Young cruisers?

[mikenfi]

Hello all so we're not retired or close to, we are mid 20s early 30's love hanging with the older bunch but dying to hang out with some people of our own age. It's been 2 months and 2 months before that!

Where are the young cruisers? We currently in Auxonne mid France but heading the the med in Jan /Feb.

Let yourselves be known!

 

[mikenfi]

Bump.

 

[Trident]

We're mid 30s (me) and mid 20s (fiancé) and in Cartagena with - one dutch couple in late 20s, one french couple (mid 30s and 20s) and last winter had one early 40s couple and one late 30s - they are around but of course due to money there are fewer on the ground than retirees - when you get to the med you'll start to find some but many go home to work for winter so have shorter cruising seasons. We're lucky in that we work online so stay aboard all year round and work as we go on 3G

 

[mikenfi]

Oh what a relief not that the olds aren't fun but to have an evening with some people of our own age would be bliss! It's been too long!

We work as and when my partner is off to work on a panto next month for 7 weeks & we also make money online. Would you be interested in sharing what you do online? I'm more than happy to send you what were involved with its fairly simple, guarranteed income, no sales etc.

Thanks for getting back to us! You both have made our day!

 

[Trident]

I own my own business that I built up over many years until it was able to run the manufacturing side without me there and I deal with the admin, sales, marketing and paying the bills online and keep in touch with my factory to make sure all is well. Its not really a repeatable model. My fiancé works for a company in the UK doing online customer service - you know the live help sort of thing - which all their employees do from home - her home just floats and is in another country. It works well except for the fact that we've had to pass up some beautiful anchorages if they don't have good 3G signal. I'm always interested in what others do so feel free to share

 

[Carmel2]

We started at 35 & 34, I got sick and tired of people saying "is that your dad's boat"

 

[mikenfi]

ill send you a link to a site that can be use to make a guarranteed income, i still take part in this but cannot at the moment as in France.

from taking part in this is found out about the markets, if you are good with numbers you may find this a very licrative income. Its sports trading, just like the stock market, but on sporting odds. Various strategies. Made a nice income on the football last season i will be trading again once we leave France, but I am hoping to use include horses too lots of reading a paper trading taking place at the moment. The horse markets are more lucrative & there are more markets.

 

[mikenfi]

In fact I'll send you an email I sent to a friend a while back it will give you an idea about what it is.

 

[mikenfi]

We started at 35 & 34, I got sick and tired of people saying "is that your dad's boat"

Haha, we have a 1974 sabre so we don't get asked that. But people always want to know how we afford it. Sometimes the first thing they ask is just that. This one guy more recently asked that followed by what do you do for a living and when I told him what I did he said that his son did that before he got a proper job. Well ok?!? so you are questioning me then demeaning my profession. It turns out his son didn't do what I do but lots of people in the industry like to call themselves my job title, it's loosely correct but people outside the industry don't know the difference, monkey & specialist. So I wanted to make this guy feel a little small because I was offended and unfortunately I revert to a small child at these points (I'm Working on it) so I was rude and I asked what his sons annual income was I turns out This proper job is more like modern day slavery in my opinion.

Other statements and questions asked are "your not 60", "how old are you", "how long can you afford to do it for"?

These are simply things that I would neither say nor ask people I have met minutes before. Fortunately it is a small minority of people and the majority are great with wonderful advise and always welcoming. However the minority are enough to get my back up and like I say I am a small child when people offend me! I got a copy of Tao for my birthday, I really am trying.

 

[geem]

My first Atlantic circuit was a 40th birthday present to myself. The next Caribbean adventure was my 50th birthday. At 52 I retired. Wife is in her 40s. With no kids we have been fortunate enough to build up a property portfolio that provides us with a resonable income to allow us to cruise for at least 8 months of the year. We will return to the UK next summer for 4months to sort some more property then probably head into the Pacific. We still feel like youngsters compared to a lot of people we meet cruising!

 

[tchierici]

...But people always want to know how we afford it. Sometimes the first thing they ask is just that.


Haha. that's exactly the first question we get asked when we meet other (retired) cruisers. Together with "are you charter?". We have a 30 years old 33ft yacht in Greece and cruise 4 to 5 weeks of the year, although we did extended 5 months summer seasons for three consecutive years, 4 years ago. I was 32 and my partner 30 and we could both easily find 6 months contract work over the winter. We have full time work for now, so time off to go cruising is precious but it's still doable. Cheap boat yards in Greece, almost free town quays, infinite number of anchorages, cheap food + a basic cruising set up (I have no electronics, no fridge and all the bells and whistles that the old cruisers have on their floating caravans) and keeping things simple to maintain and run means it is actually possible for us to still have a boat. I am planning an early retirement (at 50). Cruising your own boat doesn't need to be a rich or retired person affair.

 

[Sandyman]

My first Atlantic circuit was a 40th birthday present to myself. The next Caribbean adventure was my 50th birthday. At 52 I retired. Wife is in her 40s. With no kids we have been fortunate enough to build up a property portfolio that provides us with a resonable income to allow us to cruise for at least 8 months of the year. We will return to the UK next summer for 4months to sort some more property then probably head into the Pacific. We still feel like youngsters compared to a lot of people we meet cruising!

Exactly. Its a state of mind. You are as old as you want to be. We are both in our early 60's but no one believes us, not just because we do not look that age, but because of our attitude to life.

All the nice girls love a sailor
All the nice girls love a tar
For there's something about a sailor
(Well you know what sailors are!)
Bright and breezy, free and easy,
He's the ladies' pride and joy!
He falls in love with Kate and Jane, then he's off to sea again,
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!

 

[Ludd]

Exactly. Its a state of mind. You are as old as you want to be. We are both in our early 60's but no one believes us, not just because we do not look that age, but because of our attitude to life.

All the nice girls love a sailor
All the nice girls love a tar
For there's something about a sailor
(Well you know what sailors are!)
Bright and breezy, free and easy,
He's the ladies' pride and joy!
He falls in love with Kate and Jane, then he's off to sea again,
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!

Randy old goat! Thought you were older than me---- oh,wait ,you ARE! i'm only just over 21----

 

[Trident]

Not to get too much of a thread drift but it also doesn't have to cost the earth - even in the Western Med we've never spent over £500 a month - we anchor everywhere, spend just £23 on diesel last year as we sail our boat rather than motor so its just food and entertainment money in the main plus lots of 3G bills and boat insurance but its an easy thing for younger people to do on a budget if they want to.

 

[Sandyman]

Randy old goat! Thought you were older than me---- oh,wait ,you ARE! i'm only just over 21----

21 what Here is the full version. You can put it in your repetoire for the festival

When the man o' war or merchant ship comes sailing into port
The jolly tar with joy, will sing out, Land Ahoy!
With his pockets full of money and a parrot in a cage
He smiles at all the pretty girls upon the landing stage...

All the nice girls love a sailor
All the nice girls love a tar
For there's something about a sailor
(Well you know what sailors are!)
Bright and breezy, free and easy,
He's the ladies' pride and joy!
He falls in love with Kate and Jane, then he's off to sea again,
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!

He will spend his money freely, and he's generous to his pals,
While Jack has got a sou, there's half of it for you,
And it's just the same in love and war, he goes through with a smile,
And you can trust a sailor, he's a white man (meaning: honest man) all the while!

All the nice girls love a sailor
All the nice girls love a tar
For there's something about a sailor
(Well you know what sailors are!)
Bright and breezy, free and easy,
He's the ladies' pride and joy!
He falls in love with Kate and Jane, then he's off to sea again,
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy

 

[K-ron]

Hi Mikenfi et al,

I am forty and my girlfriend is 32, we have been cruising for 3 years now. As others have said, we get the same questions about money and jobs etc. We just laugh and tell them we haven't got any. There is no doubt that the younger cruisers are fairly few and far between but it tends to make the parties all the more fun when you do bump into people who are in the same situation as yourselves.
We are currently in Sardinia rebuilding our ancient engine without much money, it's great, always learning stuff because if we don't fix things ourselves they won't get fixed and it's amazing how much gear breaks whilst living aboard especially on an older boat.
Anyhow, hope we cross paths sometime, we will be in Sicily for quite a while once we get the motor fixed.
Have fun.

Ps I would be interested in some more info about your online money making.

Kieran (S/v Seeker)

 

[Nicki]

Hey, we're a bit late to the party but we are young cruisers too (32 & 40) and have been thinking the same! We are currently in Bruce's yard, Faro, doing repairs but heading back out in a week or so and into the Med for early part of the season, then south to the Canaries Autumn time. Hopefully we'll meet some of you along the way?! Our boat is SV Bora Bora, a 1974 Victory 40, come and say hi if you see us ? also on instagram as sailing_borabora and blog is liveaboardsailboatuk.wordpress.com if anyone wants to connect. Cheers, Nicki and Ben

 

[OldBawley]

Noticed an other liveaboard yacht in my wintering area last month. Rare.
So I rowed over ( 2 Nm ) for a chat.
Very young French ( Corsican ) guy. Working very hard doing some cosmetic work on the nice yacht.
His 25 year old girlfriend had left to work during winter in France ( Nurse ) He would leave the yacht at the yard from Christmas on for some months.
Said his girlfriend had some problems with the sailing / cruising life while all the people they met ware old, had their life behind them. She could not talk to those old folks.
I can understand that. What in heavens name would she talk about ? About going to school ? About how many friends she had on Facebook ? About how she was carried through life just up to now ?
Turns out the young ( early 30 ) guy was thinking of quitting the sailing life himself.
Sailing without working proved to be very expensive and boring compared to travelling backpack. Furthermore, he would be old also one day and had to start working for then.
First he wanted to follow a three month course to become a joiner ( I guess some unemployment course ) Then maybe sell the yacht and start a home renovating business on Corsica.
Seen the energy he was working with, his idea could certainly work.

I am lucky. Even when I was young I loved talking and listening to old people. They ware the only ones who could teach me something. Now I am liveboarding in Greece witch is full of old people.
The young Greeks leave, no work, no future.
Not sure if I would choose the same sort of life I had in these troubled times but to me it sure was the right choice.
Last June I flew “Home” for a few days and visited my last working place.
I was amazed how much was changed in 17 years. People ware running, even shopping. They earned less than when I left. My job was filled in with 5 part timers among one 67 year old grandpa.
I asked my old college how live had been those last 17 years, what had happened.
Well, all was well, she had new dogs end no, nothing had changed.

Jeezz.

 

[AndrewB]

Hi Mikenfi et al,

I am forty and my girlfriend is 32, we have been cruising for 3 years now. As others have said, we get the same questions about money and jobs etc. We just laugh and tell them we haven't got any.

It’s a question that comes naturally enough to us oldies, and it isn’t necessarily about being snotty, but one of envy.

I longed to go voyaging from the time I bought a Wayfarer dinghy, at 21. I was an avid follower of Frank Dye’s adventures. At 30 I had a small yacht capable of voyaging – but after some preparations, financial caution and family responsibilities held me back. It wasn’t until 50 that I finally felt secure enough to actually go.

There always seemed to be youngsters out there living on a shoestring, finding jobs wherever they went and then moving on, widening and drawing on their experience. I was always intrigued as to how they did it, and cursed the timidity that had held me back when younger!

So please, humour us and don't think the worst of us for asking.

 

[SV Kittiwake]

Hi Mikenfi!

We're a youngish (one just turned, one turning thirty) and we're planning on being in the Med next summer. We'll be living on the cheap, and doing a bit of freelance work here and there to keep the cruising kitty topped up.

What route are you planning? You can see ours in the image at the top of our twitter:

https://twitter.com/SVKittiwake

No idea on when we'll be where, but if you're around the Western Med from August onwards, let us know and we can try to meet up!