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

Thanks everyone for the replies.. you gave me a lot to think about.

On 22 Jan 2006 15:51:30 -0800, "henderob" wrote:


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?

Year 1. Join a boat club and crew for a maniac club racer all season
who wants to go in every type of weather. Take Power Squadron classes.
Learn to navigate and learn safety at sea. Keep working and building
the nest egg...even simple cruising for a couple on an old 35 footer
will likely be $20K/year. More cash in the kitty, more years on the
sea. After a few months, volunteer to cruise for a week or two for an
older couple as free crew. Stand watches. Lots of them. Listen, read.

Read Ocean Navigator, Practical Sailor, SAIL and Cruising World...Good
Old Boat if you plan to get a used boat. Which I would generally
recommend. Talk to old salts. Get proficient in seaman's skills,
knots, splices, staying with the boat, reading charts, etc. Diesel
maintenance courses, definitely, unless your boat is very simple and
small. Learn to anchor.

"Window-shop" boats in the winter months. Figure out what you like,
and what would be comfortable. Attend boat show for ideas, but realize
that 90% of the people there will never sail offshore.

Year 2, Race more, but also try to do a delivery with an experienced
skipper. Get the gf to do it, too. If she isn't as nuts about this
dream as you are, the time to figure it out is BEFORE you buy a boat
you can't single-hand. If you can stand the movement, the fatigue and
possibly the terror and puking of going offshore, you'll have actual
sea hours and can contemplate a purchase. Also, seeing large,
expensive state of the art boats in real seaways, and not looking fine
beside docks, will give you an idea of what will actually work at
sea...and what is junk.

At the end of Year 2, decide if you are going to be crew, going to be
a recreational coastal/inshore sailor, or going to be an offshore
cruiser. They are essentially a Venn diagram of overlapping
experiences, but I don't think starting from ground zero you can get
the self-knowledge, never mind any sort of safety wisdom and sailing
proficiency, inside of two years. In the meantime, you can try to
double your stake.

If you can make a million dollars and live on 4% interest a year, you
could cruise forever in reasonable comfort and security. Something to
think about.

R.

Me too! I didn't have near that much cash, but I bought a boat and took
off. I'm back now building the business a bit bigger this year (rental
houses) so the cash-flow will sustain us.

My advise (should you choose to accept it) is to buy the smallest boat you
can live in, sail south (northern climates suck)...say the Florida
Keys...and live in it...anchor out every night (look at the official anchor
size recommendations for your size of boat and buy double).

When s**t breaks, fix it yourself...read books on how, ask other in the
anchorage...figure it out. Your money is no good at sea...can't hire a
mechanic there...so the skills are usefull. Enjoy sunshine, cold-beer and
all the cool people you will meet. Don't spend much, live cheap...smile
more than you probably ever have.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net


"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

I agree with Howard. Do it!

I'd just add there are some sailing schools out there that do real hands on training. There are even some just for women.

I also have a friend selling a boat that may be right up your alley. Tricked out for cruising, recently hauled and a brand new genset.

You can contact me at capt.bill11@(remove this)verizon.net if you'd like more info.

Capt. Bill

first let me say, i haven't done it yet either ... so there, that's the
most important part of this message, because that means i don't know
what the hell i'm talking about and you shouldn't pay much attention to
what i'm saying haha! now, having said that ...

i think ...

1) worry about what happens if the boat isn't under you anymore, good
EPIRB, some way to keep from dying of hypothermia while you're waiting
for a rescue (hopefully), manual watermaker and lots of experience
using it and maintaining it, a ditch bag with all this stuff in it and
other emergency stuff you think is necessary, and hopefully some kind
of a small craft/inflatable emergency lifeboat to spend some time in
when it all goes to hell. and some experience using a VHF radio for
emergencies, and a small one or two in your ditch bag too. learn to
light a flare, etc, spend a fair amount of time imagining yourself out
in the middle of the ocean with nothing but what is in that ditch bag
to keep you company. now hopefully you can survive if it all goes bad.
COST: few thousand $us, maybe.

2) after you got that covered ... get your HF amateur radio license and
learn to use an HF radio for really long distance communication, and
learn to use Airmail and all the other digital amateur radio stuff.
learn to get weather reports. and get you a 50$us laptop (or two, one
as a backup) from ebay, something you don't mind if someone steals.
get an amateur radio with TNC connection and practice using it with the
laptop. get a bicycle and put one of those small 48cc motor kits (with
spare parts for easilly worn things) on it that get 200mpg and practice
driving it around for days at a time and camping beside the road with
whatever you can carry on your back. why a motorized bike ? it's
simple to fix, light weight so you can get it to shore and transport
it, uses minimal gasoline, etc, and since it doesn't cost much you
won't sit around worrying about it all the time, it can be replaced
from your kitty without a big heartache. know how to work on the
little motor kit so you can get it running again, even though you can
still pedal or hitchhike if it fails. little gas can to carry some
extra fuel. and you need some camping equipment (focus on inexpensive,
solid/strong, and replaceable), some layers of clothing, and something
to keep you dry like a tarp or small tent. get lots of experience
living like a homeless person and going a thousand miles from home on
this bicycle and camping all along the way. now hopefully you can get
away from the boat and actually see things on your trip, go inland
really far, really get into the country, and not have to worry about
your expensive camping equipment getting stolen, not spend tons of
money on transportation and lodging (except when you want to, that's
what it's about, freedom to do what you want). read everything you can
get your hands on, keep your enthusiasm up, daydream a lot. get a
globe and a big atlas and look at it a lot. COST: maybe 2k$us (more
depending on your taste for books)

3) after you got that covered, get some kind of a dingy nobody would
ever want to steal with oars that you can secure in the dingy and
practice using that to haul a big anchor out in the water and set it,
and to carry you around, exercise, get experience oaring it around the
area. since it's a hard dingy and not an inflatable one, read all
about patching it with fiberglass when/if it gets a hole in it, get
patch materials. outfit it, get a inexpensive strong anchor for it,
good ropes, etc. now you can get to and from shore and you don't have
to worry about someone stealing your dingy while you're inland doing
things. and if they do, so what ... it's a cheap little dingy with
oars, get another one. COST: don't know, less than 2k$us

4) then after you do that, figure out where you want to go, basically.
start collecting some used charts, practice updating them with new
information, find sources, take a navigation class or read some books
about it. get a sextant, start practicing using it. find out how to
get good time from the radio, get two cheap digital watches that are
easy to replace and make sure you can keep them set to the correct
time. get cheap gps units, a few of them, and practice using gps. get
pilot books, and weather books, start trying to figure out what the
clouds are saying, what the best routes are around the world,
westerlies, easterlies, doldrums, etc, talk to someone who actually
knows what they are talking about (not me) about weather and how to
read it. read about entry/exit procedures for the countries you want
to visit, or might want to visit, and vaccination requirements for
entry. get really good at navigation and keeping track of where you
are on a chart using basic means with pencil and calculator, try it a
few times by hand using the formulas, try to get good at recognizing
key stars in the sky in your hemisphere. COST: less than 2k$us
probably (sextant can be expensive, depending, try for used and figure
out how to get it calibrated and keep it in good working order, a good
metal one).

5) practice cooking and taking care of yourself, read about antibiotics
and when you have to use them, basic emergency stuff like setting a
broken leg, keeping yourself warm, food that travels well, etc. learn
to cook if you don't know how. learn to boil water. do a lot of
camping and try to keep yourself fed while you are doing it. try to
minimize expenses while you are doing it, try to make your meals out of
basic staples instead of all fancier packaged foods or foods that don't
travel well, try to practice this without refrigeration. try your hand
at fishing if you have some time. learn to wash your clothing without
a washing machine, dry it on a piece of rope. learn a few basic knots
while you've got the rope in your hand, but you don't need to become a
professor of knots. get some good containers for transporting water
and try transporting it on your bike going 25mph with the motor, try
transporting it on your dingy across the water, transport some
groceries on your bike and come up with a way to make it easy to do.
hopefully then you can take care of yourself. COST: don't know,
depends, not much

6) read about boats, try to get some kind of basic sailing experience.
i took ASA classes for this, inexpensive and you get to learn the
basics of how to jibe and things, basic things. study on what boats
other people use to go around the world or do long distance sailing.
focus on the basics, the hull, what it is going to take to patch
fiberglass or weld metal. learn to weld and do patches. the hull is
what keeps the water out, it's the big thing, choose a good strong
hull. read something about bottom paint, sandblasting, hauling the
boat out of the water, beaching it at low tide, emergency patches while
at sea, shutting off valves to keep water from getting in through holes
in the hull, etc. what kind of a keel do you want, what kind of
rudder. talk to people who have been there and done that (not me) and
see what kind of hulls they like. personally i'm aiming more for a
steel hull, i know how to do basic welding and that makes me more
comfortable, but other people do use fiberglass and other hulls to get
around safely. maybe help someone with their hull if you get the
chance, maybe they'll let you scratch off a few barnacles without
making you do the whole thing haha. learn about the basic layout of
sailboats, the head, kitchen area, etc, what it takes to fix all that
stuff. read over the various kits/plans on the net for building boats,
not because you want to waste your time building one (heaven forbid,
you'd never get out of port), but so you can see the kinds of things
that goes into making a hull and you can see the weak points, and
imagine what is under the floor in your future boat, so you can see
what good manufacturing is vs. bad. focus too on how the rudder hooks
to the hull. hopefully you'll know how to keep the boat floating.

7) read all about rigging, your mast, the lines keeping it up, how to
take the mast off, how to have it put back on (or put it on yourself).
talk to someone who does rigging, see how they tune it (i'd like to
even know how to tune it but haven't found anyone to teach me yet),
figure out how to check all the hardware for cracks and wear. just
figure out how to keep it standing and what to do if something goes
wrong with it, what to do if it breaks. read about getting up the mast
to the top to check for problems, maybe you need some steps on the mast
so that you'll actually go up there sometimes and look things over,
make repairs and adjustments. read all about the things that can go
wrong and how to avoid them. hopefully you'll know how to keep a mast
up.

8) learn about sails, how to repair them, or even how to make them
(nobody/very few people make sails, that's sort of a waste of time but
i'm interested in it). but you do need to know how to do basic sail
repairs, take a sewing class or get someone to teach you, experiment.
a basic sewing machine is really easy to use. i just found out there
is some sail design software on the net too if you really want to go
overboard with this. which sails do you use for what, how many backups
do you need for which ones, etc. learn all about sails and sailing,
it's what makes the boat go somewhere. read about storm management
too, putting up storm sails, reefing the sails, etc, focus on the most
simple effective systems that you can fix if they break. try to think
in terms of being out in the middle of nowhere and needing to get a
sail up and get the boat moving, avoid complicated systems. hopefully
you'll know how to move the boat.

9) learn about anchors and the various kinds of anchors, and anchoring,
how it's done, this is extremely important to learn because it's what
keeps the boat off of the rocks, and it's what lets you go inland to
see those fabulous ruins without sitting around wondering if your boat
has wandered off into the ocean on it's own. learn what anchors keep
the boat still on what kind of bottoms, learn about depth finders, and
try your hand at free diving in the local pool so you can get under the
boat and check for problems, get your anchor loose when it gets stuck,
etc. maybe take a scuba class ? i don't know anything about scuba or
scuba gear, i've been focused more on free diving. you can get pretty
deep, quite a few meters down, freediving. sometimes you just have to
get into the water. anchoring i think is the single most important
thing about boating with navigation a close second. focus on lots of
heavy good solid equipment that you can handle, that will do the job.
try to get some experience anchoring. so hopefully after that you know
all about anchors and keep the boat from wandering off.

10) if you are single-handing you need to learn something about basics
of self-steering the boat, what equipment there is for it, when to use
it, how to use it, that kind of a thing. it's just too hard to sail
anywhere without a co-pilot to relieve you, and that co-pilot is
self-steering and autopilots when you are single-handing. focus on
equipment that you can fix and that experience has shown actually
works. talk to people who have actually used it (not me, i haven't).

11) learn about diesel engine repair and maintenance. focus on good
solids engines, small ones not giant monsters, ones that you can find
parts for, etc. learn all about how the exhaust gets through the hull,
cleaning jets, what spare parts you need to keep it running, all the
basics. maybe somebody can sit down and teach you some basics of how
to run the engine, what to watch out for, how to keep the seawater out,
starting, stopping, storing it. focus on smaller engines that you can
get to inside the hull for maintenance, but big enough to do the job
unless you want to be a purist and sail in and out of slips all the
time (difficult, i think some kind of an engine is almost necessary).
focus on what actually works. learn about fuel storage, gases,
ventilation, CO2 sensors, fire detectors, and how dangerous gasoline is
and importance of on deck storage for that. hey you need some gasoline
for your motorized bike! learn about solar panels, deep cycle
batteries, wind generators, and what kind of electricity generation you
are going to use so the radios keep working. practice docking, those
few knots you learned for keeping the boat on the dock, about fenders.
it doesn't hurt (i've read) to learn how to sail in and out of port,
and to sail on and off anchor, because if your engine fails that's what
you're going to have to do. some have even suggested knowing how to
use your dingy to row the boat into port. hopefully when you're done
you'll be able to use a diesel to get in and out of port.

12) and after you did that, decide on and buy a boat. keep it simple.
smallest diesel that does the job, good solid sails, simple rigging,
good strong hull you can make repairs to, etc. try to get a good solid
boat with what you need on it for a basic price. something you feel
safe in, confident with, that you can handle, that gives you a warm
fuzzy feeling and makes you happy you have it. for me, like i said,
that'll probably mean a steel hull, and i seem to be leaning towards a
long keel, but opinions vary. number (12) is when the costs start,
you'll have to start paying fees to keep the boat somewhere, start
keeping paint on the bottom, start paying taxes and fees, etc, etc.
but you have to get it at some point so you can do some practice sails
and start making any modifications that you want to make. time to
figure out where that dingy you bought is going to go, where you're
going to store that bike you got, the gasoline for it, etc. where will
your charts be stored, all the spare parts for the boat, the tools,
books, food, how will you cook, shower, wash clothing, etc. don't
waste money on "junk" you don't know you need. every $us you spend now
on "stuff" is time you won't have to cruise. every $us you spend now
takes away a $us at the end of the cruise, think of every $us as the
last $us you have in your pocket before you have to come home. get a
used boat, a boat that has a lot of value in it, a boat with a lot of
good strong essence, and don't waste money on extras you don't need.
but try to get the extras you do need so you don't have to buy them
seperately and pay more. pay for the boat, don't finance it, nobody
wants to go around the world with a mortgage, that's just silly in my
personal opinion. do some sailing on your boat while you are getting
it ready. focus on a boat that is good, strong, and that you are
confident in, and that you don't mind leaving at anchor for weeks at a
time so you can go off and explore the world. the more you spend here,
the more you are going to worry about the boat when you leave it which
translates into the less likely you are going to be to leave it.
remember that confidence is really important, and confidence is just
another word for trust ... and trust comes from experience. money is a
poor substitute for confidence, given the choice of learning how to do
something yourself with a little work and paying someone else to do it
for convenience, do it yourself. and remember when buying the boat
that every little extra you buy is something you have to fix, worry
about being stolen, etc, it'll own you, you won't own it. COST:
varies, i'm thinking 40k$us for myself, but 30k$us to 60k$us seems a
good range.

13) set a date, throw away the list of stuff you didnt finish, arrange
your finances and your mail, pack your crap up, kiss your family
goodbye, get on the boat, toss off the lines, and GO. and don't waste
your money along the way, all the "stuff" you buy is a means to a end,
but the most important thing is your kitty, the longer you can make
that money last, the better. time for a budget that focuses on life
experience and knowing what is important to spend money on and what
isn't. by all means spending money on sights and fuel to get to those
sights and experiencing some new foods, etc, is money well spent. get
that occasional massage, buy the turkish carpet if you want it, but
focus on experience and having the time of your life. taking care of a
50 foot boat isn't the time of your life, it's work. sitting around
worrying about if someone back at the harbor is raiding your jewelry
box isn't the time of your life either. having fun and seeing the
world, that's what it is all about! but the more crap you buy that you
don't really need, the less money you have to live your dream. at the
high end, if you can manage it, it is in theory possible to maximize
your kitty and minimize your expenses to such a point that you can sail
on the interest earned on your money, and then you can just sail the
rest of your life from port to port if you want to. people have done
it.

best of luck to both of us. see you on the ocean.

On 23 Jan 2006 15:53:17 -0800, "purple_stars"
wrote:

first let me say, i haven't done it yet either ...
snipping half a boat book worth of advice?

best of luck to both of us. see you on the ocean.

Maybe you haven't DONE it, but you sure as hell have THOUGHT about it.

You're the type of guy who should go down to a boat club and figure
out who owns the saddest looking 30 footer on a mooring, and offer the
owner five grand, no questions asked. Then you'd head off.

By this, I mean you're a real sailor G

R.

And based on your post, sadly you may never. Because by the time you do all that you'll be to old or to sick or just burnt out. It's great to know all that, but much of it you can learn as you go. So stop studying it and do it! :-)

haha thanks rhys

hey, i was wondering something too ... could you recommend some good
books to read ? you mentioned some magazines in your post that you
like but i'd like some books, i'm betting you know practical no
non-sense stuff i'd like. so far i've liked "how to sail around the
world" by hal roth, i've read that one a lot. and also the book, well,
i can't remember the title now, but it was by tania aebi, a young lady
who sailed around the world, that book was awesome. actually it was so
good i'm going to get the title in case someone else wants to read it.
ok, it was "maiden voyage". i've read some other ones but those really
stand out as ones i loved. know of any others ? anybody else know any
other good ones ?

thanks in advance.

For plain old good reading anything by Tristan Jones simply can't be beat.
He sailed the world in small boats for decades. He wrote 17 books and
countless magazine articles. Most of them are incredible true accounts with
a little Welch embellishment mixed in. I'd start with "A Steady Trade."

"purple_stars" wrote in message
ups.com...
haha thanks rhys

hey, i was wondering something too ... could you recommend some good
books to read ? you mentioned some magazines in your post that you
like but i'd like some books, i'm betting you know practical no
non-sense stuff i'd like. so far i've liked "how to sail around the
world" by hal roth, i've read that one a lot. and also the book, well,
i can't remember the title now, but it was by tania aebi, a young lady
who sailed around the world, that book was awesome. actually it was so
good i'm going to get the title in case someone else wants to read it.
ok, it was "maiden voyage". i've read some other ones but those really
stand out as ones i loved. know of any others ? anybody else know any
other good ones ?

thanks in advance.