"Todd" wrote in message ...
Chris, Jeff, Skip, Rick,

Thanks for your input! It has been very helpful.

I think I will make plans to charter a catamaran (with a captain) after I
retire and see what my wife thinks of it. She is usually pretty good about
tolerating my hobbies (my airplane engine blew up in flight last year, made
a dead stick landing, cost 14K to fix it), but I don't want her to be
unhappy. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed!

As for "blue water" sailing, it is difficulty to know what I will be happy
with, since I don't have any experience. It may end up being island
hopping. Now, I would like to think that I will make it to the Med, Pacific
Islands, Australia, etc some day. But I will start with small steps. I do
the same with my airplane, taking small steps and gaining experience.

By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would be of
value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

Thanks,
Todd


"Todd" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new
life.
I haven't traveled near as much as I would have liked in the Air Force and
am looking forward to traveling/exploring until age/health concerns
dictate
otherwise. Buying a house and settling down just doesn't sound appealing.

I have considered RVs for traveling throughout the US, Canada, and Alaska.
I
also have a two seater Cessna airplane that I use to explore. I really
loving flying, but what I really like about it is the traveling/exploring.
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing, or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.

Of course, I don't have any experience with boating/sailing (except for
being on a few small boats on lakes), and would like to ask a few
questions.

1) If the boat is paid for, what is the cost range to cruise full time?
What would the life style be like at the lower end of the annual income
range? To be honest, my retirement income will be $42,000.00 a year. Is
this way to little, adequate, or not nearly enough?

2) I have noticed that not all sailboats are considered suitable for blue
water sailing (for one reason or another). Does that same thing apply to
catamarans? If so, what are some suitable boats for blue water sailing?

3) My wife hates the water, sand, and hot weather. Is there any chance
that she will end up liking cruising? Any of you with spouses/significant
others that thought they would hate it, but ended up loving it after they
gave it a try?

I have a thousand more questions, but these are good to start with.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd




Hi, I dont know what things cost in the US but if you cruise the South
Pacific
you and your wife could live very well indeed on $42,000 US its almost
double the average wage in places like NZ and Austrailia and worth
alot more in the Islands.

C

Thanks Carl,

That is nice to hear. Who knows where I will end up!

Thanks again,
Todd

"carl" wrote in message
om...
"Todd" wrote in message
...
Chris, Jeff, Skip, Rick,

Thanks for your input! It has been very helpful.

I think I will make plans to charter a catamaran (with a captain) after
I
retire and see what my wife thinks of it. She is usually pretty good
about
tolerating my hobbies (my airplane engine blew up in flight last year,
made
a dead stick landing, cost 14K to fix it), but I don't want her to be
unhappy. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed!

As for "blue water" sailing, it is difficulty to know what I will be
happy
with, since I don't have any experience. It may end up being island
hopping. Now, I would like to think that I will make it to the Med,
Pacific
Islands, Australia, etc some day. But I will start with small steps. I
do
the same with my airplane, taking small steps and gaining experience.

By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would be
of
value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

Thanks,
Todd


"Todd" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new
life.
I haven't traveled near as much as I would have liked in the Air Force
and
am looking forward to traveling/exploring until age/health concerns
dictate
otherwise. Buying a house and settling down just doesn't sound
appealing.

I have considered RVs for traveling throughout the US, Canada, and
Alaska.
I
also have a two seater Cessna airplane that I use to explore. I
really
loving flying, but what I really like about it is the
traveling/exploring.
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing,
or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.

Of course, I don't have any experience with boating/sailing (except
for
being on a few small boats on lakes), and would like to ask a few
questions.

1) If the boat is paid for, what is the cost range to cruise full
time?
What would the life style be like at the lower end of the annual
income
range? To be honest, my retirement income will be $42,000.00 a year.
Is
this way to little, adequate, or not nearly enough?

2) I have noticed that not all sailboats are considered suitable for
blue
water sailing (for one reason or another). Does that same thing apply
to
catamarans? If so, what are some suitable boats for blue water
sailing?

3) My wife hates the water, sand, and hot weather. Is there any
chance
that she will end up liking cruising? Any of you with
spouses/significant
others that thought they would hate it, but ended up loving it after
they
gave it a try?

I have a thousand more questions, but these are good to start with.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd




Hi, I dont know what things cost in the US but if you cruise the South
Pacific
you and your wife could live very well indeed on $42,000 US its almost
double the average wage in places like NZ and Austrailia and worth
alot more in the Islands.

C

Todd wrote:
Hello,

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new life.
snip....
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing, or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.
snip.....


I have a thousand more questions, but these are good to start with.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd



In addition to the many good suggestions you have received here, you
might try reading some articles on Sailnet.com
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/a...&type=1&tfr=fp
or http://cruisenews.net/index.php

There are many first hand accounts of people making the same kinds of
decisions you are considering.

Among the Sailnet articles are, if I remember correctly, a number of
pieces on how to structure "test" cruises....as in the reluctant spouse
might agree to trying the cruising life for one year......if at the end
of the year he/or she really just cannot come to love it, the one
pushing for the cruising life agrees to move on land. The thought is
that many people are afraid of the "forever more" aspect of the cruising
retirement, but can manage to get their head around a one year trial.

Oh, and your skill as a PA will certainly come in handy both if you try
to make some cash while cruising and just to help your fellow cruisers
out. In articles touching on that subject (earning while sailing) the
medical fields always seem to be a good position.

Good luck.

Jonathan




--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

"Todd" :

Chris, Jeff, Skip, Rick,

Thanks for your input! It has been very helpful.

I think I will make plans to charter a catamaran (with a captain) after I
retire and see what my wife thinks of it. She is usually pretty good
about
tolerating my hobbies (my airplane engine blew up in flight last year, made
a dead stick landing, cost 14K to fix it), but I don't want her to be
unhappy. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed!

I think that is best, at the same time as the charter you could see if some
training could the arranged as well.

As for "blue water" sailing, it is difficulty to know what I will be happy
with, since I don't have any experience. It may end up being island
hopping. Now, I would like to think that I will make it to the Med,
Pacific
Islands, Australia, etc some day. But I will start with small steps. I do
the same with my airplane, taking small steps and gaining experience.

One thing to remember, even if you have a small boat for 'just' island
hopping there are services to move your boat from one boating area to
another. They do cost, but make it easy to cruise the US coast this year and
then cruise the Med next.

By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would be of
value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

I just hope you don't need the skills for yourself Safe voyage.

Thanks,
Todd

Earl Colby Pottinger

--
I make public email sent to me! Hydrogen Peroxide Rockets, OpenBeos,
SerialTransfer 3.0, RAMDISK, BoatBuilding, DIY TabletPC. What happened to
the time? http://webhome.idirect.com/~earlcp

Thanks Earl,

I am moving to the Tampa Bay area in Mar 05. I will look for a course there
and see if I can find a smaller sailboat to take into the bay and costal
islands. I'll just sell it later when I get the bigger boat.

Thanks for the info about the moving service. I may need that someday, but
for now, I think I would want to move it myself. But you never know.

Thanks,
Todd

"Earl Colby Pottinger" wrote in message
...
"Todd" :

Chris, Jeff, Skip, Rick,

Thanks for your input! It has been very helpful.

I think I will make plans to charter a catamaran (with a captain) after
I
retire and see what my wife thinks of it. She is usually pretty good
about
tolerating my hobbies (my airplane engine blew up in flight last year,
made
a dead stick landing, cost 14K to fix it), but I don't want her to be
unhappy. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed!

I think that is best, at the same time as the charter you could see if
some
training could the arranged as well.

As for "blue water" sailing, it is difficulty to know what I will be
happy
with, since I don't have any experience. It may end up being island
hopping. Now, I would like to think that I will make it to the Med,
Pacific
Islands, Australia, etc some day. But I will start with small steps. I
do
the same with my airplane, taking small steps and gaining experience.

One thing to remember, even if you have a small boat for 'just' island
hopping there are services to move your boat from one boating area to
another. They do cost, but make it easy to cruise the US coast this year
and
then cruise the Med next.

By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would be
of
value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

I just hope you don't need the skills for yourself Safe voyage.

Thanks,
Todd

Earl Colby Pottinger

--
I make public email sent to me! Hydrogen Peroxide Rockets, OpenBeos,
SerialTransfer 3.0, RAMDISK, BoatBuilding, DIY TabletPC. What happened to
the time? http://webhome.idirect.com/~earlcp

Thanks Jonathan,

I like the websites, they will keep me busy for a while! I have read some
of the articles already and I think they will help a lot.

Thanks,
Todd

"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
Todd wrote:
Hello,

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new
life.
snip....
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing,
or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.
snip.....


I have a thousand more questions, but these are good to start with.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd



In addition to the many good suggestions you have received here, you
might try reading some articles on Sailnet.com

http://www.sailnet.com/collections/a...&type=1&tfr=fp
or http://cruisenews.net/index.php

There are many first hand accounts of people making the same kinds of
decisions you are considering.

Among the Sailnet articles are, if I remember correctly, a number of
pieces on how to structure "test" cruises....as in the reluctant spouse
might agree to trying the cruising life for one year......if at the end
of the year he/or she really just cannot come to love it, the one
pushing for the cruising life agrees to move on land. The thought is
that many people are afraid of the "forever more" aspect of the cruising
retirement, but can manage to get their head around a one year trial.

Oh, and your skill as a PA will certainly come in handy both if you try
to make some cash while cruising and just to help your fellow cruisers
out. In articles touching on that subject (earning while sailing) the
medical fields always seem to be a good position.

Good luck.

Jonathan




--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would be of

value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

The Peace Corps has groups in many of the pacific island countries. The usual
medical officer for each of these is a PA or NP. You might look into this as a
way to have a "base" for opereations while learning the local area and slowly
getting the lady into sailing.
The PA's I met there when I was a PCV (94-96) loved the assignment.
[ It pays well, also]
Good luck

oz, USAF(BSC), ret.

Thanks! I'll have to check that out if I make it there.

Todd, USAF (BSC) - soon to be retired!

"Major oz" wrote in message
...
By the way, I am a physician assistant. Do you think my skills would
be of

value to the sailing community? Not to make money, just to contribute
skills.

The Peace Corps has groups in many of the pacific island countries. The
usual
medical officer for each of these is a PA or NP. You might look into this
as a
way to have a "base" for opereations while learning the local area and
slowly
getting the lady into sailing.
The PA's I met there when I was a PCV (94-96) loved the assignment.
[ It pays well, also]
Good luck

oz, USAF(BSC), ret.