Damned spell checker. That's "cruising" not "cursing!"

"Danny" wrote in message
...
Bobby:

You sound like a whole lot of us when we were 25. Hang on to the dream, no
matter what comes because it worth it. Your dream is possible. Most of
your friends and even some here might say that you're naive. Ignore them.

You need some experience and training. There are a lot of moving parts on
a boat. Mechanical, standing rigging, running rigging, electrical, canvas,
plumbing and diesel/gas engines. If you tally them all up and expect to
master them before you leave for a while, you just might be overwhelmed
and quit. I've met folks off shore with $40,000 boats and little in their
pockets. They usually grin a lot.

I spent some time with Lynn and Larry Pardee at a few boat shows and they
have cruised the world on a wee boat for many years. They have a motto
that goes something like: Go early, go small, go simple, go now. I've
mangled it but you get the idea. They intentionally chose to leave behind
many of the boat accessories that seem almost "mandatory" these days. Our
own boat is simple to maintain, own and repair. Most new boats do not fit
that description. Whether you explore the Puget Sound, bum around the
Carib or set sail for the horizon, you need to fix your home yourself.
A great collection of articles on everything boats can be found at
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/cruising/

The best advice I could offer is: keep reading, get some professional
classes, join a cursing and a racing club for a year or two and buy a boat
afterward. By then, you've practiced on other's boats and sampled a wide
variety of sizes, types and styles. And keep dreaming your dream with a
casual plan.

Dan


"henderob" wrote in message
oups.com...
For as long as I can remember, I've been planning on getting a boat and
taking off, cruising around for a few years. I've read a lot of books
on the subject but up to this point have focused mainly on getting the
$$ to actually be able to do this. I have very limited sailing
experience, consisting of crewing on a large yacht for a couple weeks
when I was younger.

I'm 25 now, and the goal has always been to leave before I was 30.
However, a strange thing happened in the past year - a project of mine
took off, and all the sudden I find myself in a position where I have
the money to go, now. I have somewhere around $200k in the bank. I
could buy a boat and leave, except that I have zero experience and
don't want to die.

So my question is: how do I get to the point where I can realistically
purchase my own boat and take off? I know about the offshore cruising
schools,etc,.. but would it make more sense to look around for a
(probably unpaid) crewing position? And if so, how should I go about
that? Just hang out on the docks at the right time of year?

Also, complicating matters, I will more than likely be bringing my
girlfriend along, who also has no experience sailing.

I would like to be in my own boat cruising within, say, one year. I'm
looking for any and all advice - what to read, what to do, etc etc. .

Thanks very much.
-Bobby