henderob wrote:
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.

You're lucky, most people get sidetracked into doing this
for the rest of their lives.

... I have very limited sailing
experience, consisting of crewing on a large yacht for a couple weeks
when I was younger.


OK, that's not a bad start. But it sounds like you're
uncertain where the next step is.

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.


Good. How long is that 200K$ supposed to last you? Is that
all budgeted for buying & commissioning the boat, or is it
for groceries the whole time too? One suggestion I have is
to take some time to learn at least the basics of investing
intelligently, so your money will work for you and you'll
have more of it over time. But I digress.....


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?

That depends on what you want to learn and what your time
frame is. Sailing schools are generally oriented toawrds
wealthier people who want to charter big fancy boats in
vacation areas. But, they are an excellent means of
acquiring the tools and at least a small amount of
experience, with a safety, in skippering a big boat. That is
something which entails a subtle difference from anything
else any man has ever done.

Normally I'd advise people to do a lot of crewing before
stepping into a boat of their own, and it's surprisingly
easy to land crew positions (especially on racing boats).
But you can speand years doing this and not make very much
progress towards your goal.

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


Now you're really getting in deep!

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. .


This might sound a bit dumb, however you should really take
a cruise first, especially with your girlfriend, to see if
you like it. Go to one of the charter outtits that charter
smaller bare boats. Get whatever their minimum comptetency
is, take a week, and spend it on the boat even if you mostly
daysail & come back to the charter co's dock at night.
Although you should try anchoring out at least one night,
there's nothing else quite like that either.

Anyway, I think your goal of going cruising within a year is
certainly do-able; the problem is to break it down into
discrete steps.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Try this:

Take your $200K and put $190K in a one year CD.I thnk they pay a bit
over 4.5% now Hold out $10K and buy a boat over 5GRT. Liveaboard, fix
it, sail it, and have lots of fun. Make sure its the biggest piece of
junk you can buy. When you peal off some paint docking, run aground, or
even sink it you're bucks ahead plus have lots of OJT.

Do three years of that and then self report your "sea service" as owner
of a vessel over 5 GRT to qualify for your 50 GRT Master/100 ton Mate
Near Coast license. Spend another 180 days working on the water then
upgrade to 100 GRT Master. Go to the gulf and drive a crewboat around.
Yo Ho Ho, there ya go mate. Within 360 days you may be looking at 200
Master/ 1600 mate.

Sea ya down there.
Bob