Go out TOMORROW morning and sine up for sailing lessons for you and your
girl friend. The first step is the hardest, do it.

"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