Long term cruising and age

[CPD]

Provided health and fitness can be maintained, there can't be such a thing as an age when you should / must stop long-term cruising. Can there ?. I would love to hear examples of ages when you stopped, or plan to, and perhaps why, if you are comfortable sharing. This is for long term (maybe 10-15 years) planning. Many thanks everyone ..........

 

[newtothis]

I don't plan to start until in my sixties.
But for longevity, Mike Richey celebrated his 80th birthday doing a solo trans North Atlantic.

 

[dunedin]

Nobody knows what life has in store for them. Many are fit well into their 80s. Some fit looking people dont even make it to their 60s.
If important don’t wait - simplify the plans, scale down the boat costs, and go do it?

 

[veshengro]

I stopped voyaging or sailing away from home waters just before I was 73. My previous trip of 15 months to the Med had involved a bit of a drama with my steering gear in bad weather off Portugal outward bound, and months later I had to get my boat from Sardinia to Spain under sail alone. Not as easy as it sounds in an at times windless Med. Both problems were overcome but it was hard going singlehanded.
When I weighed up the voyage back in England and compared it to my earlier voyages of previous years, on a scale of 1 to 10 that voyage with it's increased Officialdom, expense, lost anchorages, stuck in Spain which I'm not in love with and other factors, rated about 3.
So I decided that was my last foreign voyage.
Just a personal decision, if I sailed with crew (which I wouldn't) I could have kept going for years longer as I'm reasonably fit for a wrinkly. My problem is I tend to compare what was with what is, if that makes sense? Having done so, I decided that the green coastlines of home would do for my sea horizons in future.
Good luck for those who go further for longer.

 

[Stingo]

Watch this YouTube documentary

 

[Ray Purchase]

A friend of ours said he'd give up when he can't physically get the outboard off the rail and onto the tender.

 

[veshengro]

I've met a few like him in my wanderings, some of them a lot younger than him, but not able to see themselves in a few years, unless they changed course..Starting by putting the stopper back in the bottle...

 

[capnsensible]

After 23 years of living aboard, we stopped before we had to.....

 

[Poignard]

I packed it in this year, aged 83 (and my wife/crew) is even older.

It wasn't actually handling the boat that was becoming difficult, it was doing the more arduous maintenance tasks, and manhandling the heavier items such as the dinghy, outboard, sail bags, et al.

Osteo porosis and pain due to fractured vertebrae didn't help.

I began to realise I wasn't keeping abreast of the maintenance and the boat was beginning to look a bit scruffy.

But, I've had a had many enjoyable years of yacht ownership.

My only regret is that I never did a circumnavigation of the world under sail. I should have done it when I was still young.

But, "Our busines in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits."

Hey, ho.

 

[Yngmar]

We stopped before 50, but not particularly due to old age, we just felt 7-8 years was enough and we were ready to move on to doing something else. Bought an old farm and fixing that up now. Give us a decade and we'll see what's next. Haven't done the campervan thing yet! The way the world is going, it'll be a horse-drawn cart by then.

Some of our cruising friends are still doing it, at ~80. Not all by choice though - this is something we were very wary of. They lost touch with land too much to ever return. Several others are dead now (or one half is stuck with a boat they can't really use alone) but have done it nearly till the end. Only one (we know of) actually died on his boat.

 

[AndrewB]

Stopped ocean cruising at 69. I kept tabs on many dedicated ocean cruisers during my time and found the typical age for giving up was mid to late 60's, so I was pretty average.

This is a cautionary note to those who think they can leave it till the regular retirement age before setting out.

But it doesn't mean stopping altogether. Still, ten years later, I keep a yacht in Greece and cruise to places like Sicily, Venice, Bodrum. Each year is a bit less, and I say will probably be the last ... but we are still planning for 2025.

 

[Wansworth]

Ithink I would be bored constantly cruising thekeyis some income that gives you opportunities to work for several months and sail the rest maybe live ashore keeping access to shore based facilities.I noticed a falling off of strength after late sixties.Probably best to get out there and world cruise then take a more relaxed attitude…….esential to have a home ashore to go back to……and constant doctors appointments as general health falls off

 

[veshengro]

With regard to health and fitness, I think the cruising live a board lifestyle generally results in good health. From a purely personal angle, I found even though I remained active Hill Walking, Camping etc: I still found that I missed the every day active life style of cruising, so I totter round the Gym 2 or 3 times a week now, otherwise I think I would seize up. Depends on an individuals make up I suppose, some people can get away with not being physically active, I end up walking like a robot and groaning every time I stand up if I don't stay active. Apart from regular check ups I haven't seen a Doctor ( apart from injury treatment) since Norman Wisdom topped the Bill at the London Palladium..

 

[Wansworth]

With regard to health and fitness, I think the cruising live a board lifestyle generally results in good health. From a purely personal angle, I found even though I remained active Hill Walking, Camping etc: I still found that I missed the every day active life style of cruising, so I totter round the Gym 2 or 3 times a week now, otherwise I think I would seize up. Depends on an individuals make up I suppose, some people can get away with not being physically active, I end up walking like a robot and groaning every time I stand up if I don't stay active. Apart from regular check ups I haven't seen a Doctor ( apart from injury treatment) since Norman Wisdom topped the Bill at the London Palladium..

Lucky you!

 

[Sandydog2]

We sold the boat when one of us reached 75. But not really for age reasons. Just got fed up of fixing more and more things at the start of every visit. Still sailing at 87. We went back to flotillas after selling up. We are still enjoying that. The boats are far from perfect but we don’t have to worry if they break and we still love the sailing.

 

[CPD]

Thanks everyone - really interesting and definitely food for thought ......

 

[Trident]

Friends of mine sold the cat to a man of 83 who decided it was time for an easier ride than his Nijad
He asked me to install an electric windlass for ease
Then set off to the Canaries in his new 37 foot cat and as far as I know continued on from there

 

[Alan S]

 

[BobnLesley]

An American couple who we met a few years ago have swallowed the anchor just a couple of months ago, he's now 106 and his good lady 98.

 

[PlanB]

We were motor boaters/Med liveaboards. Ultrimately, death and illness gor in the way, but we had both agreed that starting at 65 instead of 55 would have hampered our activities, due to ability to move around the boat smartly.

Having said that, a Med marina neighbour aged 85 died in my car en route from the airport back to his beloved boat after a trip back to rellies in the UK - what a way to go.