one way or another I got to be rather old, fat and tired without ever quite managing even to find the boat to sail away in.
I think this is partly because not everyone has been sailing since a child.
Many come to the sport/hobby/lifestyle/... later in life when they have other family/financial commitments.
When I was a teenager, my granddad told me: By the time you're 20, you should know where you want to be and what you want to do when you're 50.
Stick to your plan and you've got 30 years to make it happen.
I was lucky - by the time I was 20, I KNEW. He was not happy with my choice, but he understood.
I did not tell the other half about my dream till we were married for over a year. We had one baby daughter and just under £500 to our name.
She liked the idea, but I think she took it to be another of my wild/unrealistic schemes (little did she know).
At first just me, and later on, both of us together put money aside 'for the boat'. Fixed amount, at the start of every month.
We treated it as a fixed expense. We lived without many of the creature comforts others took for granted. And we still do.
Never went on holiday, no more than one night out every 4-6 weeks. Don't exactly keep up with the Jones' either.
After a decade of saving, we bought our first family boat. Spent 6 years doing her up and learning the ropes. Sold her to buy the current boat.
Current boat turned out to be a major project - finances stretched to the limit (and beyond).
For a couple of months the family lived on C-Rations I managed to 'acquire' from military stores.
To make ends meet, I volunteered for 2 tours to get shot at on the other side of the planet.
Project now in its final stages. Bar a few 'Blue Water' items, the boat is good to go.
Sailing into the sunset has been the dream of the lifetime, but it does require sacrifice and commitment.
Apparently, not everyone can muster the same dogged single-mindedness.
Last year, I had a cardiac scare. As I had also had a stroke 7 years ago, alarm bells started ringing all the place.
Our dream was in jeopardy. We would need to downsize and restrict ourselves to pottering about in the Med.
One year on, it seems my demise is not imminent and we've taken the boat off the market.
The dream is back on - though slightly revised.
We won't be living aboard the whole year round, but rather 6-7 months (the Summer months).
We'll lay up the boat wherever we find ourselves and return home to spend time with the family.
Retirement in 3 years, 8 months and 6 days to go.
By that time the boat and the house will be all done up and fully paid for. And the children will have left the house (though I don't think our youngest is as yet fully concious of that fact
)Life is all set to begin at 52.
We were luck in other ways too: we had our children very early in life, so we won't be too old and decrepit to enjoy the rest of our time on Earth to the full.
And I was lucky to find a partner who did not dismiss my dream. And even luckier when she made my dream her dream too.
I could not have done it without her.
Ours has not been an easy road, but it will all be worth it in the end.
Of that, I am convinced.
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
OR4751, we're a few years ahead of you in the schedule - like you I left the military at chucking out age and ran away to sea. We've been doing it for coming up to 4 years now and aren't intending to go back to living ashore any time soon. Yes, we have no real ties: kids grown up (ish), aged parents being cared for by my siblings and no health worries (touch wood).
The longer we spend living this life, the more convinced I become that we did the right thing for us. We keep hearing about friends with this disease or another, unable to escape from family ties and all of that sort of thing. If you're going to do it, then you have to seize the moment and do it. I can still remember my colleagues in my last post talking about our plans; some (about a third) were full of encouragement, whilst the rest spent any conversation posing negative 'what ifs'. If I'd listened seriously to the latter, we'd still be alongside in the Menai putting yet something else onto the boat. If you want to dream, dream away but when the time comes, just do it. Oh, and make sure the time comes sooner rather than later 'cos it may be too late if you leave it too long....
The longer we spend living this life, the more convinced I become that we did the right thing for us. We keep hearing about friends with this disease or another, unable to escape from family ties and all of that sort of thing. If you're going to do it, then you have to seize the moment and do it. I can still remember my colleagues in my last post talking about our plans; some (about a third) were full of encouragement, whilst the rest spent any conversation posing negative 'what ifs'. If I'd listened seriously to the latter, we'd still be alongside in the Menai putting yet something else onto the boat. If you want to dream, dream away but when the time comes, just do it. Oh, and make sure the time comes sooner rather than later 'cos it may be too late if you leave it too long....
Chrissie
Well-Known Member
Hi Sandyman, the times flown by, I moved my boat to GCC just down the road, and I love it there, how are you guys getting on, and where are you now?
I am spending a few months in the summer sailing Channel Isles, Brittany and Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, but no great oceans!
I am spending a few months in the summer sailing Channel Isles, Brittany and Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, but no great oceans!
nimbusgb
Well-Known Member
oh well you'll miss her, or oh well you'll never go?
Too soppy to bugger off alone, like Chrissie I have dicovered too that is not nearly as much fun alone.
tudorsailor
Well-Known Member
Now 55 with retirement planned for 60 years. Kids both working. No grandchildren yet. Surviving parents - without a crisis at present
Have the boat to sail the world, but probably not yet able to retire early (mortgage etc etc).
In 7 days off to start a sabbatical on board. Basically 3 months unpaid leave. Good chance to experience living aboard
Will I re-think early retirement on my return? Probably
Would I want to live aboard? Probably not. Would I want to sail all summer and spend the winter in UK? Now there is an ideal!
TudorSailor
Have the boat to sail the world, but probably not yet able to retire early (mortgage etc etc).
In 7 days off to start a sabbatical on board. Basically 3 months unpaid leave. Good chance to experience living aboard
Will I re-think early retirement on my return? Probably
Would I want to live aboard? Probably not. Would I want to sail all summer and spend the winter in UK? Now there is an ideal!
TudorSailor
D
Deleted member 478
Guest
You lot just stay there in the snow and rain and gas shortages and NHS cuts.
We don't want you coming out here cluttering up the anchorages.
+1
Tricia
Well-Known Member
I miss my friends something shocking! I really miss turning up with a bottle of wine and some munchies and having a good gossip. But one of the joys of this life is making new friends. And when ever we stop somewhere for a while I make more friends. I do have to apologise to people as I tend to gabble like a loony when I first meet them, coz I'm so excited to talk to someone who isn't Rob!
Being a London girl, I miss wrapping a noisy city around myself, but I can get a city most places so that's dealt with quite easily.
I would love to have a garden although I'm not that great with plants and can kill them just walking past.
The biggest compromises? Well, I don't know. I suppose having a small boat means having less stuff, fewer shoes (I love shoes), but I hate housework so there's a big bonus in having a small boat.
Most people we meet have a 'safety net' financially either by renting out a property in their home country or a pension. We had neither as we had always rented and when we left I put my personal pension on hold (not that it was ever going to be a livable amount). We find somewhere we can work, try to arrive with some cash and look for work. So far we have worked in Holland, Gibraltar, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Dubai.
Mostly, Rob and I are a partnership, we both enjoy the life and work together to achieve it. We have had some very broke times - I sobbed my socks off in Carrefour in Ajman, UAE, because we could only afford beefburgers and crisps for Christmas dinner and they were selling Stilton! Ha ha ha, how sad is that? At least I can laugh about it now. The other side of this coin is that, after a year working in Dubai, we had enough money to not worry about work for two years and with a big of care stretched that to three.
The things that make this worthwhile? Well, sitting in a bar in Danga Bay, Malaysia listening to Chinese christians singing Christmas carols. Arriving in Veraval, Gujarat India and Rob being interviewed by CID, State security, maritime police, head of coastguard, the local police chief all wanting 3 copies of all our paper work, all sending their 'boys' off to do the photocopying and not charging us, giving Rob endless cups of tea and being totally charming. All the town people in Veraval lining the dockside to take photos of us and gasping when one of us stepped into the cockpit with a cup of tea. Being invited to the house of the Minister for Fisheries of the area and spending a few days being driven around by him. Being interviewed by the local paper and television news show.
In Turkey I made friends with Toulay, who insisted we have a meal with her family, then got up at 3am to make us a welcome breakfast of chocolate cake, home made cheese, spicy fried potatoes and tea. Also being interviewed by the local paper in Sinop and having my photo taken with the local mayor.
Having a meal with, ,and getting all our water tanks filled by the son of a sheik on his 125ft Majesty while we were both anchored in the beautiful fiords of Musandam Oman. And also becoming the local tourist attraction for the local dhows and being invited for meals to talk to the tourists on board.
Having the life scared out of me by a whale in the Gulf of Aden. It was trying to scare us off and, after circling us a few times, shot towards us at high speed, then sounded about 20 meters from us and dove under the boat. I managed to take a photo of my foot, I was so freaked out and amazed.
The joys of our life far out weigh any negatives and the people we meet who take us into their lives make it perfect.
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single
Well-Known Member
I have a new plan to doing this.The weather is just rubbish in the UK so I reckon sell the boat here and go without for a few years saving a small fortune then buy one in a decent place abroad to start the voyage.In between just do last minute yacht charters.As age creeps up the biggest stopper seems to be health so just go and do it.I read somewhere that the finance side is not much different to being at home.Good time to go now if you have the chance with the price/choice of yachts available.
John.edwards
Well-Known Member
planning a similar outcome. I am a University academic with a heap of research teaching and administrative responsibilities. I am a qualified coxswain and a YM offshore/cruising instructor (commercially endorsed). plan is to half time at uni to ease into the new business of sail instruction/mile building/skippering. my dream sail is from the antarctic circle atlantic (october for the southern summer) to the arctic circle (following september). not non-stop, not solo. it could be 3 years away